I had just bought a CD by an obscure band in high school, and I played it on repeat for weeks. He was in one of my classes, so asked him if he had heard of said band. He laughed, pulled out his day planner, and showed me the first page, where he had pasted the lyrics of his (and my) favorite track.

—Aubrey

Postscript: We started dating and have been together (with a couple short breaks) since then, about six years.

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I went for very minor surgery and was accompanied only by my mom and dad. I have a horrible fear of needles and anesthesia where I believe I will not wake from it. Surgery went without incident, and I was put in the recovery room. The first thing I screamed when I came to was, “WHERE ARE YOU?!” It was in this drug-induced state that I really did want him there, every moment of every day.

—Katie

Postscript: I was lucky that he felt the same way, and he spent the following days of my recovery, and the past four years, by my side. We’re getting married this summer.

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We went on a date, then we laid in the grass and cuddled. I had a feeling I couldn’t place, and it stuck with me for a long time.

Later, an older coworker of mine was losing his battle with cancer, and we got to talking about him and his wife. He said he realized he loved her the first night they went out, when he had this feeling he couldn’t place. I knew then I loved this girl.

—Kevan

Postscript: We moved to Chicago and stayed together for four years. I asked her to marry me. She said, “Yes,” then had two affairs and left me in a Dear John letter.

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We were driving home from the grocery store one day after a few months together, and she asked, “Do you love me?” After thinking about it for a minute, I realized, “Well, yes, I guess I do.” All it took was her asking me to realize it.

—Dan

Postscript: We’ve been together almost two years, minus one short break, and are making plans to move in together.

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I fell in love drunkenly dancing with a guy to cocaine blues at my birthday party.

—Jessica

Postscript: I barfed, and we dated for two years.

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We unexpectedly found a snake in his partially flooded basement on a rainy evening. It took two hours to capture it together. Seeing him regress to the likes of an 8-year-old girl, complete with the high-pitched scream, melted my heart.

—Victoria

Post Script: Dated for nine months and broke up. Reconnected in the spring of 2009 and just recently (finally) confessed our love to each other.

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He took me to see The Notebook, and of course I cried through the whole thing. He took me to McDonald’s afterward, and I was crying with a mouthful of a McChicken sandwich. And he didn’t care. He kissed me anyway.

—Megan

Postscript: We dated for a year, and now we’re best friends.

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