I am going to forewarn that this will probably be a long post.... Here we go!
Kenny and I both went to the same high school. In 2002, when I was a sophomore and he was a senior, we both were in the same psychology class (which was unfortunately only a 1 semester course). He ended up sitting right in front of me (or behind me-- possibly both during the semester). When I saw him for the first time, it was actually during my freshman year at a homecoming dance. I didn't actually know him, but another girl, Laura, who didn't even go to our school, came to our homecoming with some friends I suppose. Anyway, she saw Kenny walk by and she said, "Excuse me, I have to go meet my future husband..." (in reference to Kenny). So the first time I saw him in my psychology class, the first thing I thought (besides, hey, he's cute) was hey, that's the guy that Laura said was going to be her future husband. During psychology, Kenny would constantly make me laugh EVERYDAY. I would seriously just about pee my pants. We were always sort of flirty with each other too. Our teacher would always scold us, telling one of us to turn around in our seat and be quiet. I am not sure why she never permanently separated us because we were obviously distracting each other.
One of our assignments in class was to make a skit with a group using at least 10 examples of defense mechanisms. As fate would have it, Kenny was in my group. In our skit, Kenny and I were actually newlyweds on our honeymoon! Looking back on that now, it's too funny to me. So throughout the semester, I sort of had a crush on him, but never really admitted it to anyone, including myself I guess. I think part of the reason was he was a senior and you know how high school is. Upperclassmen and underclassmen just didn't mix. At least not in that way. So I never really said anything. And besides, he had a girlfriend that lived in California (not sure why he dated her). He actually brought her to school with him one day because she was visiting, and oh BOY was she a BITCH. I mean, really snobby. I was nice and I tried to say hi, but she just gave me dirty looks all during class (probably because Kenny simply talked to me). Well, our high school flirtation was nothing but that, and after the semester was over, we didn't really talk much other than saying hi as we passed in the halls. Although while we were still in that class, I guess I must have given him some sort of Christmas present, and he brought me an Invader Zim keychain, which I still have to this day.... He graduated that spring in 2003, and left for the marine corps.
Jumping ahead a year.......
In 2004, the start of my senior year, I was working at Linens-n-Things, and I hadn't seen or heard from Kenny since the year he graduated. Then one day, I was at work as a cashier, and out the window I saw someone walk by, and didn't even get a really good look, but it looked like Kenny, though I wasn't sure. I didn't think too much of it, but he walked back toward the store a few minutes later and came in because he saw me in the window. He came in, we talked for a few minutes, and we said we'd get together sometime while he was home. I had actually just started dating this other guy (who was a complete douche bag and I have no idea why I dated him), so that was kind of an obstacle. As soon as I saw Kenny that day, I was SO excited and so happy! He is the one person that I have always gotten really excited about seeing the way I did. Well, we got together to hang out while he was home, but nothing happened. I had a boyfriend that I guess I was too caught up in to take any action. That was the last time I saw him until almost 3 years later.
I finally dumped the douchey boyfriend in 2006, and dated 2 other guys in between him and when Kenny and I finally got together.
Jumping ahead to 2007....
I was cleaning my room one day, and I found a copy of the skit that we had done in psychology class oh so many years ago! I don't know why I kept it... probably because it reminded me of Kenny and how funny he was. So having found that really made me think of him and kinda miss him (as friends at this point). I didn't really know how to get in touch with him, so I looked to see if he had a MySpace page. I actually didn't even have MySpace at the time, so I had to make one for this sole reason (I was on a mission!). So turns out he DID have a MySpace, so I sent him a message asking if he remembered me. A few days later he messaged me back saying of course he did! (Apparently he hardly ever got on MySpace and it was just my luck that he got on to check it). We messaged back and forth a few times and he told me he'd be in our hometown on some leave around 4th of July, so we planned to get together at some point during that time. When that time rolled around, I was dating this guy named Kevin. I am not really sure why I dated him. We had pretty much nothing in common. While Kenny was home, we decided to meet at a Starbucks. I was hanging out with one of my best friends, and she came along. When I saw Kenny for the first time in almost 3 years, I got that same excited feeling I got all the time! I saw him walking up to the Starbucks and I ran outside and jumped up and gave him a huge hug! He was probably hurting when I did that because he was really sunburned. We were probably in Starbucks just talking for 2 or 3 hours! We then went and ate at Chilis. When the night was over, I told Kenny that my friend Bridget (who was with us) and I were planning a trip to NC to see our friend Alyson for I think the following weekend. Kenny was currently stationed in NC. He said we should come to his house and hang out while we were there. So that was the plan.
The weekend of July 13, Bridget and I made our road trip to NC. The 2nd day we were there was the day the three of us took the trip to see Kenny. We got there, had some drinks and just hung out and had a good time. Kenny was living with his friend Peter and wife Meagan. The whole time we were there, I guess Kenny and I were being kind of flirty (even though I had a boyfriend... I know, it sounds bad!). Peter and Meagan said that Kenny was "acting like a gentleman" which was apparently out of the norm for him. At some point in the night, Kenny was outside and so was Bridget. I guess they got to talking about how they could all tell I had feelings for him, but he wouldn't believe her! He had said he was leaving on deployment at the end of the month, and I was also moving to Blacksburg to go to school at Virginia Tech. Everyone was trying to get me to stay the night over there, but I didn't for two reasons: 1) I had a boyfriend. Even though Kenny and I wouldn't have done anything, it still felt wrong, and 2) I was there to visit Alyson, and I didn't want Bridget and Alyson to go back to her house and have Alyson's parents wonder where I was. So, we left that night, and I told Kenny that we'd come back in the morning before Bridget and I had to leave to go back home. On the way back to Alyson's, both she and Bridget were asking what I was going to do about Kenny, and if I liked him, and what I was going to do about Kevin... I didn't know! It was all so crazy and sudden and unexpected!
