At the beginning of 2010 I found myself single and ready to meet new friends and have some fun. I developed a great friendship with a friend from school. Emily and I knew from the first day of paralegal school we were going to be friends. We just knew! We planned every class together and tied for top of each class with our straight A grades. A teacher once pulled us aside and told us we belonged in law school, that we would be bored as paralegals. It wasn't just her intelligence that drew me to her. She was fun! Emily and I referred to ourselves as "double trouble". We found ourselves going out late, grabbing drinks after class, and having bonfires in my parent's backyard. But perhaps there is such a thing as "too much fun." I began to realize we were sitting right on top that fence.
Perhaps that is why that after having a drink with a friend I'd known from grade school on March 5, 2010, I pursued a relationship with him. Jesse was pretty much the opposite of me. He loved being at home and worked very early in the morning so never went out late. This was a good thing! I enjoyed sitting at home and watching TV. Most of the time. From time to time I'd get calls from friends asking if we wanted to join them for pool or dinner. But that wasn't really our style. I missed my friends. We didn't even go out for dinner much; I just cooked at his house. I loved that he had a good job and owned his home so I didn't complain that we spent all our time there and never went out for fun. It was what I thought I needed to settle down. Perhaps it was...
Jesse's friends came over pretty often. And then we'd all sit and watch TV together. So it wasn't a surprise when he told me on April 8, 2010 that his friend Casey was coming over for dinner and to spend the night before a day in SF with his family for the Giant's home opening game of the 2010 season. Casey was planning to move to Florida and had a TV he was selling to Jesse. I cooked dinner and then after some time spent in front of the TV, asked if the boys wanted to go play pool. Jesse made a joke about me "always bugging him to go out" but told Casey he was free to go hang out with me. Casey happened to love pool, so we drove to Cue N Brew in Martinez. We paid for games by the hour and ordered drink after drink after drink. Hours went by. I didn't win a single game. Then Casey started beating me with one hand, and taking shots on the 8 ball while looking at me. Who was this show off?! We really talked about everything, and he told me that if he were ever to marry again, it'd be to someone like me. I told him to knock it off, since he was Jesse's friend. As he used the restroom before the end of the night, I snuck my credit card to the waitress. I didn't want it to feel like a real date (even though it already did), so I decided he couldn't pay for any of my drinks. Had I known the size of our tab I probably would have insisted he pay!
The next day I called my Mom and talked to her about how I felt about Casey. He was moving to Florida and I was dating his friend. It was absurd to even consider something more, but I couldn't let it go. The night before we had talked about going to a Warriors game. We'd both said we wanted to get to one soon, and only a couple of days went by before Jesse asked me if I wanted to go to a game with Casey; he was going to be back in town. I said yes! Jesse drove us to BART and dropped us off. When we arrived at the game a huge rainbow was over the walkway from BART to the stadium. It was beautiful. Had it even been raining? We then realized we had both been under the impression the other one had tickets. We lucked out and found tickets only a few rows off the court, from a man who had two extra and was happy to sell them for really cheap. It felt like lightening inside of my body when our knees bumped into one another throughout the game. Was I leaning toward him in hopes my shoulder would brush his? Yes, I was. As we rode BART home, the train was packed and we were pressed close to one another (and a ton of other hot, sweaty people). But for me, it was only Casey and me on the train. And I tried to ignore how I felt but just couldn't imagine going home yet. I didn't want the night to end, so we called my friend Sara and she picked us up and we all went to CJ's Saloon. It's a total dive bar but the owner is great and we always have fun.
April 16th is when Casey and I officially started dating. It sounds crazy but he told me he loved me that night as we fell asleep. (I told him he sounded crazy!) I had broken up with Jesse after not even knowing Casey a week, but I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. My friends said they couldn't believe I'd met someone who was exactly like me. They all saw it right away also. We weren't the only ones falling in love. Within a short time after we began dating we had been to the Warriors game, an A's game, a Giant's game, and out with friends so many times. I was singing karaoke with my friends and I met his friends as we played pool at their local bars and went to festivals like Petaluma's Butter and Eggs Day. I met his family and loved them. My friends and family loved Casey, and they loved the person I was as I spent more time with him. I loved that person too. I met my best friend on April 8, 2010, and we BOTH JUST KNEW.
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