Team '76 | The Dating | Cinnamon Wolfe Photography | NJ & NYC

If this is the first post in this series you happen upon, don’t forget to go back and read the first two parts of the Team ’76 series: The Intro | The Meeting

Our first date and our second date were a few weeks apart. Almost immediately after our first date I went on a weeklong trip to New York for a friends wedding. Paul and I continued to talk over FB messenger here and there and we texted on occasion as well although my service in NY was spotty. All this time in between seeing him again, I had this feeling that something was just different this time. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it and I still had a LOT to learn about this guy but something just felt….right.

When I finally did get back to town, early that week we decided to meet up halfway between where he lived and where I lived on a Saturday afternoon. Saturday arrived and I was anxiously awaiting our date when Paul texted and told me about how he and Kyle (his 11 yr old son) were going fishing that day. I was so confused because his fishing plans seems to contradict our date plans. I tried to be subtle about reminding him, but I finally just had to ask him what was up. He had totally forgot!!

Now, before you think he is a terrible guy for forgetting about a date with me, I think this was an important lesson that I learned about him. Paul tends to be a little scatterbrained, but that doesn't mean that stuff is not important to him. To this day, he feels terrible about the fact that he forgot exactly when we were supposed to get together on that Saturday. He made it up to me quickly and we decided to meet the following day instead.

Through our conversations we had realized that a favorite fast food place for both of us was Sonic despite the lack of Sonics in the Seattle area! There was one halfway in between our houses though so that is where we decided to meet. When I was getting ready to leave, he texted me and said “we are on our way.” I was confused. Who was “we”? Surely he wouldn't be bringing Kyle to meet me just yet right? Don’t people with kids wait for a long time to introduce them to people they are dating? I had no idea but either way, I was excited to see him again.

When they pulled up my stomach turned. He had brought Kyle. Was I ready for this? What does this mean? Am I good with kids? What if this is the beginning of the end? What if Kyle hates me?

My girl brain was on overload.

Kyle shook my hand and we sat at one of the outdoor tables. When Paul got up to order, Kyle followed him and then looked back at me and said, “What do you want? I'll take care of it. And by “I'll take care of it, I mean, my dad's buying.” I smiled and relaxed, ok this kid has a good sense of humor. We had a great time eating and chatting and Kyle and I talked about school and Paul and I caught each other trying not to look to long at each other. The whole ride home I felt so conflicted. I was really liking this guy, but also wanting to be cautious and not get hurt.

Our third date was another few weeks away because it's just not all that easy to get together when one of you has a kid at home and we both had full time jobs AND lived 75 miles away from each other. We met up at Salmon Days festival near my house this time and then they both came over to my house afterward to meet my dogs. They both loved dogs and had a great time getting to know Guinness and Chloe. It was during this date that Paul asked me if I would go to his Annual Training Conference and ball with him at the end of the month. Kyle even seemed excited about me coming with them. This all seemed to be moving so fast but also felt really “right.”

I did end up going to the ball and Paul and I shared an extremely romantic first kiss on the bridge at the Coeur d'Alene resort on October 30th almost two months to the day from our first date. At this point, we both knew that something really special was going although neither of us knew what exactly the future would hold!

This is the first picture of the two of us. We were at the hotel where the training conference was held and we were sitting in the conference room waiting for it to start. This was "pre first kiss" stage. =)