"Ever After"

Let me preface this story with the fact that I have been in a very fantastical and whimsical kind of mood. I have not had my beginning of the year dose of being able to read my one romance novel of the year. Someone suggested I write a story and this is what came of it:


Once upon a time, in a land far, far away... there lived...

Ok BACK to reality. A girl is raised on fairytales of sweet love and "happy ever after" endings, but lives in the real world of teasing, ruthless flirting and unromantic awkward moments. As the years pass a young girls dream's about having a prince charming sweep her off her feet start to fade into a cynical, "I'd be happy if he even held the door open for me," kind 0f attitude. Sometimes you hear of the rare event of a man sweeping one of my friends off her feet. I keep waiting for the moment when he drops her, sometimes it happens, sometimes it really is a "and they lived happily ever after!"

Now my experiences with dating have made me conclude that "happily ever after" is not meant for me. Chivalry is not even something I think men even posses, well the single men, or should I say boys, I date. THANK GOODNESS that all was about to change...

Let me start from the beginning. I happened to have my profile on Ringo. I was about to delete it when I realized everyone I had, as friends, were family or close relatives. They all didn't know how to create a page on Myspace or Facebook so I decided to keep it as a way to contact me. No longer than a week later and this guy sent me a message. I kept trying to get him to talk... to write longer than 3 or 4 sentences and was getting nowhere fast. I was frustrated and about to blow him off when I said, "to hell with it, some people just aren't talkers. At least he is answering my questions." I finally asked him if he had any instant messenger service, hoping he was a bit more of a talker, because he seemed like a truly interesting individual, he was working in Iraq for heaven's sake (and not as part of the military either.)

It’s funny how certain people start to enter your life at various key points. I had just recently been talking with a sorority sister about an old dream of mine to be part of the military. My parents talked me out of it in high school and I have regretted it ever since. She told me it was never too late to join. That got me thinking. Now I have a guy talking to me about how he joined the military, how much he loved being part of the Army and since he is a Veteran, he decided to get a job as a civilian helping out over in Iraq. He supported me in my choice to start looking into joining the military and that alone meant a lot to me. I keep saying how I wish I could find at least ONE person who gets me, well I was thinking I might be on the path to finding that person and that thought made me beyond excited. I loved to hear his stories, and he became the highlight of every morning at work. The time would fly by when I would be able to talk to him while working. At night if I talked to him before going to bed, I would fall asleep with a smile on my face. Him and I kept saying how wonderful it would be to meet one day... and that day finally arrived! I finally got to meet this inspirational and supportive person who got me! Oooh the nervousness and butterflies that sat in my stomach.

I wasn't expecting much, thinking maybe just your typical dinner and perhaps a movie. Wasn't sure what I was going to do with him for an entire weekend! Well he had something quite a bit different in mind. He pulled up to my house on his kick ass motorcycle! My jaw dropped because the bike was more beautiful than any of the pictures and the man upon the bike was more regal and more powerful looking than any picture he sent me. It was amazing how fast my heart was pounding and how shy I suddenly became. He stepped off his bike and immediately leaned in for the best kiss I have had in my short dating life. I felt like I was going to melt but his strong arms kept me upright as he left his sweet taste on my lips. His bright eyes shown as I looked into them in amazement and wonder. How did I get here? I wanted this moment to last forever.

When I was finally able to stand upright without fearing I would fall down I took him inside to set his things down. It was already past dinnertime and so we decided to grab something to eat. He took me for my first motorcycle ride and I have never felt such thrill as the wind whipped all around us on this unusually warm evening for the early spring time.

The conversation during dinner was light and full of joy. Many smiles were exchanged and and we laughed while telling stories from our past. We were thoroughly enjoying each others company. No one else existed but this man, this very wise, hardened and yet delicate man sitting across from me.

After dinner, we wanted to enjoy a night on the town. I got ready for the night out and we were ready to go enjoy ourselves. We went to this underground, whole in the wall looking type bar that I absolutely love in downtown. They usually have various types of live music listen to or dance to. Its very small and not many people know of its existence. They have the BEST Gadiva chocolate martinis ever made. We continued to talk as if we were simply friends who have not seen each other in ages. The band played in the background, as we got lost in our conversation. The band started to play some slow songs and many couples were taking advantage of this. We soon were on our feet dancing the night away. It made me think of the Cinderella story, dancing the night away with her prince charming. All I needed were glass slippers and I would be my own version of a Cinderella story (just not as much drama.) As the night wound down, we walked around a bit and enjoyed the warm breezes blowing through town. Not much was said, just the joy of the other person's physical presence being felt. It was nice to feel his hand in mine, his lips on mine as we exchanged the many kisses we promised each other throughout the months of talking. All too soon the alarm woke me up for another day at the office.