Romance in the Burbs: Our One Year Anniversary

October 29, 2011 marks my one year anniversary with Ian. I had known him for a good two years before we started dating since we mix with the same circle.

He was already in a long-term relationship. I was already in a doomed relationship, but in a relationship, nonetheless.

I used to sneak looks at him and wonder if he was good to his mother. He noticed me because I was loud, wild, and devilish with this particular group, despite my normally reserved personality.

Anthropologists, man. They throw the best parties. 

Then the doomed relationship guy shattered my heart. Then Ian and his long-term girlfriend broke up.

Ian and I bumped into each other a few times during the summer of 2010, when we were both single. I went to his Fourth of July party. He was strikingly good-looking, and I was so self-conscious, I could barely look at him.

At a birthday party in September 2010, he and I briefly escaped to Papa John's and bought a pizza together.

He scoped things out. I babbled incoherently. I still couldn't bring myself to make eye-contact with him.

In October 2010, mutual friends pulled a few strings and performed some match-making.

Ian and I started hanging out. I started making eye-contact: One small step for man; one giant leap for mankind.

We hung out amongst other friends, but we zeroed in on each other pretty hard. By that time, we were both babbling incoherently.

"I like dinosaurs!"

"I like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!"

"I like Fievel Mousekewitz!"

"Oh my god, so do I!"

"I had the Fievel stuffed animal. I cut his hat off and tried to wear it."

"OH MY GOD, SO DID I!"

"It didn't work, so my mom sewed it back to his head."

"So did my mom!"

"I like Brontosauruses best!"

"I like Triceratops!"

"I LIKE CAKE!"

Clearly, our relationship was built on a firm foundation of communication, maturity and wisdom.

One night, I tagged along with Ian and his friends when they went roller skating. Throughout all of this, I would text my friends furiously:

Laura: "What does one wear when roller skating?"

Friend: "A pillow on your ass?"

Laura: "No, seriously."

Friend: "Honestly, you're going roller skating with your crush. It sounds like a deleted scene from Napoleon Dynamite."

The night after we roller skated, Ian sent me a Facebook message, asking me out to a movie. I promptly called my friends:

Laura: "SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAL!"

Friends: "SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEAL!"

On October 29, Ian picked me up at 6:00 pm and took me to a drive-in movie about a boy who falls in love with a vampire:

Ian: "That kid looks like Hilary Swank."

Laura: "Maybe it is. Hilary Swank's very versatile."

Ian: "IT IS HILARY SWANK!"

After the movie, we went back to Ian's house and played with Transformers and Ninja Turtle action figures.

Laura: "I loved Ninja Turtles as a child. My favorite was Michelangelo. My mom once came home with brand new Ninja Turtle action figures: Raphael for my brother and April O'Neil for me. I cried and cried. I never got a turtle."

Ian: "You can have my Michelangelo."

Laura: "Awww."

We sat next to each other on the couch, occasionally working up enough nerve to brush shoulders.

Pretty hot.

We sat politely on the couch until 5:30am, when Ian drove me back to my apartment. Our night ended at 6:00am, after a 12 hour date. We've been inseparable ever since.

All photos of Laura and Ian by Ren Buford