In September 2002, I was about to begin a new

adventure studying abroad in Seville, Spain.

There I was surrounded by tons of strangers during our breakfast and series of orientations videos and lectures about our new surroundings and culture.  Luckily, I made a new friend on the flight, Kathleen now one of my bridesmaids, and had someone to chat with.  During these informal lectures there was always some guy in the back of the room cracking jokes and laughing out loud.   Naturally, I turned and looked around the room to see who it was.  After scanning the room a few times I figured out who it was.  First thought: “Woah he’s really really cute and so funny!”  Kathleen on the other hand was not nearly as amused, I guess his good looks didn’t seem to have the same effect on her.  So, naturally I mirrored her “that guy is so annoying” look.

Eventually, we all left the Al-Andaluz hotel and went to live with our respective señoras and their families.  One night, a large group of us met up with a Ana, a Sevillana guide who was going to take us out on the town.  We all sat and filled up the steps to the Ayuntamiento in La Plaza Nueva.  Somehow, that really cute guy wearing a Carolina blue T-shirt ended up at the bottom of the steps, now his stage, telling everyone jokes.  I was cracking up, but as usual I looked to Kathleen next to me who gave me that “really?” look.  So, I quickly realized, I was acting like a school girl, “oh boy I think I have a crush on him!!!!”

That night, we went dancing at Catedral and I got to see that cute guy again, he was laughing having a blast and not to mention he knew how to dance.  And if anyone knows me, they know I LOVE to dance.  As time went by I found myself constantly looking around to see if I saw Dave, in school, passing me by on the street, in a coffee shop.  I couldn’t help it; there was something about him.

I remember one day it happened.  I was wearing my favorite floral dress and sunglasses (of course I always made sure I looked my best in case this moment arrived).  As I was walking out of our Spanish class, there he was walking straight toward me.  We smiled and passed each other by.  Although I only saw him for about 3 seconds, I remembered everything about that moment.  Again, I was like a school girl blushing and nervous just because he passed me by.  This is silly!  But after that, I wanted nothing more than to see him again, maybe even talk to him.  I didn’t think he knew my name!  Did he think I was pretty?

When it came to nightlife in Sevilla, there was always something to do.  Usually I would meet Kathleen for dinner.  But on Wednesdays there was another thought in the back of my mind.  I love to go dancing and I think I’m pretty good at it, plus the one place I knew where Dave would be that night was Catedral.  Naturally, I made sure I looked extra good and made my way to the club.  After a few Wednesdays, I let Dave dance with me, he’d been asking for a while, and of course I was a lady and rejected him.  I wanted him to know I was a challenge and not like some of those other girls!  Truth be told, I was too nervous to dance with him.  Mostly because I had a crush on him and if he’s a good dancer and I’m a good dancer…well sparks were going to fly.  And they did.

For about 2 months, we hung out with a bunch of our friends and went to clubs, hung out at school, at the café across the street from the university and our friend Ana’s house.  Dave and I started to really get to know each other and had long conversations about art, music, what we wanted to do with our lives.  We never hesitated to act silly or goof around and of course we always laughed a lot.  Everyone saw there was something between us but we were not about to start something that we couldn’t continue when we moved back to the states.

One day, our study abroad group organized an excursion to Granada, Dave and I also went.  By this time, my friends, particularly Kathleen, had heard me talk about Dave incessantly and how I felt about him.  During our tours of the gorgeous Alhambra Dave and I would sneak glances at each other and find ways just to be next to each other.  That night we all went to a bar, but my feelings were weighing heavy on my mind, Dave even asked me if I was ok.  Later that night, we walked to our hotel and we were that last 2 people awake and stalling to say goodbye to each other.  We sat on a bench in our hotel lobby and I decided to confess how I felt.  I took a deep breath and told Dave “I like you, I mean, I have feelings for you.  I think I have a crush on you.”  To my amazement, Dave confessed he felt the same way about me.  But, we decided that now was just not the right time.  After all we would be going back to the US in about 6 weeks.  So we agreed that it was a relief and we could just be friends like we were.  Great!  The next day on the bus ride back to Sevilla I sat directly in front of Dave.  At one point I put my hand over the top of my seat, Dave reached up and held my hand.  We didn’t let go until we got to Sevilla.

A few days later a bunch of us went to Ana’s house to watch a scary movie.  Of course, I sat next to Dave.  It was cold and we had a throw blanket over our legs.  Somehow by the end of the movie, Dave and I were holding hands under the blanket.  To this day I have no idea what that movie was about!  That night Dave walked me home, but this time we couldn’t say goodbye.  We talked for hours and after much contemplation and resistance we kissed!  We stayed on the steps of my building talking, embracing, and kissing until the sun came up and we had to be on a bus for another excursion in an hour.  I had never been so happy!  So, it was official Dave and I were together, all our friends were happy and we were beaming!  Unfortunately, the day came when we had to say goodbye.  A few friends and I went to the bus station to see Dave off.  I was absolutely heart broken to see him leave.  For years, I thought that was the last time I would ever see him again.

Dave and I spoke on the phone every once and a while for about a year after we got back to the states, but neither of us made the move to visit the other.  Eventually we decided that we each had to move on with our lives.  Over the years, I never forgot what Dave and I had, I always wondered, was it real.  I missed him and how much fun we had together.  About 8 years later, I was applying to medical school and decided to Google Dave and see what he was up to.  Was he married, single, what was his occupation?  After many failed attempts at remembering how to spell his last name, I found him!  It was a Twitter account.  I clicked on the link and there it was, his profile picture….my heart raced a mile a minute! He was gorgeous!!!!   I couldn’t believe it!  So, as logic would have it, I opened a Twitter account and started to follow him.  That very same day he messaged me, I was freaking out! Running around like a teenager calling my friend Lisa asking what I should say to him!  Dave told me that he and Thomas were still friends and my name had come up in a recent conversation.  I couldn’t believe it, “Did he still think about me like I thought about him???”  A few days later I got an email from Dave.  In it he told me everything I had ever wanted to hear.  He confessed that he knew that what we had in Sevilla was real, and he did love me.  He included his phone number at the end, so I called him immediately.  My hands were literally shaking.  When I heard his voice for the first time in 7 years I almost cried.  It was a voice I loved, and one that I longed to hear for so long.  We started talking almost every day about the past, the present and the future.  I told him that I was interviewing for medical school and there was a chance that I would be in DC.  As luck would have it, the next week I was scheduled to be in DC.  I told Dave and we couldn’t believe that we were going to see each other again after so long.

It was a cold winter day when I waited for Dave to meet me at the bus station.  When he drove up to me, he got out of the car and hugged me.  It was at that exact moment in his arms that I felt our love for each other.  After all these years, it was never gone, it was always right there.  We went to dinner at Il Tiramisu and it felt like no time had passed.  After great food and conversation Dave reached his hand across the table and I held his hand.  From that moment, we knew we were going to be together and this time nothing would separate us.