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I had admired an aquaintance of ours for several years without really thinking too much of it. Throughout the time I had known her, one of us was generally dating somebody else, and so we never really took the time to become familiar with each other. I was always aware of how attractive she was, but I'll admit that I was always tangled in one or two other ordeals involving other females. Originally, I had never really imagined that she and I would have much of anything in common. There she stood, this pretty, brunette girl with dark eyes and a really cute disposition. Back then, I was even more overweight than I am now and having a pretty extensive identity crisis. I was convinced that it was my place to be this black and silver symbol of heavy metal without the makeup or gothic edge. I was still stuck in a flurry of complications with a different girl, and while I also felt stupid for even taking Emily into account, I also felt rather guilty. I had only seen her at a few friendly get-togethers between our group, and at that time she had been dating a friend of mine for quite some time. We'd flirt occasionally. At that time she was, and still is, subject to a phobia of being stared at. So, being a teenage boy, it was my job to stare at her whenever the opportunity arose. It was my stupid way of letting her know that she was on my mind, and that I remembered things about her. This continued without yielding any results for well over a year, before our groups began to seperate and she and I lost any contact with one another. In the time that we were consistently apart she did often cross my mind, but I figured there wasn't really any point in dwelling on it. Months had passed since I had seen her last at one of Matt's parties. I had heard that they had finally broken up after a lot of doubt and debate over what to do and what not to do. I was a little hopeful that maybe, at some point, I'd be able to see her again and create a good enough impression that she'd think of me as something more than just an aquaintance or a friend. It would literally be over a year, maybe even two years, before I'd see Emily again.



A mutual friend whom I've already mentioned invited many of us for a hosted party at a local recreational center only a few miles outside of my own neighborhood. I knew the event would be rather expansive, as we would literally have this place to ourselves. Upon arrival with a couple of my closest friends, I recognized many familiar faces and was introduced to many people that I wasn't aquainted with. There was a large, typical looking gym full of sports equipment and suited with the usual bleachers, scoreboard and assorted chains and pulleys. I saw many people I knew throwing dodgeballs to and fro, or sliding by at high speeds on those flat-top four-wheel scooters usually seen in a P.E. class. After several minutes of wandering about and talking to random friends who popped in and out of the room, I stumbled into Emily as I searched for food and/or drink. It had been quite a long time since I had seen her, and the only time I had heard anyone talking about her was from a friend of mine, also named Rob. He had been interested in her for quite some time, but nothing had transpired from it. She looked fairly different from how I remembered her. Her hair was much longer, a ways past her shoulders, and she also seemed to be a bit taller than I had imagined. But she was just as pretty as I had recalled. She still had that same cute smile, as well as that sweet, enthusiastic laugh. We talked for a little while and shared a few stories. It had been a while since we had last spoken. Throughout the night, we conversed on and off and continuously made eye-contact from across the room. She would sit on the bleachers amongst friends, while I made a fool out of myself on the gym floor with Rob, John and Joe. Eventually we settled on to the bleachers ourselves and began a long discussion about World of Warcraft (otherwise known as World of Whatever), the game that completely dominated our lives at that point in time. It was an eventful night, one that would lead to so much more than I had ever imagined.



After we all said our goodbyes, I felt a little sad. I was happy that I had seen Emily for the first time in years, but nothing had actually resulted from it. That night, Rob and John and I ended up staying out rather late into the night. We drove around the area and caused some harmless mayhem, eventually ending up at my house. Just a few days later, a mutual friend named Michelle happened to instant message me. We talked of the party and what had occured afterwards, when I brought up how long it had been since I had seen Emily. I confessed my interest in her somewhat apprehensively, still completely aware of Rob's feelings for her. Michelle offered me Emily's screen name, saying that sadly, she hardly ever signed on. I was eager to talk to Emily in a more personal sense, but made sure not to get my hopes up about anything. Finally, she ended up signing on one day while I browsed online aimlessly. I did my best to not act too excited, but I sort of doubt that I had it well. She responded, and we talked about the party and how it had been so long between the two of us. We updated each other on our lives over the past few years and ended up talking for quite a while. Eventually, she had to leave, and we said goodbye to one-another. It was nice to be talking with her again, but I was doing my best to avoid making my feelings for her too obvious. Mostly for Rob's sake, but also because I didn't exactly believe that my interest in her would be returned.



