Chris and I met on the Internet last July. I thought he was annoying for a long time. I never thought anything of him at all really except when I was directly speaking to him in the chat room we both frequented. He would quiz me about music and then we'd go our merry ways till the next time we were both there.

In November, a friend of mine was at my home watching us converse on ICQ. She told me to ask him for his phone number. So I did. She called him and they talked for a bit, then she handed me the phone. We had a marathon phone conversation that night. That's where our story really begins.

Chris and I clicked on the phone that night in some unexplainable way. There was no awkwardness between us. No nervousness. None of that "What do I say now?" stuff that often happens the first time you begin speaking with someone on the phone.

We didn't talk for a while after that initial conversation. I had a lot of things going on in my life at that time and couldn't be online as much as I might've liked to be. Right around Christmas, we started talking again on the phone. We talked for hours and hours. I am not much of a phone person, but with him, it was different. I loved the sound of his voice and couldn't get enough of talking to him. Our phone bills show this too.

In January, I made a decision that would change my life. I decided I would fly to Arizona to see him. We had discussed this before, but weren't sure how we were going to swing it. I'm in school and he works. We're lucky in the fact that we are only 1,700 miles apart. It could've been worse. One day, I went to see a travel agent about airline fares. I had no intentions of actually buying a plane ticket to Arizona that day. Not any conscience intentions anyway. I remember sitting in the travel agent's office when she was quoting me fares and thinking, "Holly, just do it." Next thing I knew, I was booked on a flight leaving Kansas City on March 12th for Phoenix. I called him that day to tell him what I'd done. He was so excited when he heard that I was going to be flying out there to meet him. It seemed like such a long way off, but in reality, it felt like the 2 months passed in no time.

The day of the trip started off badly for me. Chris and I had talked all night on the phone the night before. I'd had no sleep, I was cranky, and there was a snow storm happening in Missouri the morning of my flight. I was afraid I wouldn't make it to the airport on time because of it.

My plane was to take off at 9:20 that morning. I got to the airport with about 30 minutes to spare. I remember wondering just what I thought I was doing, traipsing off to another state to meet someone. I had met people from the net before with not such good results and I started doubting my decision. I had a brief layover in Texas and that gave me ever more time to think about things. I came to the conclusion finally that whatever was going to happen would happen and I couldn't control it. I was hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst.

When my plane touched down in Phoenix an hour later than expected, I had consigned myself to get off of that plane and face whatever might come. I was one of the last stragglers off of the plane. When I walked down that ramp to the airport terminal, the first thing I remember seeing was the man I had come to see standing there before me and he was genuinely happy to see me. We made small talk as we went to the baggage claim area. Then, out of nowhere, we were hugging each other. We walked out of the airport that day holding hands.

Somewhere over the next few days, we fell in love. We were sitting on the bed in our hotel room and he told me he thought he was falling in love with me. I cried because I was so happy he'd said that. I was feeling the same way, but was too chicken to be the first to come right out and say it.

We spent the next week completely together. We were practically inseparable. He had to work while I was there, but I made sure I was there on his lunch break to spend the hour with him and I was there to pick him up after work. I had truly found the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.

When the time came for me to leave, it was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. I had found love and I wasn't ready to let go of it, even if briefly. We got to the airport that morning without time to spare. We had to say quick good-byes, which was probably good because we both would've have broken down right there. I cried on the airplane so much, I think I scared the woman sitting next to me. She just kept patting my hand and asking me if I were alright. Chris told me later that night that he had to pull over on the drive home because he was so upset that I was gone.

So, where do we go from here? Well, our story is definately not over. I plan on seeing him again in May, which seems like forever from now and then again in August. I have a year left of college and then I will be moving to Arizona to be with him. I am giving up my life in Missouri, which includes the house I own and moving my son to a strange place. But through all of the decisions and plans we've been making, I've never had a moment's doubt that with Chris is where I want to be. I love him with all of my heart and I don't consider what I'm giving up a sacrifice in any way. I believe he is the person I'm meant to be with and that fate has somehow brought us together. I thank God every day that I found him and he's in my life. Neither of us are fortune tellers and don't know what the future brings for us, but I imagine a year from now, we'll be close to the big move and it will go ahead as planned.

Story Source www.internetromance.org