My second first kiss.

All love stories begin somewhere.

In our case it was Makapu’u point in beautiful Hawaii.

So, "Happy Anniversary" to me! Yes, another one. I consider this the REAL one for Jared and I. Like it matters.

Anyway, Jared recently wrote me what he remembers about the occasion. Because I am lazy and don’t want to write my own account (I wouldn’t have told you all those fun details anyway since I was only recently reminded about them) you get to see it from J-Bo’s point of view.

My comments are in italics. (Jared, I am surprised I didn’t have to correct too many spelling errors. You actually took the trouble to spell right this time. Not bad!)

As of right now, I am using the computer without a scanner so there will be no pictures, yet. I have recently been scanning and taking pictures to post into old blogs, so come back and check in the near future, ok? (Like tomorrow)

Ok, here goes nothing…

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I found out that Travis had a car - or something resembling such. (THE definition of a POS, but I love that car) I talked him into letting me borrow it. He wasn’t allowed to park it on campus so I called my home teachers and asked if they would let me park the car there for the night. They said no, but I told them I'd have the car gone by no later than 5am. They eventually agreed.

Come Saturday morn I woke up at like 4:30 and since we talked on the phone till like 2 or so, I was really tired. I got to your hale by 5am and you were just as tired as I was. (I can’t believe I managed to wake up that early – on a Saturday too!) We stopped for gas at Mobil and then stopped again at Shell in Kaneohe because you needed film. We drove there and I almost missed it since it was my first time driving there and it was still dark. The whole way we were talking about how we wouldn’t make it to the top before the sun came up.

We got there and started to hike. I remember half way up you turned around and started to walk backwards. I asked why and you said it was because you wanted to have you feet face the other direction for a bit. (Oh gee embarrass me will ya!) I thought it was cute and started to laugh. We took a break on the other side and looked a some whale signs on the trail. We got to the top (it took us nearly a whole half hour!)and I was a sweaty smelly mess. (So was I!) There was some other couple there and they thought we were a couple then. We had them take a picture of us. I was worried that you may put your arm around me and be grossed out by a damp back. They left and it was just you and me. I got a pic of you and the sun coming up, but it was cloudy so you couldn’t tell if we made sunrise or not. Then we leaned against the rail looking out feeling the breeze for a while.

I remember that he had brought a paper bag with a sacked lunch from the cafeteria and I had an orange and he had passion fruit Lilikoi (I still think that stuff is nasty). I don’t remember what I drank. Or if I did. I could’ve drank that passion fruit stuff. Ugh. I do remember the Listerine pocket strip mints he handed me. We used that on many future occasions. But GOSH how could I not have noticed? I was so clueless!!! What happened next never crossed my mind before.

I had the Valentine in my pocket (I still have it in my room) and was just waiting for the moment. You said, "Well, should we go?"

I was soooo nervous. I said, "Yeah, sure." Then I realized I was missing my shot, so I just went ahead and did it. "Actually, there was one thing." I pulled out the valentine, "I have this coupon here that I wanted to use. It says right here “for now you'll have to settle for chocolate
hugs and kisses, for real ones call (your number)”. I've called the number but
nothing. How does it work?"

"I don't know. How do you think it works?"
"Does it work something like...this...?"

I leaned in and...well...you remember the rest. But I still say you brought the
tongue in first, not me... :-p (I SWEAR I did it only cause I thought you did!)

Just a quick interjection: it wasn’t as easy as he makes it sounds. As soon as he pulled out the “coupon” (It really wasn’t MEANT to be a coupon!) I knew I was in trouble. I had (have?) this policy not to kiss on a first date but I really liked this guy and I missed kissing a whole lot. I remember hesitating and telling him “I don’t know” and he said something to encourage me like “Come on, what do you say?” My memory has betrayed me on this one and Jared doesn’t remember that at all. Maybe all that hesitation just went on in my head and didn’t show. But heck, what matters most is that I eventually caved in.

After we couldn’t decide when would be a good time to stop kissing. Eventually you asked and we stopped. We started to walk back and I wasn’t sure what to do then. You grabbed my hand and that let me know that I was entitled to do that then.

My policy is to hold hands before kissing (because kissing to me is much more intimate) but Jared has it the other way around.

We stopped at the half way point again and got some more pics, but they came out wrong and it was the end of the roll, so we didn’t get all the ones we thought we would. We got to the car and I insisted you let me open the door for you. The problem was that Travis's car door would not be unlocked from the outside. I unlocked it from inside, went out, walked around, opened it, let you in, shut it and went around back to driver seat. You told me not to, but I had to open the door for
my first girlfriend first chance I had. (Hehe. It was awkward! Mark and Matthew will also testify to you how I never made it an easy task. I wouldn’t let them do it without a fight. Ok, maybe just a couple of times when I couldn’t be bothered) We held hands and I put my leg on your knee. (huh?) That was the first hand holding session with a girl ever and first time with a hand on a girls knee.

You were still reluctant to be called my girlfriend. That confused me. Later that night (after a nap) we met in Hale 5 and watched "My Big fat Greek Wedding" and it was the first time we
played footsies. I liked that...

We DTRed (defined the relationship) just the next day and that was when I decided that yeah, why not. Let's be boyfriend and girlfriend.

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Following that was just 5 short weeks of bliss before the never-ending drama began. But that, dear readers, was the start of one of the most amazing things that has happened to me in my life.

Now I’m just dealing with loose ends.