One faithful night, I was out with a group of friends on our way to Newport on Levee. We had plans to meet another group there. Do some shopping, see a movie, the usual. Rob was driving with Brian in the passenger seat, while John, BB and I sat in back. I had heard something about Emily getting a new boyfriend, but I kind of shrugged it off, thinking that it was just a rumor. Sadly, though, Rob and I were both informed that Emily had met Brandon Huegal at Matt's party and was now dating him. I was working with Brandon at that time and had known him since Freshmen year, but I wouldn't have exactly called us "friends". He was an extended part of the gamer group and came to the parties here or there, but never really seemed very well liked by more than a few people who had known him for quite some time. I was a little taken back, Brandon just didn't seem like the kind of guy Emily would be interested in. But again, what did I know? To be honest, I had no idea what Emily was really like deep inside. I just knew that she was kind and attractive, while Brandon was fairly off-beat and kind of awkward. Who was I to pass judgement on such a situation?



At this point, I was getting a bit aggitated. What I was feeling for Emily was becoming more and more pronounced, and I was having a hard time suppressing it. It seemed to be the worst possible time, as one of my best friends had been pursuing her for a while now and another aquaintance of mine was currently dating her. Even though my interest in Emily became more obvious each time we spoke, all I could do was distract myself and ignore what I was feeling. We ended up seeing each other fairly often. At one of Brian's parties, Emily and Brandon showed up together and actually ended up apart for most of the night. Emily and I talked and sort of subtly flirted (after complimenting my shorts, she told me she might strip me out of them), and overall it was still nice to be around her. Brandon acted rather awkwardly. For a lot of the night, he sat near me towards the back of the room. I stupidly like to pronounce my discomfort by positioning myself away from other people at a social event, and I suppose Brandon had the same habit. They eventually left together, leaving me to wonder with a guilty conscious just how well their relationship was going. I can't recally exactly if it was some time before or after Brian's party, but I eventually had my own basement shindig. No particular occasion, just to have a little fun. I had told a fair amount of people about it, mixing several different groups and hoping that everyone would have a good time. Towards the beginning of the night, Emily called me. She said that she had been told about my party and was wondering if she could attend. Of course, I said yes. Unfortunately, this also meant that Brandon would be coming along, but I was fine with that as long as I was able to be around Emily. It was a pretty typical event. Emily's gaze met mine off and on, but we actually stayed apart for much of the night. I was feeling awkward around her, and felt as if I made my feelings too apparent, it would cause trouble for her or make her uncomfortable. There were other occasions where she and I came across one-another. Once after school while she waited for Brandon, I happened upon her while searching for John's parents. We also encountered each other in different groups while at Newport, though not much was really said. Little by little, I was losing hope. I hadn't heard much about the condition of Emily and Brandon's relationship, but they had been together for well over a month. It didn't seem likely that they would suddenly break apart. But, as much as I had hoped and as little as I expected, I was eventually told that Emily had broken up with Brandon. I wasn't sure why and I didn't fucking care, I was ready to throw all my cards on the table and see whether or not she felt anything like I did.



But wait, let's think for a second. I couldn't get too excited, Rob still had feelings for Emily and was thinking of doing the same thing I was. He had told me about this a long time ago, I couldn't just rush in and try to steal her from him. For all I knew, Emily was really into Rob and entirely indifferent towards me. So once more, I was forced to slink back into the shadows and pretend to be uninterested. I encouraged Rob, we all did. We wanted him to be happy and to do as he wished. Eventually, my curiosity got the best of me, and I ended up asking Emily what she thought of Rob to speed up the process. In the end, Rob's feelings were unrequited, as Emily didn't exactly see him in the same light. I felt sorry for Rob and didn't exactly want to tell him, but I also felt kind of angry with myself for seeing this as a new opportunity. Though I was quickly losing my patience, I allowed that situation to follow through. As I had imagined originally, nothing really happened between the two, and at a certain point, I couldn't really stand to act as if I didn't have my eye on Emily as well. It wasn't a very loyal thing of me to do, but I finally figured that if Rob wasn't going to make any kind of move, no matter the outcome, then I was going to step forward.



