October evening in Bassett Creek Park

Early in October 2015, I had been in my job at a car dealership for about 2 years. I had become acquaintances with many of my coworkers, but I hadn't really struck up many friendships. 

One Thursday, I was tasked with taking a road trip to a customer about 3 hours away so I could deliver their new car and pick up their old car as a trade. The trip was scheduled for Saturday. 

On Friday, I was making small talk with a cute female coworker that was hired about a year before me. We had always gotten along but always remained acquaintances, at best. She asked me what I had planned for the weekend. 

I told her about the road trip and she said, "Oh, that sounds like fun! I love road trips!" 

I asked about her weekend and she said she was going to watch the Vikings game with her dad on Sunday. Me, not knowing hardly anything about football, didn't have much to comment on that. 

Saturday came around, and I took my road trip. It took all day, but was a decent use of work time. I would hardly complain about getting to drive a nice car 3 hours each way by myself and get paid for it. 

Then on Sunday, I get a text from my coworker. 

"Hey, how was the road trip?"

I told her about it, and the text conversation spun off into other topics. Surprisingly, the conversation never seemed to come to a logical conclusion. We just kept talking about what was happening that day, trips we had taken, favorite cars, etc. Each time I hit 'send', I found myself anxiously awaiting the next message from her.

Eventually that evening, we had to say good night, but the texts started right back up in the morning on Monday. It was some of the best conversation I had in a long time, and I was loving every minute. We kept talking throughout the next days, and I started to see her differently. 

She had started as an acquaintance coworker and she had turned into a friend. A friend that I couldn't stop talking with. When it seemed I had run out of things to say, I would pull something random off the top of my head to keep things going, and it always sparked right back up again. 

It just felt like I was talking with someone I had known for years, rather than a work colleague. I kept thinking that I shouldn't brush this off and I should seize this opportunity. 

I had planned an outing to Dave and Buster's for that Friday night with some other friends and I asked if she wanted to come with us. She, being up for anything, of course said yes. We decided to carpool with another friend, and she invited us to meet at her apartment, as it was centrally located. 

We met up there, went to Dave and Buster's, played games, had drinks, and had a great time. When the night came to a close, our designated driver took us back to her place so I could pick up my car. 

Now, I am a bit of a lightweight when it comes to drinks, so I am always very conscious of when I feel safe enough to drive. I asked if I could hang out for a bit at her place while I sobered up, and she graciously offered me inside. We didn't want to disturb her roommate, so we went into her room. 

We sat on her bed and our previous conversation sparked right back up again. Before I knew it, it was 4am and we were dead tired. We were having trouble finding a good stopping point, and it felt like we could just keep talking forever. Eventually, though, I said good night and drove home. 

The next day, she invited me to come out with her and her cousins to some bars in Northeast Minneapolis. I had a family reunion scheduled for that afternoon, but told her that I would let her know when it was over and I could meet up with her later. 

Since this was a big family event, I had uncles and aunts from far out of town that flew in for this, so I was torn between spending time with them and going to meet my new crush. I knew I should take advantage of this time to spend with some of my favorite family members, so my parents, my aunt and uncle from Pennsylvania, and I went to take my parents' little lhasa apso for a walk around the lake at Bassett Creek Park.

Throughout the whole day, my crush and I had been texting back and forth. I felt bad taking my attention away from my family, but I couldn't stop. Even as we strolled around the lake, I couldn't put my phone down for fear of missing a message from her. 

The sun was setting and it started to look like I wasn't going to be able to meet up with her. I am not much of a photographer, but the sunset looked amazing that night, and I had to take a picture. 

I then sent it to her, saying with it: 

"I wish you were here with me."