Yours Truly:
I'd been home for about a week and a half and life was a bit insane. Cole and I had talked on the phone some and texted a bit (this seemed SUPER weird after being on a mission. I kept trying to tell my sister everything he was saying to me because it felt inappropriate to have a private conversation.) We planned to do something chill so we could get to know the non-missionary side of each other. I was really excited. I had been on several dates since I'd been home and they all were great guys, but Cole was one of the ones I was most excited about.
Cole:
Boy oh boy, I can honestly say that I was so excited all summer to finally go on a date with Annie. She wasn't really thinking about it because she was still on her mission, but I was so excited. A few weeks before she arrived home, I sent a message to Kevin and Michelle on Facebook discussing the best plan of action. Of course Kevin came up with something brilliant. It was a few days after she got home from her cabin, and I called the Tanner's home phone. As soon as Daken answered the phone, I said, "Does the goose fly at midnight?" and he responded, "Only in Nantuckett" At this moment, everyone in the home knew that I was calling. Daken gave the phone to Annie and we had a wonderful two hour conversation. It was so weird talking to her not as a missionary, but the conversation didn't feel awkward at all! We planned on going on a date the next Monday after I got home from Washington DC.
Yours Truly:
The day finally came and he came to my house to pick me up. It was so strange seeing him dressed in normal clothes and especially without a companion at his side. I couldn't help but notice that he was looking at me differently than he ever did while we were on our missions. Our first hug was a little weird because it was in front of my whole family, but not too bad. We went to cold stone first and had a great chat over ice cream. I think I said, "wow, this is weird" several times throughout the night.
Cole:
The day FINALLY came! Up to that point, I was SO excited. But then the dreaded drive up to Centerville was the longest drive of my entire life. My heart was pounding and I could feel myself breaking into a nervous sweat. My stomach began to turn and I felt a little bit queazy. I finally made it up to Centerville, but instead of going to the Tanner home, I went to Carls Jr. to use the restroom. I looked myself in the mirror, gave myself a little pep talk, and mustered up the courage to finally drive up. I said a little prayer in my heart and walked up to the front door, just to see Annie for the first time in regular human clothes looking as beautiful as ever. I was anticipating a really big hug straightaway and it would be the most magical thing in the world! But it wasn't. We kind of gave each other a little side hug and I was introduced to her lovely parents, ready to start a wonderful evening.
Yours Truly:
Then we went on a little hike/walk above the Bountiful temple. As we walked up the mountain he grabbed my hand. I was a little taken off guard. I hadn't been home very long and I wasn't sure how I felt about that, but I enjoyed it. When we got to the top we were having a great chat and we had such a good hug. Not awkward like our first. It made me feel all happy and excited inside. Hugging was something I really missed on my mission.
Cole:
We went to Cold Stone and had really naturally flowing, jovial conversation (which apparently she thought was awkward at first? what the?) But I could tell that she was happy, and I was having the time of my life. We drove up past the Bountiful Temple to enjoy the beautiful view. We got out of the car and began to walk up the hill behind the temple. For about two minutes, my heart was thumping and I just stared at her hand, then finally, yoink! I grabbed her hand! I was so proud of myself. Finally, when we got up the hill our magical hug finally happened. It was perfect! We hugged for probably an entire minute overlooking the sunset and Temple, pretty magical right?? I loved it.
Yours Truly:
Then we went to a park to go star gazing since we both love that. We were having a great chat and then we saw a shooting star. Immediately we both made a wish... to be honest I don't even remember what mine was, but then Cole was telling me to stand up. He got that look in his eye. Then he told me that kissing me was his wish and he kissed me. I remember him asking me if it was ok and I said yes. I didn't want to make it awkward. I liked him. I wanted to keep going on dates, but when I kiss I like it to mean that I am exclusively dating that person.
So fairly quickly I pulled away and explained that to him. He took it well. It lead to some great conversation. I liked him a lot after that date. I was very excited about what it could maybe bring. I wished we wouldn't have kissed, but it didn't scare me off. At all. And that's saying something for me because I normally would have run the other way. Especially, when I was so fresh off of my mission.
Cole:
Originally, I had never planned on kissing Annie our first date. I had been pressured jokingly by a few of my friends, but I really didn't plan on kissing her. We both expressed our love for star gazing, so we decided that would be a fun way to wrap up the night. We went to a park nearby her house and gazed at the stars. After a bit of time, I was feeling a righteous urge to kiss her, but I kept telling myself that it was too soon. As we were looking at the sky, however, God sent us a bright gleaming shooting star straight across the sky, which was a clear signal to me that I needed to kiss her. No witness until after the trial of your faith, right??? I told her to stand up, then I looked her in the eye and said, this is my wish, and I slowly went in and kissed her. Apparently, Annie thought that I ASKED her permission to kiss her??? Not my style. The kiss lasted probably about .8 seconds before she pulled away and while smiling said, "You punk! I don't kiss on the first date!" Ha. While feeling a little guilty and embarrassed inside, I was certain that she enjoyed it because of the way the night had already been going, even though she doesn't like to admit that. We established that we would only kiss when we were officially dating. We continued to talk and laugh and I felt strongly inside that Annie would be a great option for me to pursue.
