Part Deux

As I continue from yesterday..where was I.. ah yes, the plane ride. So I can remember landing in Ketchikan, and how excited I was. Knowing that the past 10 months had come down to these precious few minutes, and that she was feet away and not miles. I can remember the unfortunate smell of the spoiled produce that I mentioned earlier, and wondered..only me. Anyway, I remember walking down the ramp and looking through the glass, searching for her, until finally I saw her. I can remember it like it was yesterday, it is like a lightning bolt in my mind. I remember the first few awkward moments, followed by the giant hug, and both of us could not stop smiling. I couldn't help remember a few things: 1) I was glad I changed my shirt (to my A-team of course) 2) how I loved her hair 3) how short she was 5'1". I remember getting my luggage and my first breath of Ak air. It was cold 56 I believe, but being around her I could have been in the arctic circle and not cared. We took a ferry to the other side to grab and cab. I can remember looking at her the whole time, I can still remember the way she looked at me. My first experience on what "that look" changes everything, it changes your soul. Well, we took the taxi to her uncles place where we stayed the night. She barely knew these people, but they were nice, and even better went to bed early. They had an awesome house though, right on the water. I remember watching the sunset, and the sunrise.
Oh oh I almost forgot... the first date. We didn't take a taxi directly home, we went to the movies first, and just my luck we where the only ones there. We saw that lame movie with Ben Affleck and Samuel L. Jackson...well this was the sight on our first kiss. Of course, I was terribly nervous, and did not have that much experience with kissing. So my first one was a sloppy wet mess, that would have been awful if not masked by the excitement of it all. However, I got better in a hurry, and by the time we reached her Uncles and Aunts...I was well versed.
Now like I said, her uncle/aunt went to bed at about 9 and that left us alone for the rest of the night. We talked, cuddled, and talked some more. Then we took this up a notch. Lets just say.. in baseball terms 3rd base, which I was completely just psyched for. Hey, it was my first time seeing a girl naked, at least one in real life. The thing that I remember most though is when I heard her say it for the first time: Chris, I love you. I can remember it because she was standing in the bathroom brushing her hair after one of our "episodes" and she turned to me and said it. It still makes my heart stop for a half a second to think about it. I think it meant so much because I know that she meant it, and did not just say it, which happens at that age. I can remember holding her until the sun came up, and then scurrying away when her aunt/uncle woke in the morning. We got about 2 hours a sleep, but I didn't care.
After breakfast we caught the ferry to Craig, a 3 hour ride that was awesome. It twisted and turned through mountains and passageways. Majestic, and I spent the whole time holding her in my arms watching the pure beauty of it all pass by. I absorbed and cherished every moment of it. Soon we arrived at the dock, where her Mom June May (awesome) was waiting.