The next day, despite the fact that I had a TERRIBLE hangover, I got up at about 8 AM to get ready to go back to see Kenny (who lived about an hour away from Alyson). My friends are awesome and got up too so we could all go. I tried to call Kenny to tell him that we were on our way, but he never answered. I left a message, and we went anyway. When we got there, I must have rang the doorbell about 500 times because no one was answering. Everyone was sleeping, including Kenny. Finally Meagan answered the door. We only got to stay for about an hour before Bridget and I had to head back, but I said my goodbyes to Kenny and told him that when he got back from deployment, he would have to come visit me at Virginia Tech.
Bridget and I started our drive back home. I already missed Kenny. More than I thought I should. I mean, I had a BOYFRIEND. But I couldn't help but think about Kenny! Plus, a boyfriend or girlfriend had pretty much always been the reason for not telling Kenny that I'd always kind of had a thing for him. So the boyfriend was the least of my concerns at that point. I got back to Fredericksburg and back to my life. At least for the next few days. We got back on a Sunday... I went to hang out with my current boyfriend, Kevin, but I just didn't even WANT to. I just couldn't have any feelings for him anymore. Over the next few days, I SERIOUSLY could not eat. I had no appetite. I was hungry, but just couldn't stomach anything. I couldn't sleep. I tried to text Kenny a few times to tell him to call me, trying not to sound desperate, but no response... I thought maybe he thought I was being a crazy person. But finally I called him to tell him how I felt. We were on the phone for about an hour, and right before he was going to have to go, I blurted out the most ridiculous middle school thing I could ever say at my age: "Do you like me as more than a friend?" I might as well have tagged a "check 'yes' or 'no'" at the end. There was a pause there after I asked. It felt like just about the longest pause in the world. Finally, he said he did! I couldn't have been more thrilled. Well, now that that was out of the way, what next? We ended our conversation. I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my chest! Now, what to do about this boyfriend? The next day (which was a Thursday, less than a week after I had gotten back from NC), I called Alyson and told her I was making a trip back down there, but I didn't know the details. She said ok. I called Kenny and asked what he had planned for the weekend. He said nothing, and I told him I was thinking of coming back down there, and he said that would be awesome. I told him I would of course need somewhere to stay Friday-Sunday. Not a problem. I called Alyson back, told her I need to stay at her house that night (Thursday), but after that I was off to Kenny's! I immediately packed my bags and was off! That was probably the single most spontaneous thing I have ever done.
The night I got down there while I was at Alyson's, I called Kevin to break up with him. I know, that sounds so bad, but I was so short on time and wasn't going to let my chance with Kenny pass up again. Kevin took it well at that time (not so much later), but that was that. I could now have the guy of my dreams! That weekend with Kenny was absolutely wonderful and was the official start of our relationship. To this day I remember that weekend very very well. We had only been officially together for a few days, but we were already absolutely in love with each other. I couldn't believe that I was actually dating this guy that I had a crush on as a sophomore! He always seemed out of reach until then. Unfortunately, those 3 days were the last days I would see him for 6 months... He was leaving on deployment on the 30th of July, and I was moving to Blacksburg. It was SO hard to say goodbye to him on Monday morning. And the following 6 months weren't any easier. I really think I was depressed the whole time he was gone. I cried nearly everyday, sometimes more than once. I was a chronic emailer since that was the easiest way to talk to him. I would set my emails to go to my phone, and because of the time difference, I would get up at 2 or 3 AM to email him if I got an alert on my phone. And if I didn't get an alert on my phone, I would wake up on my own at all hours of the night, afraid that I had missed something since sometimes the emails didn't go to my phone for some reason. I ran up a $500 cell phone bill during the one month that he was able to call me everyday. My dad wasn't so happy about that. I thought the time would go by more quickly seeing as I was starting at a new school and thought I'd be busy with schoolwork. I couldn't have been more off. I just could not wait until he got home.
Kenny finally returned from deployment on January 30, 2008. I was SO excited. I was more than ready to see him. I went with his family down to NC for their return. I made a welcome home sign and everything! It was so good to finally see him again and kiss and hug him! I had made arrangements with my professors at Tech and told them I would be missing about a week of classes. Everything worked out perfectly.
The next day, Kenny and I went out with his roommate's Peter and Meagan. When we got home, I took a shower, and when I got out, I went in Kenny's room, and he had spelled out on the bed with Hershey Kisses (with almonds!) "Marry Me!" with a heart, and had the ring sitting in the middle of the heart. Not only was it spelled with Kisses, but it was with exactly 182 of them-- that is how many days he was gone on deployment! It was so sweet. I can't say it was a complete surprise. We had talked about getting married the entire time he was gone and I knew he had gotten a ring, but I was still ecstatic nonetheless.
And that is our story! Whew!
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soon2bepayton said...