boyfriends. part 4 {dash} 2. {the hottest guy ever}

This is part 4-2 of 4-2.
[which was previously just 4}
of my mini love chronicles.
My love stories.

The hottest guy ever!

{part 2 of 2}

{where were we?}

Jake had just kissed me for the first time.

{and I was so so excited about it!}

That night I barely slept.

I couldn't get my brain to shut down.

I was making plans.

{the long term kind}

I was also in complete shock.

{that Jake Willis would possibly actually like me!}

{and he said he was going to call me tomorrow...which by the time on the clock was actually today}

{squeal!!}

I couldn't put my finger on it, but he was different.

He made me feel unlike any other guy I had ever dated.

{and this was after only 4 dates}

{plus countless phone conversations and random social meetings}

I couldn't wrap my head around how amazing our future could be... together.

{if this was only the beginning}

I smiled laying in my bed until the sun came up.

{and then I began the wait for him to call}

I waited all day.

{literally all day}

I brought my cell everywhere with me.

{on the treadmill, into the tanning bed}

{everywhere}

He didn't call.

Panic set in.

What if he was regretting everything?

What if he decided he liked the other girlfriend more?

What if I was a bad kisser, and he never wanted to kiss me again?

{oh the possibilities!}

At 8:30pm he called.

{he told me he was trying to act cool and wait all day}

{not cool}

We talked for hours.

{and hours}

and I went to sleep smiling again.

{I could get used to this}

{and we made plans to watch general conference together the next day}

He came to pick me up so we could head to the stake center.

{I go weak at the knees for a guy in church clothes}

{especially this guy}

We sat and watched conference.

{intermixed with hand holding and whispering back and forth}

Between sessions, he officially met my parents.

My dad made Jake a roast sandwich.

{with an entire roast}

{the sandwich was truly 7 inches thick}

{with enough mustard to turn him yellow}

Jake ate the entire thing.

{as he was grilled and watched by my parents the entire time}

Jake told them about his mission.

{and his love for it was apparent}

He spoke spanish with my dad.

He told them about his business, school, and future plans.

He told them about the house he had just bought.

and about his family.

{it was my parents turn to have the "holy cow, is this guy real?" look}

{and this time my dad wouldn't stop smiling}

I didn't know how Jake had the ability to handle all of this so well.

{but I was more than impressed}

That was the first time I kissed a guy in front of my parents.

{on purpose}

And I had no problems with it.

{I don't think they did either}

After another conference session

{with Lexi with us}

He brought me to see his house.

It was torn up.

{like totally demolished inside}

Jake told me about his plans and all he was doing to it.

I could see some of his amazing vision.

{and I pictured myself living there}

We saw each other and/or talked for hours every day that week.

Our conversations got deeper and more familiar.

He and I seemed like old friends...with definite romantic sparks.

I could tell things were moving quickly.

The next Sunday was Easter.

{I figured I wouldn't get to see him since it was a family day, but he wanted to see me too.}

{and I wouldn't say no to that}

He met my enormous family.

He heard the loud talking and laughing.

He watched little kids...and adults wrestle.

{Thanks Damon}

He got asked 1000 questions and teased by all.

{He handled it all in stride}

We went for a walk around the neighborhood...alone.

{so we could hear each other talk}

He only had positive things to say about the night.

{Once again there was no scaring him}

{I knew he was a keeper}

The following week was no different than the week before.

{except he broke up with his old girlfriend}

he had forgotten all about her... until she called to ask about his whereabouts.

{oops}

{he told her he had a new girlfriend}

{that was me}

And I was thrilled to hear him refer to me as his girlfriend.

{since in my mind I already was}

After one of my night classes, at about 10:30, he called me.

{he was somber}

He told me he wanted to talk.

{I told him to meet me at my parents house}

{and my mind raced the entire drive home}

As I pulled up, he was sitting on the porch swing in a white shirt, slacks and a tie.

{at 10:30}

I was getting more nervous by the second.

Jake explained that he had been in the temple for many hours that day.

{and he had been specifically praying about us}

and he had gotten an answer.

During his service, he had been told to "marry Jenni".

He told me he wasn't going to rush anything and he didn't want to scare me, but he needed to me to know where he was in this.

{all in}

I had a huge smile on my face.

That wasn't scary.

{at all}

He told me he loved me for the first time.

{and I reciprocated}

and then I kissed him hard.

The next  few days are a blur,

I got my wisdom teeth out.

{so it really was a pain meds induced blur}

My mom tells me how Jake was over visiting me for hours.

{and swinging Mikey on the swing set }

{and watching patiently as Lexi told him about Ebony, our dog}

{And I still couldn't find anything wrong with him}

I begged him to take me somewhere.

{I needed to leave the couch}

So he drove me to his house.

{and I re-met his little sister}

{wearing my p.j's, bed head, and a mouth full of bloody gauze}

{added to incoherent sentences}

{not my finest moment}

When I had sobered up from the meds, {and combed my hair} i officially met his entire family .

{and laughed with his sister about my earlier "hot mess"}

{and hopefully made a better impression than the previous night}

They were kind and welcoming.

{could it really be this easy?}

Jake and I were spending every available moment together.

Because I had classes from 7 am until 10:30pm

{with work in-between}

{and Jake had work at 4 am}

Jake lost a lot of sleep so we could see each other.

{but neither of us were willing to not see each other}

For one of my final projects I had to go to a jazz concert at Tempe Town Lake.

{of course I brought Jake with me}

It was crowded.

{it was loud}

{and it wasn't exactly my type of music...or his}

So I put in my required time, and we got out of there. 

We drove to the roof of the airport.

{and watched airplanes land and take off}

{and we talked about where we would go if we could go anywhere}

The weather was incredible.

The wind was blowing gently.

Things were truly perfect.

So I told Jake, "I wish we had a video camera right now."

"I want to put this exact moment on our wedding video."

My filter kicked in a little too late.

{i had never said anything to him about marriage out loud before}

He calmly responded,

"Good, I was planning on being in your wedding video."

{that was the proposal}

Although everything was going so well, 

I knew I wanted to make sure sure I was making the right eternal decision.

{since that's important}

{So I began fasting and praying about Jake and I}

I got my answer quickly.

There were no fireworks, no miraculous happenings, just a peaceful, calm feeling that this was the Lords plan.

{and mine}

Jake went to my parents and asked their permission to marry me.

{they said yes}

I wrote a "dear John".

We both told our friends or exciting news.

And announced it to our families.

And we set a wedding date.

{for 5 months away}

{that seemed like 5 years}

{skip forward 5 months}

{of continued awesomeness}

Our wedding day was everything any girl would dream of.

I made the entrance in my dress.

{up the stairs from the basement}

He gave me an even better "look of awe" than I had imagined.

And we drove to the Mesa, Az temple to be sealed FOREVER.

{he compared me to Captain Crunch Berries before we walked into the sealing room}

{seriously}

I felt like the luckiest girl in the world.

{and I was}

{and I am}

This story could go on for pages.

I could tell about our honeymoon in Cancun.

I could tell about setting up our new house.

{which was now complete}

I could tell about years of complete marital bliss.

{and being better friends than we ever could imagine}

{and having 5 darling children}

{since all of those things are the real love story}

But, this love story never ends.

{just the way it should be}