the roommate didn't come that day. turns out he was taking a final for an independent study course (what a smart boy--jumping ahead on his education!). later that day, however, we met. aaron says his thoughts were "that is the girl you had lunch with!" i don't remember my initial thoughts.
it didn't take long for me to start developing my crush. in fact, i was the one that had to figure out an inconspicuous way to get his phone number. a bunch of us went to a dance before school started. aaron asked me to dance. he was wearing a sweat band on his head. another day--somehow still before school actually started--we slid down the hill infront of the library in the rain with miles and another unknown girl (seriously, none of us could remember who she was).
from there, things moved pretty slow. we hung out a lot, became really good friends, hiked Y-mountain on my birthday, "borrowed" aaron's brother's car a lot to go on very informal dates, and stayed up really late together.
it wasn't until november that he told me he wanted to date me. that didn't really mean much, because we didn't really date in the first place. a week later, he screamed out loud in the middle of helaman halls that he wanted to kiss me. that's when things really took off.
my analytical self, however, was thinking ahead to the future. aaron was going to go on a 2-year mission, and he would leave in the summer. there is all sorts of advice and stories you hear about girls and missionaries. i didn't really want to be in the stereotype of a heart-broken girl waiting for her missionary. so, i broke up with him. he was pretty confused, considering i was the one sobbing.
but we couldn't stay apart. at least, i couldn't stand him avoiding me at all costs. so after i had a heart-to-heart with our other good friend, ryan king, i forced aaron to talk to me. he was pretty difficult at first, but the night ended with us holding hands.
i don't really remember how or when we started dating again, but it was a million times better after our little separation. summer came, and all we did was play and play. he would drive down to provo from his parents house in his zippy sports car and we would go off and do fun things.
our final goodbye was pretty surreal. no tears, no mush, just goodbye--like we were sure we'd see each other again.
2 years of letters and e-mails is pretty rough. i told him he wasn't allowed to say anything like "i love you" while he was gone, but i came to learn that that was really all i wanted to hear. he sneaked it in a few times, and that's what kept me holding on.
then aaron came home. we met under a lamppost outside my grandparents house. we went for a walk and had lots to talk about--catching up on the last two years. we saw each other pretty much everyday after that, though things were pretty awkward. he was trying to acclamate to american living again, not to mention being with his entire family and future wife all the time.
a week after he got back, he kissed me as we sat on a park bench. a little while later, i kept trying to make him tell me he loved me, but i was the one that had to be the first to say it. we talked about getting married on a rock above bridal viel falls, where we talked about being married before he left on his mission.
then we got engaged.
we were engaged for 2 months before we were sealed in the oquirrh mountain temple.
the rest is blog history.
