I remember the first time I laid eyes on my husband, Kyle - he annoyed me so much! We were in the chorus room of our high school, me a freshman and him a senior. He was surrounded by girls, all giggling at him while they put makeup on him. I remember rolling my eyes and thinking he was one of “those” boys - boys who will do anything for attention. I wasn’t wrong, but I was harsh in my prejudgement of his personality.
Kyle and I officially met that same year, just a few months later in our high school musical. His best friend, whose younger brother I was dating at the time, introduced us. I fell victim to his wiles almost immediately. Kyle was (is) a very hard person not to love, and I remember being charmed by him on the spot. Equally so, Kyle recounts being smitten with me in that moment, too.
We became friends, hung out with the same friend groups, and spent time together in chorus class and during our musical’s rehearsals that year. I remember always getting excited whenever Kyle was around. Not just from the rush of a small crush, but because he always brightened up the room whenever he entered it. It was intoxicating to be around - and to be honest, it still is.
At the end of the year, our school’s marching band and chorus students took a joint trip to Disney World. Kyle was in the band, and I was in chorus. My then boyfriend and his older brother were also in chorus, and I ended up spending the majority of my time with them and their friends, of whom Kyle is a part. That summer trip still is one of my fondest memories, and it was then that I first realized that I’d developed feelings for Kyle. Feelings that I shamefully flirted with whenever he was around. And I did it the only way 15-year-old me knew how: I made fun of him. A lot. He played along though, doing it right back at me. Adolescent Brianna was in teenage flirtation nirvana, haha.
It wasn’t until my sophomore year, though, that things really started kindling. My freshman boyfriend and I had ended, and I was looking for a date to the homecoming dance. I was asked by someone at school, and went with him. However, Kyle - a freshman in college now - was asked by a mutual friend to go with her. I remember being at the dance and seeing him, not knowing he’d be there, and feeling extra excited to see him. My date wasn’t too much of a dancer (by way of not wanting to dance at all), and I was very much wanting to dance. So, I dragged Kyle onto the dance floor (I can’t remember what song was playing now, but if I had to guess, it was probably Lil Jon and the East Side Boyz’s “Get Low”, or another crowd favorite of the early millennium).
I don’t remember how long we’d been out there, but apparently it had been long enough to create a talking point amongst our friends, as my best friend danced over to me and whispered in my ear something about people wondering if we were seeing each other. I found it funny, but also confusing - I was a very naïve teenager. In my head, I just remember having fun with my friend, dancing the night away since my date didn’t want to. It wasn’t until a slower song came on that I really noticed what everyone else had been whispering about. I’d stopped dancing, assuming we were going to leave the dance floor for some food or water, but Kyle grabbed my hand and kept me on the floor. We danced through whatever song it was - I suspect the music could have been not playing at all, and I wouldn’t have even noticed - and at the end of it, Kyle kissed me.
In the movies, that would have been the end of the story. We kiss and then happy ending. But we were 16 and 19, though, and so of course it didn’t end like that. Kyle was a freshman in college and had no real desire to start dating anyone. I, of course, had fallen hard. For the remainder of the school year, we saw each other off and on as what I think I referred to as “friends with benefits”...meaning we made out as often as possible. It wasn’t until the summer before my junior year that we finally pinned each other down and decided to see each other exclusively. On Aug 2nd, 2004, we started officially dating. On Christmas in 2006, we were engaged, and on Aug 2nd, 2008, we married, and that was all she wrote. Kyle and I have been together for twelve years as of me writing this, and haven’t managed to kill each other yet. And, honestly that’s a real accomplishment!
~ Written by Brianna Allen
Note: This love story is part of on ongoing curation in a series called Love Stories that details how couples met and their advice on how to create a long and happy marriage. Want to tell your love story and be a featured Love Story on Happy Little Vows? We'd love to hear it! Check out our HLV Instructions for more details.
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