More Than A Feeling

Well all of a sudden I liked Jake. I liked his frosted hair and braces and green kingston shirt and the way he listened to me and the way he genuinely enjoyed that I was complicated and passionate and sometimes obnoxious. 

Let me emphasize on the fact that Jake started liking me in September. All of a sudden it was March, and I liked him, but I didn't want to tell him. I knew he liked me. America knew he liked me, but for some reason it seemed so risky to let him know that the feeling was mutual. I just didn't want to jinx it. 

In April I got the courage to tell him my feelings (after revealing them to every 14 year old female I knew, of course). I was sitting in the office and on MSN Messenger. Jake and I were talking about something relatively light hearted, and all of a sudden I typed (because who talked in 2004?) "Jake, I have to tell you something." Then I typed,  "I like you. Like, like like you." I quickly pushed send and then jumped up and down and squealed and felt nervous and silly and excited. He waited a good minute and a half and then simply typed back ":D" Yup, the guy pulled out the capital d smiley face! Exciting stuff. 

After the establishment of feelings, we had decided to take things slow. Mostly (aka solely) because at this point I was pretty anti having a boyfriend in high school. We did, however, hold hands for the first time at the Horned Toad Derby. When you're 14 year old girl from Coalinga, CA, nothing else seems more appropriate. Sadly, I don't remember too much of this. I know we were there with our friends, and we momentarily separated because Jake wanted to win me a stuffed animal of some sort. It was that awkward but beautiful situation when both participators wanted some hand hold-age, so the limbs kept bumping into one another. Then all of a sudden, bam. We were holding hands. I remember butterflies and clamminess and lots of grins, elbowing, and secret female silent eye conversations when we returned to the group. 

The taking things slow thing lasted two seconds. Summer came and I went to my dad's house, and I just wanted to be Jake's girlfriend. I was back for a weekend, and we were all at the Oxborrow's house. We were sitting on the grass in the front yard, and Audra says, "Jake, I think Karissa wants to be your girlfriend." I gave her the stink eye, but was actually so excited. Jake looked at me and said, "Really?!?" I nodded. Then he asked me to be his girlfriend and I said yes and then we had our anniversary: June 22, 2004. Then Ken Oxborrow turned the sprinklers on us, appropriately. 

I don't remember what our first date was, exactly. I do remember going and seeing King Arthur because it came out on Jake's 16th birthday, and I was oddly obsessed with Keira Knightly. Jake couldn't drive yet, though, so we were escorted to Coalinga Cinemas by Scott and Melissa Yeager. When the movie was over, Jake called his parents on his silver flip phone. His ringtone was "More Than A Feeling." 

More later. I'm hungry.