Book of Romance Begins

I met Timothy in October 2001. I was 19 years old. Up until then, I had never had an official boyfriend apart from the occasional date.

We met one night at a friend's birthday braai at Magnolia Dell, Pretoria. We shared an instant connection. Timothy told me that he had learnt from previous experience that he should not rush into a relationship. He suggested that if one still liked a person after knowing them for three months, then they should begin dating. I liked this a lot as I was in the process of reading Joshua Harris' book, 'I kissed Dating goodbye' and i subscribed to the philosophy of taking it slow - very slow!

But then Timothy asked me out two weeks later! I was slightly dissappointed. What happened to getting to know one another for 3 months? Yes, we liked each other but he was going back on what he said. So, i said no. But he didn;t give up! He kept courting me but I remained strict. He was allowed to kiss me on the cheek when I presented him with his birthday present but otherwise our relationship was strictly platonic. Holding hands is what dating couples do and we were not officially dating but we still longed to be in contact with each other, so we would actually semi-lean against one antoher while walking in the shops! We laughed about it and leaned even more. Luckily for me, Timothy did not give up easily! We kept visiting, meeting each other's families and e-mailing.  We actually coined a new phrase: 'special friends'. I know, sweet enough to make one sick!  But I was determined to wait the alotted 3 months before making it official and allowing the physical aspect of a relationship to commence.

Tim spoilt me and took me out on many dates including a trip to the State Theatre to watch my brother perform in a musical. Then on the 8th December we went to sing Christmans carols at Phemba stadium. There as we were crossing the busy street, he asked me out again. I didn't answer immediately. I wanted to think some more. It had only been 6 weeks since we had met. What about the three month time table? But perhaps if I said no again, I'd lose him. I really did like him and felt ready to make it official. As we were singing carols by the light of our candles, I decided it would be romantic to tell him yes! He was elated! As we walked back to the car, he said that as we were offically boyfriend and girlfriend, I would probably not mind if he held my hand? I said it would be okay and when we held hands, it was like electricity passed between us. Tim told me that studies have shown that there are thousands of nerve endings in the hand and that its sad how many couples skip the hand-holding phase of a relationship. They miss out on the electrifying sensations that he was feeling at that moment.

That night, on my porch, he asked to kiss me and I leaned in for my first kiss. It was a peck on my very tight lips! We were both sorely dissappointed. But a few minutes later, he said bye and kissed me again and this time my lips were softer, however sealed.

This blog is an exact replica of the journal I kept beginning of January 15th 2002. I wrote about our dates, my thoughts, our experiences. I hoped then that I would one day publish it. And here I am! I was surprised to see that most of this journal was written in English. But then, when Timothy met me, my first language was English. Now, however, our home language is Afrikaans. But, the blog is a word for word copy of what I wrote in my very own Book of Romance.

On our way to the Theatre. November 2001