Journey to Us - Part 1

*DISCLAIMER* I'm not a writer... well, not a good one anyways. But I started this blog because I wanted to remember this time in our lives and the story of how T and I got here is part of that. Maybe years down the road - if the internet hasn't been replaced by holograms by then - this content will still exist and Cali can read the story of how she came to be. If the internet doesn't still exist? Well, I should probably print this off when I'm finished...

So this is the story of how T and I met and how I tricked mesmerized him into marrying me.

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It was the Fall of 2004 (*Cue Bryan Adams music*) in Auburn, AL and I was in town visiting by best friend from high school, Talley. T was in town with some of his high school friends to go to a football game and see what a real sport looked like (muahaha... I love a good anti-baseball joke). Talley and I had heard rumblings of this thing called a frat party that was happening that night at one of the houses. 

What can I say? We were a bit sheltered...

So we fancied ourselves up in our best t-shirt, jeans, and flip flops (I mentioned we'd never been to one of these, right?) and headed out for our first real college night on the town.

We were Sophomores.

We show up at the address that was given to us and the two guys at the table let us right on through. We're probably lucky we were a bit late and they'd had one too many adult beverages to notice what we were wearing. Anyways, we were in and it was loud and crowded. Looking back with a few more frat parties under my belt, I wish I could've seen the two of us that night. We were huddled in a corner, the most underdressed people there, and the only ones taking advantage of the water cooler and not the keg. We were babies and I miss my naivety. 

After all of 7 minutes of being there and seeing what we had gotten ourselves into, we decided to head back to Talley's place and change into something more appropriate. 

HAHAHAHA.

I'm laughing because I just remembered what I wore that night.

A white t-shirt tucked into a white skirt with neon stripes at the top and...

Wait for it...

Orange, PLEATHER, high heels.

Oh wee.

I really wish I had a picture of that night so you could get a clear idea of what I looked like. I'm impressed T even took a second look at me, much less spoke to me! It was obviously my charming, glowing, personality that captured him because it was not my outfit.

Whatever the case, Talley and I showed back up at the party and grabbed more water. We were standing back in our corner, contemplating whether or not we should just admit this was not our scene and leave, when we were approached by this guy. Not just any guy mind you... a really, really, really, drunk guy. He had an entire case of beer in one hand with an open bottle in the other. He reeked of alcohol and had a few drinks on his clothes as well. The further Talley and I stepped back and tried to avoid him, the closer he got until he finally had us cornered against the fence of the backyard. 

This is where the good stuff starts...

Out of nowhere, this New Guy comes up and puts his arm around me and Talley.

"There you are!" he said.

"We've been looking everywhere for you guys. Are you ready to go?"

Talley and I looked at each other, looked at New Guy, looked at the old guy, and figured this one at least could stand up straight so we had a better chance going with him. 

"YES!", we yelled in unison.

The drunk guy took a moment to assess the situation, finally realized that New Guy had 3 other guys with him, and made the decision to leave.

Oh wait.

New Guy did have three more guys with him.

Who was that guy standing back behind New Guy?

"Hi. I'm Dave." 

Ahhh. So his name wasn't New Guy.

Talley and I introduced ourselves and New Guy Dave finally introduced us to his 3 friends: Wesley, Matt, and T.

For the first time in a loooong time I was nervous. He was tall and gorgeous and was instantly attracted. Also, he had a good handshake. My daddy always said you could tell a guy by his handshake and this one was a good one. 

There was only one, tiny, hiccup in the whole thing...

I had a boyfriend.

To be Continued...