The night Jen and I met was nothing short of a rollercoaster—complete with thrills, surprises, and a little queasiness in the middle (for Jen, at least).

It was my junior year at Purdue, and I was at a house party with some friends from class. The night was lively, full of laughter and music, but after a while, I made my way to the “bar” for a quick breather. As it turns out, that was the last one Jen would allow me to have.

Out pops Jen and her friend who turned out to be old friends with the guy who lived at the house. She walked up to the counter, smiled at me with a kind of energy I’d never seen before, and struck up a conversation. We talked for a few minutes, and then she rejoined her friends. As I watched this gorgeous, spirited girl walk away, all I could think was, I wish we could’ve talked all night.

As fate would have it, I got my wish.

As the party continued, everyone was having a great time. Jen and I ran into each other again an hour or so later, and we picked back up where we left off. Immediately started chatting away. I would’ve listened to her talk about anything. But her friend was ready to leave and they planned to walk home that night together. I was about to lose her again.

Thinking quickly, I offered to walk them both home. It was late, and hey, I’m a gentleman. What I didn’t realize was that Jen’s definition of a “short” walk was… ambitious. After what felt like an hour, we finally arrived at her place. But instead of calling it a night, we sat up talking until the sun began to rise.

By the time I left that morning, I knew one thing for sure: I didn’t want to go a day without seeing her again. So, before I walked out the door, I asked her out to dinner at Outback Steakhouse. She said yes. And since that night, I haven’t wanted to go a day without her.