The Story of Us

You gotta talk

The night was October 15, 2007

The gathering at Smokey Bones BBQ in Chattanooga, Tennessee, was to celebrate a mutual friend’s birthday. Desmond was dating a friend of Jill’s at the time (yes, yes…) and this was the first time they would meet.

During dinner Desmond was SO quiet, it probably didn’t help that he was sitting at a table with lots of talkative girls! He laughed and grinned but said almost nothing! Jill, the quintessential extrovert that she is, decided then and there that she was going to get this boy to talk to her.

Jill started asking Desmond direct questions, forcing him to interact and not letting him slip back into his introverted ways. He now admits that that was his favorite thing about Jill, that she made such an effort to get to know him, even that night.

BFF’S and Basketball Games

By the end of the night, they had decided jokingly that they would be “BFF’s” and as he side-hugged her goodbye he told her they would have to hang out again soon.

Following that evening Jill and Desmond went their separate ways. They saw each other occasionally around campus, as they both attended Lee University in Cleveland, TN. Desmond was on the basketball team and before meeting him, Jill had never been to a game. One day after he made fun of her for never attending, Jill decided to make her way over to Walker Arena to watch a game. She actually went with his girlfriend and they cheered him on together. The arena was packed with cheering fans and the team won! Jill so enjoyed watching Desmond do what he loved. She felt connected to the sport now as she knew someone on the team, and she actually went to a few games after that night in support.

Our first “BFF” Picture on April 8, 2008

Strangers around campus

Other than the occasional basketball game, or running into each other, Jill and Desmond did not speak very much. He was her friend’s boyfriend and he was THREE years younger than her and she had no feelings for him whatsoever. They both led very busy lives with Desmond a part of the basketball team and Jill in a traveling choir called The Evangelistic Singers, and in a step-dance troupe called Invasion.

Makeups and Breakups

Jill was in an on-again, off-again “relationship” with a guy, and had been for 2 years. By Spring 2008 they were “On again”. Desmond and his girlfriend had also been on and off over the past 2 years and proceeded to officially break up in the early Summer of 2008. Desmond’s then ex-girlfriend graduated and ended up moving out of town. Jill heard about their breakup and decided to reach out to Desmond to make sure he was ok. She messaged him on AIM, you know you had one, to ask him how he was. He explained that he was doing well and that he had decided to attend Kids Across America as a camp counselor that summer. Jill congratulated him, glad that he was positive and doing well. While Desmond packed his bags for Missouri, Jill stayed in Cleveland doing Summer classes. They briefly chatted a few times on Myspace during that Summer O, Myspace… but Jill was still with her boyfriend and he was THREE years younger than her and she had no feelings for him whatsoever.

The night we met

Chapter Two