My Best Friends Fell in Love - Part 2 💌
Part 2 is here! Time to get in your feels this week as things ramp up between Aidan and Grace.
Thanks for being here to read part 2 of Aidan and Grace’s nonfiction love story! If you missed it, click here to read part 1 first. 🩷
Quick Housekeeping This Week:
This is week 2 out of 5 in the serial sharing of Aidan and Grace’s nonfiction love story!
IMPORTANT: There will be pieces from the original story missing from my Substack serial publication. This is to maintain the privacy of my friends. I only post content written for my clients if they have pre-approved the publication. I will not be sharing any moments or information that my clients are uncomfortable sharing with the public, so please bear with me as I replace some sections with brief summaries. I have also changed some names to maintain privacy for characters who are not my clients.
I offer personalized nonfiction love stories as a service. This is how I make my living! If you’re interested in having a special memory, collection of events, or full love story immortalized in your very own printed book, don’t hesitate to save your spot on my project-for-hire list or schedule a free consultation with me here to ask any questions that you may have. (P.S. I’ve also discovered that a story like this makes for the coolest surprise gift for a loved one!)
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Thanks for reading my housekeeping notes this week. Here’s part 2!
The Love Story of Aidan and Grace - Part Two
Early November 2019
Aidan soon determined he wasn’t waiting any longer to ask Grace out.
One night, the pair went to a late-night breakfast-for-dinner meal at Penland Dining Hall. They sat at a high-top table and chatted over waffles for a while, Aidan trying to gauge whether he’d have any success if he asked Grace out on an actual date.
Grace leaned towards him when she spoke, tendrils of her dirty blonde hair framing her face where they’d come loose from her ponytail. The little curls were mesmerizing, but Aidan was more entranced by her deep blue eyes. Grace had a joyful, carefreeness about her that was contagious; her smile was warm and natural, her words comforting. As a somewhat anxious person, Aidan was often plagued by obsessive thinking and nervousness. Grace was the polar opposite; she was the fountain of optimism that he needed in his life.
On the walk back to Memorial Hall, Aidan’s heart pounded. He had decided he was going to ask Grace out when he dropped her off at her dorm.
Should she say yes, he wondered where he might offer to take her for the date, but the excitement of that possibility was quickly eclipsed by the fear of rejection.
What if she says no? He thought anxiously.
Aidan forced the thought out of his mind as he and Grace made their way along the darkened path. They occasionally stepped into patches of luminance from the lights above until, finally, they approached the dormitory.
The pair climbed the steps to the front door. Reaching the patio, Aidan knew this was his chance. He took a deep breath.
“Grace,” he said. She turned to face him, her small frame silhouetted by the porch lights.
The look on her face was expectant.
“Would you like to go on a date with me?” The words felt as if they came from someone else’s mouth, but it was certainly his voice who’d spoken them.
Grace peered up at Aidan, a smile spreading across her face. She wrapped her arms around his neck in a warm embrace.
“Yes,” she said. “I would.”
November 16, 2019
Aidan and Grace were blessed with beautiful weather for their first date. The Texan fall was in full force, a soft breeze rushing through the trees as Grace made her way across the Memorial Hall patio and down the sidewalk to Aidan’s car.
Grace was nervous. She’d never been on a date before. She’d borrowed one of Emma’s shirts and tried to do something cute with her hair. She didn’t want to make a huge deal out of the date, but this was significant. Your first ever date isn’t something you forget.
Aidan was a little nervous, too; but in his mind, this was ‘game time.’ This date was his opportunity; this date was his chance to get the girl he liked interested in sticking around.
Grace got in the car and Aidan took off for Cameron Park. Cameron was Waco’s biggest park, 416 acres complete with walking paths, benches, swing sets, a riverwalk - everything a park goer could ask for. In fact, the place even had its own zoo.
The pair rumbled under the I-35 bridge parallel to Baylor, the car bouncing over the countless potholes of Waco’s unending construction project. As they headed through downtown, Grace peered out the open window, enjoying the wind blowing in her hair and the comfort she felt around Aidan. The date had just begun, but she already felt relaxed and safe.
Aidan drove around the winding roads of Cameron, the sunlight and colorful leaves dancing overhead. He pulled into a parking area with a trailhead leading into the woods.
