Love Stories: No Longer Just Friends

In 2006 I moved away from my hometown to a bigger city where I hoped to pursue education in television broadcasting. I was only 19 years old and this was a huge step for me as I was a very shy girl. I met the other students I'd be spending the next few months with and they all seemed very nice. We seemed to hit if off well enough, including the only guy in the whole program, Jonathan. He seemed like a potentially interesting guy and so when we were shown to our cubicles, I choose one right next to his. The days went on and for the most part we remained friends. Nothing more. Honestly I can't remember when that light bulb went off that I started to like Jonathan, but it was probably amongst the times we had to work on projects together, laughed hysterically at movies we made, when he'd steal my mittens and throw then back from his cubicle to mine, watched movies with friends, random hang out times and just...well it seemed to just happen for me. It would have been impossible for me not to have had a crush on him even though I denied it anytime somebody asked.

But I knew Jonathan had no interest in me as he always seemed to have a new girl in his life. Just a bunch of girls who he liked and sadly I was never one of them. One day in the spring of 2007 he decided to move back to the town he came from which was far away. I figured that this was it. I'd loose him and never seem him again. I figured now was the best time then ever to hint at my liking of him. So I ended up buying him a journal (a manly one) and wrote in the first pages about how awesome of a guy he was and how I'd miss him incredibly. Mind you it wasn't too mushy, it could be interpreted a just a real good friendship. When he left I sent it off with him, cried a bit in the bathroom and decided to move on with my life. That summer we ended up keeping in contact via e-mail, MSN or the random phone call here or there. I still had feelings for him and enjoyed how comfortable we were around each other, that we were good together. Didn't he see that?! I found it so frustrating that I couldn't let him go when obviously he wasn't seeing anything more than a friend with me.

Summer passed and autumn came and I was settling into my life in this new city. I had a job at the television station I had previously been student at. I had some wonderful friends and was quite enjoying where life was taking me. Jonathan remained a friend and I was soon convinced I'd be able to start liking other guys if the right one came along. But near Thanksgiving (Canada's Thanksgiving is in October) Jonathan was going to be in a near be town that I conveniently had to drive through. I knew that this would be the the defining moment for me. If we met and nothing happened, I would give him up and remain just friends. We ended up having a wonderful time with each other for the day. I enjoyed catching up and laughing together again, but by the end of the day when I had to keep on driving I had decided in my heart I was done. So one last hug. I said good bye and left. I figured it was the last I'd ever see him. Little did I know, that weekend had also become a defining moment for Jonathan when FINALLY the light bulb went off and he began to view me in a different light. Not just a friend.

Unaware of his new feelings, I happily I lived my life for the next two months and continued to have random chats with Jonathan. I was happy with just being friends until one night when we were chatting, Jonathan confessed that he valued our friendship so much and something along the lines about how he feels so comfortable around me, and he really really liked spending time with me. Not knowing where this was going and feeling a little taken aback, I suddenly said he should come down to my city again and be my guest for a company Christmas banquet. He said yes and that flood of feeling for him came rushing back. I wasn't sure what to do next. Was he implying he liked me? I was so nervous when he came down for the banquet in December. When he was down for a few days, he was rather flirty and I could tell something had changed. When we were driving home one night from a friends place he slowly trying to form his words. Finally after both of us stumbled over our words he was able to ask me to be his girlfriend. My heart melted and instantly I said yes!

We dated for 11 glorious months. But since he still lived in his town oh so far away, we remained long distance, visiting each other once or twice a month on weekends. Then the end of November 2008 came around and one romantic night with a candle lit living room and him playing guitar, he proposed to me. Of course I said yes and couldn't believe I would be marrying the man I spent so long dreaming about.

We planned our wedding, but we kept having to rebook the date and I wasn't happy about the thought of moving to a town so far away. On top of that, I had always dreamed of going to school for fashion design and I realized what a huge regret I'd have if I left this city that offered a fashion program and moved to a small town without it. I felt like everything happened so quickly with our dating and engagement and that I just need a bit of time to start putting my life in a new direction. After a very hard talk, I asked to either call of the engagement or post the wedding to an even later date. Jonathan was crushed, but at the same time he was incredibly supportive and willing to wait. This was a tough time, but seeing Jonathan so willing to wait and most importantly moving to my city so we could be together was such a huge thing for me. I realized then how much he really did love me, more than I ever dreamed. So we put the wedding back on for a future date and after my first year of schooling was done in 2010, we were able to get married.

If I were to go back 3 or 4 years ago and tell myself that one day I'd marry that guy I had such a huge crush on, there would be no way I'd believe it. It just didn't seem possible back then. Today, I'm married to my best friend and with God on our side, I know that I have the rest of my life to look forward to.

♥

See the previous Love Stories here! If you would like to submit your story, please send an e-mail to lovestories@shopruche.com. You may attach up to 5 photos, and we welcome creativity! Please try to keep your stories to a 1200 word limit. You will receive an e-mail when your story is selected.

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