Check Yes or No (or Yes)

From very early on in our relationship, I knew what Forrest and I had was different from my past relationships. Not only was there are very apparent level of respect, but we just enjoyed being together. We had a good friendship, and that is what our relationship was built on.Much to the shock of my friends, after about  a month and a half of dating, Forrest hadn’t kissed me. I really didn’t care that much, but I started to wonder if he was ever going to kiss me. I’m not a very forward person, and I’m rather traditional, so I kept thinking he needed to initiate it. However, I realized that wasn’t probably going to happen anytime soon, so I knew I had to do something. I did something that is about as forward as I ever get.After talking with one of my roommates, and I conceived a plan. A great one at that. I would write him a note, and leave it at the testing center where he was going to be taking an exam the next day. Forrest wasn’t so sentimental back then, so he didn’t keep it. But this is basically what it looked like:

Yes, I thought I was so cool. And smart. And you better believe I was so nervous. Now that I think about it, I think my roommate, who worked in the testing center, actually left it for him. I wasn’t going to be seeing him until later that night, and had no idea how he was going to react.

The hours slowly passed, and I drove over to Forrest’s apartment. I asked him how his day was, and he said it was great, because he got a cute note from a cute girl at the testing center. And that was all he said about it. He acted totally normal the rest of the night, and I just wondered what he thought.

He walked me out to my car around midnight, and right before we said good bye, I asked him if he was going to answer my note. And he said he would later. I was taken back, and just kind of like…what does that mean?! He quickly walked away, and I drove home.

The next evening, I dropped him off at his apartment, and I could tell he was stalling getting out of my car. He finally said something like, “Well, I got your note and I want to tell you my answers. For the first one, I marked yes (Thank goodness…I would have been so sad if he said no!), and for the second one…I said yes…So, is it okay if I kiss you?”

It was the sweetest, most innocent thing ever. And of course, I said yes. It didn’t change a lot in our relationship. We still had a more friendship-based relationship, rather than a physical one, even up to when we got married. And that was perfect. I found myself realizing that he liked me because of me, and that he actually liked spending time with me.

This may seem like a silly story, but it was something that, early on, made me realize what a good man Forrest was. He was, and still is, so respectful, and we’ve always had so much fun together. And to me, those are some of the most important things in a lasting relationship.