Relation-whaaaat?!

So, I'm in a relationship now...

I don't know exactly how this happened, but it did.

This relationship is in the early stages-- the honeymoon stage-- where the guy and I still go out to eat and hold hands across the table, and we exchange text messages a thousand times a day that are so sugary and sweet that one would probably gag at the sight of them. (Seriously, I’d be embarrassed if somebody got ahold of my phone.) I hear songs on the radio that remind me of him, and they make me happy down to the depths of my soul. So happy that I will text him to tell him all about it.

"Babe, this Bon Jovi song is really speaking to my soul..."

Sigh.

Barf.

While I’m enjoying the newfound romance in my life, it was something that I tried really hard to fend off. I loved being single, and everything that came along with the single life... 

I loved casually dating guys who were kind of, but not quite, suited for me. I loved taking all the inconsiderate liberties I got to take since I didn’t have to think of anyone but myself. I loved not having to compromise on anything. I loved being able to call-screen everyone, and not have to worry about the message it would send. 

Turns out when you call-screen a boyfriend, they think you're fighting or that you've dumped them... 

I just really loved the self absorbed lifestyle I had become so accustomed to. I didn't want to give it up for anyone. Plus I was skeptical of entering into another relationship, because thus far in life I have been a dating underachiever. The men and the situations that I've landed myself into have tended to be less than ideal. I certainly wasn't interested in putting myself in a position to get hurt by someone else. 

Then this guy came along.

It took me awhile to admit that the guy and I were anything more than two people who were hanging out. I felt the need to often clarify my stance on what he and I were, and he was a good sport about my incessant need to reiterate that. 

He didn't freak out when I told him that I thought relationships should be revisited every couple of years, like a car lease, to decide if the people wanted to renew or not. Rather, he agreed with me, and we got into a long conversation about the dynamics of modern relationships. 

He accepts the fact that we'll probably never be "Facebook official," and he knows that I will probably write about him and aspects of our relationship in my column and on my blog, using his online name "The Guy." (Thank goodness he's as narcissistic as I am!)

He's weird, he gets me, and he makes me laugh and laugh and laugh and laugh.

Sufficed to say, I signed that relationship lease.