With Juli and Stephan now having each other's numbers, they began to spend more time together (studying) (and making fun of that one toddler who fell face-first in the library).

About 2 months passed, and Stephan (in all his wisdom) decided to ask Juli if she wanted to go for a ride on his motorcycle (Juli was not a fan of motorcycles at the time). Juli, having never ridden, told Stephan "No, that's how people die".

Not to be discouraged, Stephan offered to drive her around the USF campus for however long she needed, even willing to go through tanks of gas if necessary to make sure she was comfortable on it (as much as possible). He brought her a helmet and told her what to wear so she could be as safe as possible. Juli eventually took him up on the offer and they went for a ride around USF at 25 mph...for an entire hour. At the end of this introductory ride, Stephan offered to take Juli on a group ride with his motorcycle club (not a gang, an actual funded club through USF focusing on the safety of motorcycle riders. Stephan was the treasurer). Juli agreed, and they rode for another 2 hours through winding roads around Northern Tampa Bay.

At the end of the ride, the rest of the motorcycle club decided to go to dinner. Since they were hungry, Juli and Stephan decided to tag along for dinner. The club decided on Hooters. Hooters with a capital "H" (this was decided among helmet communications that Juli was not a part of). In good spirits, the group had chosen to go there as they were the best wings that were by the USF campus (there were not many options). At the end of this dinner, the group commented that Juli and Stephan were a pretty cool couple and that nobody had brought their girlfriend before.

This was NOT something that was discussed between the two, and both awkwardly said that they were not a couple. The table went silent, then someone apologized saying that they noticed the comfort between the two on the ride, assuming they were a couple.

After dinner, Stephan brought Juli back to her dorm. When she got off of the motorcycle, Juli went to give Stephan a hug. Stephan returned the gesture by not removing his helmet, staying on the motorcycle, and initiating a side hug with one arm (real classy).

Stephan did this because he thought that after the ride and dinner that Juli did not find any interest in him, solidified by the fact that she confidently said that they were not a couple.

Juli went upstairs to her room, called her best friend, and was confused as to why she received a such a cold 🥶 goodbye after what she thought was a good night out. Juli had interpreted the comment at dinner to be because this was their first night out with no discussion on any relationship status. Juli was so loud that someone knocked on her door and offered her some Oreos to help with her frustration.

Later in the night, Juli texted Stephan thanking him for the motorcycle ride. Stephan responded with "You're welcome".

Registry