It all started with a simple text on September 27, 2020. I had seen him at the tractor pulls but didn't know anything about him other than the fact he was younger than me. After that text, things slowly—and a little bit sneakily—picked up. He asked for my Snapchat the very next day, and by October, I had his number saved in my phone.

We hung out, made TikToks (if only they hadn't gotten deleted), and talked every day. I knew I enjoyed being around him and wanted him in my life, but I just couldn't figure out what I was feeling.

He asked me out for the first time—if only I was smart enough to say yes—but after a long-term relationship, I wanted time for myself.

December hit, and our conversations paused for a while. But like any good story, we found our way back—snapping again in 2021, reconnecting bit by bit.

Yet again, he asked me out, but I still was not smart enough. I was leaving for Kentucky, and it just was not the right time.

Fast forward to August 2023, when he re-added me on Snapchat, and the tractor talk began again yet I was gone at college so nothing came from it.

Then June 2024 hit, and the hardcore flirting came out.

From tractor pulls to rodeos, golfing, mopeds, and even fixing my clutch together—every moment was another nudge in me to date him. Once again, though, it felt like poor timing, with me still in college and not living in the county. The thought of being completely tied down to someone also scared me a little—I liked the idea of freedom. I wasn't sure what I wanted, but I knew I liked him and I liked being around him.

By August 1, 2024, after another tractor pull, we had gone out to dinner, and after he taught me how to drive his truck—which apparently he never let people do—at this moment, I knew he was going to ask me again, and this was finally the time I would say yes.

After that, time flew, and it had felt like we had been dating for years, even if we were still in months. I never questioned anything again—I knew he was the one.

K&A

Reception