One faithful day, Emily happened to sign on. I spoke to her as warmly as I  could in order to make her feel comfortable. In the midst of our conversation, she told that she would be leaving for vacation very soon. This made me sad, though I was happy that she was able to go somewhere nice for a little while. To my surprise, she actually suggested that we get together once she returned from her excursion. I happily agreed, and waited patiently for her to return. I had already started my new job, and beginning at nine in the morning and continuing until two in the afternoon, that kept me occupied for most of that week. I was generally sleeping when not at work, so I wasn't exactly doing too much. I was excited, and anticipated her return. I had made sure to sign on the Sunday that she was scheduled home, and sure enough, there she was. The date was set. Though I do somewhat remember the two of us planning to get together on Tuesday because I wouldn't be working, I seem to recall myself worrying that I'd be late meeting Emily because I wasn't being let out of work on time.  After I returned and was able to get ready, we'd planned get something to eat and then relax somewhere. I was frantic to get myself ready after work had finally ended. I ran for my life to get home on time, nearly running a few redlights if I remember correctly. Once I had gotten home, I washed up and made sure to look and smell as sweetly as someone like me possibly could. I was dressed (to impress?) and was ready to see what would come of this meeting. After calling me to confirm our plans, she eventually arrived.



She looked great. She had developed a really nice tan, and was showing off her rather attractive legs for the first time around me. I had a hard time keeping my eyes off of her, but was also self-consciously looking away most of the time when our eyes would meet. We got into the Bronco, which sadly had no air conditioning, and were on our way. We talked of her vacation on the way around town before eventually deciding on Steak and Shake for lunch. I paid for the both of us, and after getting through the drive-through, we thought that it'd be fun to head to a park for a picnic. I suggested Story Woods, since it was always particularly peaceful and not too overwhelming. Once more, we were on our way towards Delhi, right near my old neighborhood. Upon arrival, we sat at the wooden tables and ate our fastfood over talk of friends, parties, past school experiences, vacations and anything else that happened to cross our mind. Afterwards, we ended up taking a long, heated walk around the longest path through the woods. The summer weather was punishing us, so we decided that it might be best to start driving elsewhere with the windows wide open. We were having an extremely hard time deciding where to go or what to do. After literally sliding by my street at a rate of ten miles per hour while leaving the decision up to Emily, I eventually thought we may as well just spend the rest of the day at my house.



We pulled ourselves from the humid mess that was the front seat of the Bronco, and sauntered inside. The cool air was refreshing, and after showing Emily the basics of the Ventre household, we ended up in the basement. After seeing our pool, the wide open basement, the pool table and the leather chair, she was more or less convinced that my family was rich. We sat seperately, her in the chair with me on the couch, and ended up in a kind of withdrawn silence while watching assorted cartoons and comedy shows. We got to kind of playfully arguing back and forth. I did my best to coax her into sitting with me on the couch. She stayed in her spot for the most part, saying that the leather chair made her feel rich, but eventually sat next to me on the large couch towards the corner of the room. In order to sort of test the waters, so to speak, I casually laid my head in her lap and waited for her reaction. For a few seconds, she remained perfectly still. I became worried and was about to pick my head up and leave her be, when I felt her fingertips run along my scalp. I felt that cozy, warm sensation overtake me, and I allowed myself to relax and lean against her. After this continued for a little while, I asked her if she wanted to lay down with me. I figured that if she said yes, then there wouldn't be too many questions to ask. To my joy and relief, she laid down and leaned against me without much hesitation whatsoever. I wrapped my arms around her as she snuggled up against me, and for quite some time we lay there comfortably, watching stand up comedy on television. I remember kissing Emily on the cheek here or there. I didn't want to rush her into anything, but couldn't help the urge to kiss her. Finally, I placed one finger under her chin and gently turned her to face me. And in an instant, our lips met. It was a great feeling, I'd never be able to deny how complete things felt right at the moment. Everything came together quite nicely, and there we were, kissing without much concern for anything else. There wasn't really any need to go through the standard cycle. When we locked lips, the question "will you go out with me?" was asked and answered in silence.



And now it's been just about six months between the two of us. In the time we've been together, there were a few obstacles to overcome in order to be together and stay strong. I asked Rob how he felt about the situation, and he promised me that Emily and I were safe to stay together without him getting upset or being thrown off track. We're pretty honest with each other. There really hasn't been anything I've kept from Emily so far, I've never really seen any reason to. I do what I can to make her happy, and she does the same for me. She's as sweet as can be and while we're quite a lot more alike then I had originally thought, I enjoy our differences and take advantage of the opportunity to introduce her to new things while she returns the favor.



I'm not writing this to really declare anything. I want to let Emily know that I am in love her, though I pretty much tell her daily, and that she has been on my mind for a time before we ended up together. Happy Sixth Month Anniversary, Babe. I love you so much, and I hope that you feel the same way.