The two got out of the car, Grace watching confusedly as Aidan tugged his backpack from the back seat. He slung it over his shoulder and headed for the path with Grace close on his heels.
They chatted for a while as they circled along the trail. The forest smelled of autumn, a concoction created by rustling branches, falling leaves, and crisp air. Aidan and Grace eventually found themselves at Lover’s Leap, an area of the park that boasted covered picnic tables overlooking a baseball pavilion. Aidan and Grace sat at one of the wooden tables, peering out over the expansive sea of orange, brown, and yellow hues.
Aidan rested his backpack on the bench beside him. Unzipping it, he pulled out a bag of goldfish. Grace began to laugh as he reached back in and this time tugged out an entire loaf of bread and brand new jars of peanut butter and jelly. His third big reveal was a butter knife for making PB&Js on the spot.
Grace grinned. Instead of making the sandwiches ahead of time, Aidan had brought all the ingredients so they could prepare them together. It was dorky, but it was pretty darn cute, too.
Aidan caught Grace’s grin. He pushed up his glasses and tried to hide the smile playing on his lips.
They made their sandwiches while Aidan internally panicked about how long the date should go on. He was unsure of how much time Grace wanted to spend with him. While he was having a great time, he didn’t want to cut the date too short or drag it on too long and unintentionally send the wrong message to Grace. He just wanted her to be comfortable.
Aidan chose to ignore his worries and focus on Grace instead. The rest of the date was wonderful; they enjoyed their picnic lunch, got to know each other a little more, and enjoyed the cool November day.
When Aidan dropped Grace off at Memorial that afternoon, he couldn’t stop grinning. The day had been lovely, peaceful, and slow - a sweet first date that he desperately hoped wouldn’t be their last.
December 2019
December 2019 was a blur. Until late their Junior year, December was the last month during which Aidan and Grace were romantically involved. It was a sweet month for them both.
In December, the Classical Ballet Society hosted their Nutcracker, a low-budget performance held on the slippery hardwood floor of the SUB. Emma and Aidan attended to support Grace, unsurprised to discover that she was by far the best dancer in the show. The others moved similarly to the toddler ballerinas you’d see at childhood recitals: they spun, jumped, and pliéed, but only sort of. Until Grace came on stage, Emma and Aidan struggled to refrain from laughing.
When it was finally Grace’s turn to dance, she was as incredible as a professional; she performed the waltz of the flowers beautifully, despite the obvious danger of the SUB flooring. Aidan was entranced by her movements, swept away as she gracefully floated about. From beside him, Emma grinned. Grace wasn’t just talented, but committed. It was as if the dance was second nature to her; something not that she had learned, but that was simply part of her.
Following the performance, the trio took photos in front of the SUB’s giant Christmas tree. They shuffled about in vain to prevent the twinkling lights from creating irreversible glares in their pictures.
That same month, Aidan found himself disproportionately stressed over what to give Grace for Christmas. He’d developed an extensive list of options on his phone, making it impossible for him to narrow it down to just one gift. With some assistance from Emma, though, he eventually decided on a sterling silver necklace bedazzled with light blue topaz gems.
Grace blushed when she opened her gift. A boy had never given her something so thoughtful - well, besides her brother and her father, which wasn’t quite the same. Grace gave Aidan a warm hug of gratitude, Emma rushing over to help put on her new jewelry.
Later that evening, after sitting on her bed chatting with Aidan for a while, Grace nervously leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder. Aidan’s heart beat faster as he tried to stay still. He waited as long as he could, but his shoulder quickly grew numb, and he made what he’d later refer to as his “big mistake” - he sat up to readjust. Grace rapidly picked herself up and her head didn’t return to his shoulder until nearly three years later.
Aidan thought about that readjustment for a long, long time.
When Aidan and Grace returned to Waco after Christmas break, they decided that neither of them were ready for a relationship. The pair didn’t quit going out on dates because of a blow-out fight or some kind of insurmountable difference. Frankly, it just wasn’t the right time. It wasn’t their time. God still had growing for them both to do first. While neither imagined that their change of status to “just friends” would ever be reversed back to romantically involved, it would. By junior year, they’d find their way back to one another, as those who are meant to be always do. By senior year, they’d both be sure they’d found their forever best friend.
*Names changed for privacy purposes
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