August 02, 2013

Our Not-So-Ordinary Love Story Pt. 3


Ah! I can't believe we're already on part three of this five-part series on mine and Micah's love story! If you're just now jumping in, click here to get caught up: part one // part two. Last week I left you guys with a hefty cliff hanger carrying the news that Micah was now a single man. Yes, a four year relationship ended. Now, you'll look at the facts and think "whaaaat?!" but remember, the story ends well so hang in there. The next Monday, Micah returned to the church office from his birthday weekend and I of course knew that something happened with him and his girlfriend because, I mean, Facebook told me. But how do I bring this up to him without being nosey, pushy, "too-soon" or way out of line? After sitting in silence working on our computers on opposite sides of the office for about a solid hour, I turned my chair and said ever to subtly, "So I heard about you and your girlfriend." After a minute of no response, I turned my chair around & face-palmed myself. Then surprisingly he responded with, "Yeah, it's cool though. I'll be fine." I took the "I'll be fine" comment as he wasn't the one who ended it. Being a girl, you think of every possible scenario in the WORLD to try and figure out what the heck happened to this (what seemed to be) perfect relationship to cause it to end after four years!! I refrained from asking the million questions running through my head because I wanted to be sensitive to the fact that he may still be in pain from the break up. So instead I just told him that I was sorry and if he needed someone to talk to that I'm here for him. He gave me a few tiny details of what happened and shared how he was dealing with it all. I returned with normal advice about how girls think and told him everything will be okay. Nothing super deep; we just scraped the surface. Now, I would be lying if I said there wasn't a very, teensy, tiny part of me that was absolutely thrilled that Micah was now a single man, but I made sure to keep the "strictly friend wall" up if he ever asked for advice on the situation again.

Later that night I was sitting in the living room with my mom watching who knows what on the TV. It was probably Dancing With The Stars or something lame like that. It was our shared weakness. I grabbed my phone to check Facebook and realized I had a text message from Micah. I didn't receive many texts from Micah unless it was a "what time is bible study again?" or "are you with Dylan?" kinda text. So needless to say I was quite shocked and nervous to see what it said.

"Hey! Just wanted to thank you for listening to me today. It was legit to have a girls take on everything instead of just guys." 

We chatted back and forth a couple times and I reassured him that everything was going to be fine and that if he ever needed an ear that (yet again) I'd be there. Since that day, Micah had let the group know that him and his girlfriend were broken up for good. He told us that they didn't end things on a bad note and ultimately ended up being pretty neutral in the decision. He let us know that the year with him being in Australia and then returning to her being away at college was just hard on them as a couple. They had different groups of friends and were growing in separate directions. She was embarking on the exciting college life and just didn't feel that there was any chance of their paths connecting in the future anymore. 

The next few weeks were normal except Micah and I started growing a more friendly relationship towards each other. We'd joke around, he'd shoot me texts of random funny comments and we started talking on deeper levels. The first time Micah and I ever hung out alone was at a Waffle House. Yes, classy I know. We literally sat in that Waffle House for hours just talking about each others lives and telling crazy stories about our childhoods. Before that day, I never realized how much Micah and I had in common. I discovered we liked a lot of the same bands, that even though he didn't have any tattoos at the time that he really wanted some and that both our moms would get along really well considering the stories we'd tell about our families. Knowing it was so soon after the break up I was quite hesitant about mine and Micah's sudden friendly relationship becoming public. I didn't want to be the "rebound" girl and also didn't want to jump into anything too quickly so that he would have some time to be out of a relationship before thinking about getting into one with anyone else. 

Weeks passed and people started noticing that Micah and I were definitely acting like more than just friends. Obviously our whole group caught onto the act and were very iffy about it, because dating within a friend group is never a good thing, right? Micah and I had multiple discussions about our feelings for each other, about how fast they were growing and about how everyone else was reacting to those feelings. My mom reminded me to guard my heart and make sure to be wise about making the decision to grow such a close relationship with Micah. After all, she was there for the high school relationship when I was the rebound girl and kicked to the curb when the "rekindled love" for his ex came back. She's a brilliant woman. I reassured her that we were taking everything into consideration before taking steps further into whatever this was.

From the get go, Micah knew I was going to Australia at the end of the year and it came time that we had to address the matter. We beat around a lot of bushes and considered a lot of different options but at the end of the day we knew we didn't want to be apart. Micah always supported my decision to go to Hillsong and didn't want the deciding factor to be for me to stay and miss that opportunity. It was then when Micah spoke up and said, "You know... it wouldn't be that hard for me to go back with you". I looked at him with a "huh" kinda face and then realized he was being completely serious. Both of us knew that the "friendly relationship" we had was definitely not just friendly anymore. We really liked each other and knew that this was one big step into the rest of our future. Micah was coming to Australia with me and that meant one thing...


Stay tuned to see what happens next!!!!

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