Four Years Ago Today: An Official First Date

I've lifted this entry from our wedding website to commemorate the fourth anniversary of our first real date.

I was joking with Ryan this morning that he freaked out a little bit when we started dating because things were moving a little fast (especially compared with the four years of ignoring the obvious signs that we were supposed to end up together). I mused that he must have been thinking at the time, "OH. MY. GOD. IF THINGS KEEP GOING THIS FAST, IN FOUR YEARS SHE'LL BE NEARLY READY TO DELIVER OUR FIRST CHILD!" And it's not the baby that was scaring him, it was the fact that he'd have to PAINT THE BABY'S ROOM.

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"How We Met ... Or, how to woo each other in four short years."

TORI: We met through friends in late summer 2001. We remained casual acquaintances until 2002, when Ryan asked me to the opera. (He had season tickets that year and was apparently inviting all the girls.) I got all dolled up, in an almost-floor-length black gown. But I kept telling myself it was not a "real date," especially since at that time I was 29 and he was 25. After the opera (which we both agree was terrible, unfortunately), I felt awkward, panicked, and jumped into the first available cab that I saw. The evening was made perfect when I ripped the hem of my dress on the way up to my apartment when I got home.
RYAN: I wanted to rip that dress, dammit!

TORI: Ryan shrugged and wrote it off, thinking I was a little weird.
RYAN: I also resolved never to pay for Tori's opera tickets again.

TORI: Despite my poor behavior at the end of that night, we remained friends. I accompanied Ryan to his company holiday dinners for the next two years.
RYAN: Tori was a great stunt date. My co-workers liked Tori more than they liked me. It was the only reason I was invited every year. In fact, I think she still goes to Christmas parties with those guys.

TORI: We spent many hours complaining to each other about our dating lives. I admit to periodically calling my friends and wondering out loud if I should date Ryan. Ryan is not yet forthright about his interest (or not) in me at this point in the story.
RYAN: Yeah, about that. You know how some people pick up subtle hints(tickets to the opera, the ballet, rides home that are waaaaay out of the way) and some people don't...
TORI: You kept telling me that you were interested in all these other girls...
RYAN: Jesus, what does it take? Should I have hit you over the head with a club and dragged you back to my cave?

TORI: At any rate, nothing really heated up till the end of 2004. That year, Ryan asked me to attend yet another company holiday dinner with him, and things just started to click. In January, Ryan took me to the movies on my birthday, and in a stealthy romantic gesture, brought the cake to my party the following weekend.
RYAN: Stealthy romance my ass, I just wanted to make sure the cake was good.

TORI: This whole time, neither of us was quite sure whether this was turning into a romance or was just an extension of our existing friendship. Through the grace of God, we took it a day at a time until clarity arrived....
RYAN: Webcam flirting is HOT!

TORI: .... which it did, on February 19, 2005, when we officially went on a date, to the annual Ignatia House dinner dance. We even shared a slow dance together, and later, our first kiss.
RYAN: The club, the cave...

TORI: The rest is history.
RYAN: Not all of the rest is history, I mean some of it is the present, cuz we are still together. And some of it is future, cuz we are making plans for then, and some of it is pluperfect....