you had me at hello.

sept. 1 2011
kaitlyn's house.
chalk party.

i saw him from a distance. i'd met him before but didn't make the connection.
he looked like a different person.

not the skinny boy with braces and long hair i'd met before who stood awkwardly in the corner.

this one was tall, medium broad shoulders, short brown hair, great teeth, and those bright blue eyes that caught mine a few seconds after i saw him.

"hey kait," i said, "who's that kid in the corner, in the mountain view jacket?" her eyes followed my gaze as i nodded my head in his direction.
"him? the tall one? that's nate. remember, you met him last year?"

my head reeled. yes, i remembered. but the nate of last year was definitely not the same nate i was looking at right now.

i've always prided myself in being good at talking to boys, so i walked over to where he was standing. i notice the little things. he's slouching slightly, hands in the pockets of his basketball shorts. work socks and dark blue running shoes. green tshirt under a mountain view high school jacket.

i was almost there.

i adjusted my shirt, my favorite cream and brown polka dot top. my hair was natural and wavy, pulled up into a ponytail with one end flung carelessly over my shoulder. i knew i looked good; i'd planned it because i'd invited spencer and jesse- two step brothers that went to my high school- and i wanted to impress.

i touched his upper arm to get his attention. he was talking to jake and landon, his boys.
"hey, you're nate, right?" i asked with my best smile.
"yeah, thats me. and you're um, uh..." his eyes look up and he's trying frantically to remember my name.
"..its jessica," i supplied.
"right, jessica. i've met you before."

we started a conversation easily. he's fun, i thought.
and cute.

the group's topic turned to byu football.
"byu? really guys?" i said. "utah state's where its at!"
i turned to glance at nate.
his jaw was hanging open at me.
"what?" i asked self consciously.
"i love utah state!" he exclaimed. "both my brothers have gone there and i want to too!"
"no way? that's where i'm planning on going to college!" i replied.
"sweet," he said while running his fingers thru his hair. "we can be friends when we go!"

by this time, it was 11 and i needed to be getting home.
&i honestly thought i'd never see him again.
i said goodbye to everyone and turned to walk through the door.

"hey jess wait a sec," he called after me. "gimme your number! we should do something sometime."
my heart started to beat a little faster as we exchanged information.
he gave me a one armed hug and i walked out to my silver audi.

a few minutes later i see a new message on my phone:

"hey jess, its nate :)"