Part One: The First Time We Met

It wasn't love at first sight.

I was an 18-year-old freshman at the University of Michigan. That year I went on a spring break trip with Campus Crusade to Daytona Beach, FL and returned back to campus on a Sunday afternoon. As the bus was pulling into Ann Arbor, I started asking around to find out if anyone had dinner plans. The dorms weren't open yet so we'd be on our own. A few of us who lived close to each other decided to do the classic college thing and order a couple pizzas when we got back to school.

There was this guy, Matt Boeve, that I'd met on the trip who I really didn't care for. As I remember, he was pretty arrogant when I played cards with him on the bus ride down to Florida. But I knew he lived in a nearby dorm and thought I'd be nice and invite him to join us.

Little did I know Boeve lived down the hall from a very cute guy who he'd end up inviting along to eat pizza with us.

Josh had just returned from a spring break trip, too - skiing with his parents. He has never been one to pass up pizza, and readily agreed to head down to South Quad (my dorm) with Boeve to meet me, and some others for some Cottage Inn.

I remember thinking that Boeve's friend Josh was both funny and attractive. I was a teeny bit intrigued by him, but it wasn't anything major. Just the huh... the new guy is cute feeling - the kind I'd felt a number of times when meeting attractive single guys. Josh remembers that I had short hair and wore a striped sweater. Nothing earth-shattering.

It would be awhile before we started dating. Like a year-and-a-half. It seemed like a looooong time, to 18-year-old me. I'm not a patient person, and my crush developed pretty quickly.

Soon after spring break, we started hanging out in groups of friends. I'd often eat dinner with that same Cottage Inn Pizza group. Josh's dorm was notorious for terrible food, so he and Boeve headed to South Quad many evenings for something decent. We were both involved in "Cru" on campus, and our two groups of friends started to mesh. Boeve started to grow on me, and we became friends pretty quickly too.

I admit, I'd sometimes ditch my girlfriends (sorry DeeDee, Jess, Jamie, & Becky) for video games (the shoot 'em up type) with Josh and the "East Quad boys." Not my proudest moments. But I liked being with him. He was funny, articulate, and generous, and we always had great conversations. We hit it off as friends right away.

But he wasn't interested in me in that way. Sigh.

Patrick, Me, Carrie, Boeve, Josh - headed to the Counting Crows concert.

Summer passed, where we saw each other a few times (always in groups) and IM'ed a bit in the evenings. Sophomore year started, and we found ourselves living on the same side of campus again. Our group of friends grew closer, and we enjoyed frequent barn dances, parties, and movie nights all year. We even had a puzzle streak going there for awhile. He and our other friend, Carrie, made me a birthday cake that fall. Ten of us or so went on a ski trip in Northern Michigan that winter. All the while, my feelings were growing.

His were not.

Out for lunch for my birthday: Matt Roe, Carrie, Me Boeve, Josh

Ski Trip to Boyne Mountain: Erin, Me, DeeDee

Random cookie baking at Josh's house


Things continued on this way for awhile, with frequent card games, group dinners, and football games. But then things started to get really interesting when Carrie confessed to me that she, too, had feelings for Josh.

To be continued...