Our Love Story Told {Part Three: Important Firsts}

Click HERE for part one.

After our whirlwind of a summer, we both went back to our respective colleges.  I went back to school in Richmond, VA to begin my junior year and Kev started his first year at a new community college in Northeast Mississippi.  With all of our breaks, we ended up seeing each other practically every month.  He would fly to see me and then I would fly down to see him.  We talked to each other practically every day and emailed in between.

I met his family pretty early on during my fall break in October.  I was nervous flying in, but from what I hear they were even more anxious.  I think they were intimidated because I was a “northerner?”  The good news was that we clicked immediately and I loved them from the start.  They were so kind people and my feelings for Kev certainly intensified after such a great visit with his family.

During that visit, Kev told me he loved me.  I was a little stunned and probably did not react the way he had hoped.  If I remember correctly, my reaction was something along the lines of “thanks.”  The following day, I explained to him that I cared for him a lot but I couldn’t say those words to another man until I knew it was the person I was going to marry.  I was sad that I had uttered those words to someone else already, but was determined to not use those words again until it was to my future husband.  He was very gracious and it didn’t seem to phase him a bit.  He was confident whether I was ready to reciprocate or not.  I prayed hard that God would show me when and if I should utter the words.

Kev spent that Thanksgiving with me and my family.  During the weekend, we managed to explore the Inner Harbor again and eventually ended up back in Federal Hill where our relationship officially began.  During that visit back in August, Kev told me he wanted to kiss me but confessed that he had never kissed a girl. {He had been on dates and dated a girl for a few months, but never kissed them.}  I respected him so much for that and it was actually a relief because I was in no rush for our relationship to move in that direction.  It was way too soon for that.

Apparently, it was no accident that we ended the night in Federal Hill.  During a moment of somewhat awkward silence while we were sitting on the same bench, Kev asked if he could kiss me.  His exact words were, “May I have this kiss?”  I thought it was a little cheesy, but still cute.  I obliged.

Later that weekend, after Kev told me he loved me, I finally responded with, “I love you too.”  I knew in my heart I had loved him when he initially told me the previous month, but I was scared and was trying to guard my words.  I stepped out on a limb and trusted the Lord would honor my desire to use those words wisely.

When I decided to spend Christmas with his family instead of my own, everyone knew it was getting serious.  At the time, I didn’t realize the magnitude of that decision because it felt so natural.  We had the major things in common and had such a fun time together.  Laughter was always abundant.  My first major holiday with his family could not have gone better.  It was one of the most memorable Christmas’s that I can recall.

With spring, the visits continued and the emails and phone calls kept coming.  He went with me to as many sorority dances as he was able and escorted me to my Junior Ring Dance.  I was able to focus on work and my friendships at school, but still enjoyed getting to know Kev.  It seemed like the best of both worlds, really.

But, we knew we couldn’t date long-distance forever.