His Side of The Story [Part 1]

So, guess what ya'll! Jared agreed to write up his side of our little love story (and is okay with me posting it).

So here's Part 1 of his version of how things happened [Some light editing, and one or two comments have been added by me :p]...

Boy meets girl, girl meets boy.

Ok, most of you know I am a writer, by hobby, and I'll be honest this isn't my type of writing. I typically write Lord of the Rings style fantasy, complex stories with in-depth plots and developed characters. I am not much a journal writer mostly because it bores me, and I never know what to write. I've tried, several times but I've never quite been able to get into it. However because of popular demand, and the fact that Kaylynne has taken time to write her half of the story, I feel obligated to oblige. (And it would be a shame if our "cat" named posterity didn't have it for its reference.) [<<< Inside/Facebook joke]

The first time I heard of Kaylynne was probably the winter of 2010. At least I think, it could have been 2009, but I think it was 2010. My sister, Rebekah, mentioned her during one of our near weekly hang-outs. I can't remember exactly what she told me about her, but it did intrigue me. Rebekah quickly shook her head and replied, "She's not your type." (Sorry kid, that's just how I remember it.)

Honestly, Rebekah should have known better then to dangle a carrot in front of my nose and then say, "Nope, you can't have it." I pestered her off and on, for I don't know how long before one evening she and I were leaving Glenwood for an evening of fun. We walked past Kaylynne's door and I pestered Rebekah again. She was nice enough to afford a knock on the door.

Now, before I tell what happens next I should back up and mention that Rebekah had told me some of the things that Kaylynne was facing with her relationships at the time. Me being the older brother that I am, had always given my sister relationship advice when it comes to guys. I came up with the "Guy Rules." The first rule was date guys with simple motives, and stay away from guys who appear complex. This lead to the use of the phrase "KISS" or Keep It Simple Stupid, a well-known acronym that Rebekah was kind enough to relay to Kaylynne previous to this.

Now back to the knock. The knock on the door was simple enough. (We are simple people. Nothing fancy or complex.) Kaylynne opened the door. My sister was kind enough to introduce me as the brother who said, "Keep It Simple Stupid." This actually was a little bit unsettling for me; at the time I would never have said something like that to Kaylynne to her face. My sister was not as reserved. The meeting was short, and I don't remember all the details except that it was an uncomfortable meeting for me. This isn't surprising, as most times I prefer to meet people in a far more casual session where I can meet them slowly, and on my terms. Rebekah and I went on our way and enjoyed the rest of the evening.

My sister and I spent a lot of time together. By that fact alone, I got to know a lot of her roommates and friends pretty well. Kaylynne was among those friends. Kaylynne by nature of being Kaylynne, caught my attention several times. The times I was able to talk with her I found to be enjoyable. We became friends on Facebook and went back and forth, on each other’s statuses. [Here I can't help but wonder if by "Kaylynne by nature of being Kaylynne" he actually means..."Kaylynne by nature of always being the loudest one in the room..." lol]

I finally decided to ask her on a date. Well kinda, I was hanging out with my sister, and asked my sister if Kaylynne would like to come. Kaylynne was unavailable for some reason or another. I, not knowing at the time she was Lactose intolerant, decided to get her ice cream anyway. When Rebekah and I got home from the evening of fun I came up with a card, worked up a bit of a mathematical equation and then ding, dong ditched the ice cream and card. Apparently I spelt her name wrong, and found out later she wasn't so good at math, and not knowing until recently she was lactose intolerant, by all accounts that should have been a failure. My sister being the, sweet young lady that she is, followed up and helped Kaylynne with the math. I got a text later that week confirming the date.

The so-called equation he wrote for me ...I still don't get it :p

This was in September of 2010. We went out and got Jamba Juice. We talked about a lot of things. Computers, in particular came to mind. I was impressed by her ability to talk about just about anything and maintain a conversation. She also had a good sense of humor. The date went well by all accounts. However our first "DTR" was not in January [2012]. It was in September [2010]. On our way back she asked me, "So are you interested in me or are you just appeasing your sister?"

Honestly I was dumbstruck. I wasn't expecting it, kind of like I wasn't expecting it in January. It was frank, straight forward, and I kind of liked it. No pussy footing around, wondering if she liked me, or if I was rubbing off as a complete idiot. Problem was, I wasn't even sure how to answer. My response was something along the lines of, "I don't date because my sister wants me to, I date because I want to." In my defense it was the truth. I just had a hard time with this whole dating thing, still do, but it’s gotten much easier as I've gotten older. [It wasn't a satisfying answer to hear...but thats what happens when you ambush a guy! :p]

Honestly I don't know why I didn't ask her on a follow up date. Again, it wasn't because I didn't like her or wasn't interested in her. I don't think my mind was focused on the whole dating thing. That's about the only excuse that I can think of. (It's a poor one I know.) All wasn't lost. I took her out shooting [4 months later]. Yes, this is the infamous [truck shooting] incident ya'll are thinking about.

In her defense it was a mistake anyone can make. There is a line that extends from the center of the bore aptly named the bore line. There is also a line that extends through the cross hairs of the scope to the target called the scope line. Those two lines are not parallel but intersect at a distance. The scope line is about two inches higher than the bore line. Now, at the time I used my truck as a bench rest and shot across the bed at targets. Previous to firing rifles, we had done a bit of skeet shooting. There were unbroken skeet scattered about, so as I set up for shooting rifles I had Kaylynne go ahead and clean up the skeet with a .22lr rifle with a scope mounted.

Honestly I am very safety conscience when it comes to shooting, probably because my mom threatened that I'd shoot my eye out for all those years when I was a kid. It never crossed my mind that there'd be an issue. [I just don't think he realized just how short I am and how high his truck was - I had to be on my tip-toes :p] Well, there were few "cracks" then a "Crack" followed by a, "Ping!" and then an immediate, "I'm so sorry!". There was a bullet imbedded in the opposing bed rail of my truck. No harm done, so I was honestly not mad at all. To this day, I enjoyed bragging that my girlfriend shot my truck.

What had happened was that she saw skeet on the ground that could be seen clearly through the scope. However she did not realize that the barrel was pointed at the truck. She pulled the trigger and the rest is history. Like I said it was not something that even irritated me. I knew that everyone who she told about shooting my truck wouldn't let her forget it. Now things went well, we went to Cabela's and had a bite to eat, talked some more and the date ended there.

She pointed out that I'm a bit of a jerk when it comes to our prior dating. We went on a date, that went well, and then we'd flirt back and forth on Face book, for months on end until our next meeting. This was a mistake on my part; at the time I was in a different a mindset and expectations have since changed. Now I am sure you want to know all the fun things that's happen in the last few months, to get us where we are today. However I have to end it here as class is nearly over and I have yet to figure out how to post this to my blog. So I'll post the second half soon.

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So! That's his side of the story so far...it's lucky he's smart and his classes aren't too complicated for him (otherwise I'd be worried about the fact that he wasn't paying attention! :P) - It'll be interesting to read Part 2! :)