Anniversary Week: Those three little words.

I breathed a huge sigh of relief. "I'm so glad you said it. Yeah, I think we are."

The next day we had our first date. I tried to hide my silly giddiness over holding hands while we were at the circus. I was such a dork. Things moved forward for the next few months pretty much the way they were before, but without the awkward moments where I tried to keep secret how much I was falling for him. It was no secret anymore. We had our first kiss in his parents's driveway. With that, it was all over for me.

WBH had been living in his parents' home since getting back from Argentina, and I still lived with my parents while attending community college. We knew that wouldn't last forever, or even for a long time, and started discussing the future. When I asked what he was thinking about, he told me he'd been thinking about going away to school. My heart sank. Things were going so well, and it felt like I was going to lose it all. I realized in that moment that I was completely, head over heels in love with this guy. I felt for him what I had never felt before. I was in love with someone, and could have a future with him. I saw it all- the house, the dog, the kids, and yet, he was leaving. As I drove him home that night, I was nearly silent. When we pulled into the driveway he asked, "What's wrong?"

I couldn't hold it in any longer. Sobbing, I told him I didn't want to be selfish, but I didn't want him to leave. That's all I could get out before I started crying too hard to speak. He pulled me close to him. "Um, I've been thinking," He began, "and I think that... if love is caring more about another person that you do yourself... Well, I love you."