So this is Life??

The Beginning?

It's kinda hard to tell a story that has no beginning. Quinton and I have no concrete beginning. I don't remember the day that I fell in love with him, or the day that he became my boyfriend officially. All I know is that I walked into the summer of 2004 with a broken heart and I walked out with a boyfriend-type male figure in my life.
I've known Quinton for a very long time. It wasn't a love-at-first-sight kind of thing for either of us. In fact, I can remmeber my very first impression of him. I was cleaning up the department and he walked in with my then-supervisor, Jenn. She introduced him and I turned around and said hi. I remember thinking, "Hm, there's a new guy in the department." That's it. The thought took about a fraction of a second and I went on about my day. We;ve had this conversation about first impressions before. Quinton thought I was cute but young. He didn't believe it when people told him that I was a sophmore in college. (mini-update: I'm a senior now. Not graduating until December, but that's okay.) At any rate, it's kind of funny to think of how we would react had someone told us back then that we would be together. I could just imagine the looks on both of our faces.
Quinton was on his grind, working three jobs and not hardly thinking about being in a romantic relationship with anybody. I was in a relationship with Stephan! Funny how things seem to work themselves out.
Quinton was a wolf in sheep's clothing. What I mean by that is, I had always considered him to be a friend. Our first date was in July of 2003. He took me to see Bad Boys 2. And I didn't even consider it a date. Cause Quinton wasn't on that level. He was a friend, a really good friend. I would talk to him and tell him all, and I do mean ALL, about my boy-man troubles and he would just listen and give me advice. When I started my junior year in college, I was involved in a situation with a guy named Eisley. Long Story Short: I got played and my heart got broken. Through it all, Quinton was there (by phone) to listen to me, and talk to me. I didn't think anything about him until Thanksgiving break 2003. We were at his apartment, watching the first 2 Matrix movies before heading to the theater to see the final one. There we were, on his couch, close and cuddly under the covers when I thought, "Hey, it feels kinda nice to be close to him like this." That was as far as my thoughts went though. I came back from Thanksgiving Break and made a huge mistake: I lost my virginity to Eisley. That sent me into a complete tailspin. Yet, through it all, I could always count on one thing. No matter what happened, every sunday night my phone is gonna ring and Quinton would be the one calling. It felt good to have that in spite of everything that I was going through.
Winter Break 03-04. I'm trying to establish something concrete with Eisley and it isn't working out. By the end of the break I'm just fed up. I'm over at Quinton's apartment and he kissed me. I'm completely caught off guard by this kiss. But when he goes for it again, i don't stop him. I just ran with the feeling and we were intimate for the first time that night. I thought that this would make things weird between us. Like, now that Quinton finally got what I thought he wanted the most, we would probably drift apart. But the exact opposite happened. I began to see Quinton in a whole new light. And the things that Eisley did that used to bother me didn't seem so bad anymore, I could always look forward to my Sunday Night Conversation.
Be that as it may, Eisley did some very hurtful things behind my back. I had a premonition about everything. Something deep within kept telling me that he was being foul. But I got the confirmation right before the Summer of 2004. Literally 1 day before I came home for the summer, all of his shady deeds were brought to light. And it was a harsh reality to face. It hurt to know for sure that he had been disrespecting me, lying to me, and playing me for the fool. I was happy to go home. Just to get away from the foolishness, and run straight into Quinton's open arms.
Now, things between me and Quinton weren't (and still aren't) perfect. I had some insecurities after dealing with bad situations and bad relationships. Quinton and I had a good thing going, but you know what they say. If it's too good to be true......... At one point that summer, my high-school sweetheart asked me out on a date and I was going to say no. BUt Quinton said that I should go. That kinda bothered me. I went and the date was terrible. Not because the HS sweetheart was terrible, but because he wasn't Quinton. I came home that night and called Quinton up just to curse him out about convincing me to go on the date. Cause I for damn sure wouldn't have wanted him to go on a date with his high school sweetheart. He just said that he wanted me to enjoy myself and go out and have fun. He didn't know that it would upset me as much as it did and if he had known, he would have been vehemently against it. He made it up to me the next day.
During that summer, we met each other's parents. Quinton had met my mom before but he finally got the chance to meet my dad. My dad seemed pretty cool with him. I met his parents at his friend's barbeque. And his mother was the sweetest woman I had ever met in my life. I was so nervous getting out of the car that for about 5 minutes I couldn't move from the front lawn. One woudl have thought I was a misplaced mannequin. Completely frozen in fear, only to be melted in 5 seconds flat by his mother's warm greetings.
The end of the summer brought about some conflicts. I told Quinton that I loved him and he didn't say anything back. Of course, my reaction to this nonresponse was slow. Initially, I was just glad that I had gotten everything off of my chest. But when I stopped to think about how he didn't say anything back to me, I got angry. I confront him and all I received back was this air of indifference. It takes about 15-20 minutes to get from his apartment to my house, but that night it seemed like hours. We rode in complete silence until we were around the corner from my house. Finally, he stops the car, looks me dead in my face and says that he heard me loud and clear. He didn't say anything back to me cause he figured his actions could speak louder than his words ever could. He wasn't dating anyone else but me and he wasn't going to date anyone else but me. He liked what we had together. He understood that me saying how I felt put me in a vulnerable position. However, as far as he was concerned, he had been feeling this way about me for a long time and was glad that I was finally catching up. He starts the car again and continues to drive until we reach my house. We say our goodbyes after a long kiss goodnight and part. Another little conflict was the fact that a mutual friend of ours also liked Quinton. His feelings weren't mutual and she understood that, but she felt hurt that we tried to hide our blooming relationship from her. She still speaks to me but I don't think she talks to Quinton anymore.
Bringing us to Fall 2004 semester. I'm off-campus in an apartment with my friend officially and he boyfriend unofficially. Quinton came down twice to visit me for the weekend. The first time, we broke my headboard. Nuff said. The second time, we play things much more low key. Eisley and Quinton met the first time he came down so for a while Eisley was sniffing around me like he still had a chance. But clearly that ship has sailed and sunk. This winter break, Quinton received some very troubling news and that was a little hard to deal with. Someone very close to him was diagnosed with cancer and that shook him up something terrible. I just played my position and let him know that I was there for him if he ever needed me. We spent New Year's Eve together and I spend the night in his apartment, much to the chagrin of my father, who didn't speak to me for two weeks.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, brings us up to the present. I'm graduating in December. Life at the apartment is getting a little shaky but more on that later. And since I moved off campus and got a cell phone with an actual rate plan, Quinton and I talk alot more often. Well, stay tuned cause that's only a synopsis of what's been going on and I'm sure there is plenty more things in store.................