dating the electrician rm

a little background:growing up, the boys in my ward were jerks. i know that sounds harsh, but its true. when people talk about dating guys in their wards, it makes me cringe. it was that bad. i lived in a small town, so not dating the guys(not that they ever asked)in my ward meant i didnt date lds boys. it really didnt bother me; my first boyfriend was tall and super cool(until he got involved in the drugs introduced by the guys in my ward)and i never felt lacking because some future missionary wasnt courting me, hoping i would "wait" for him.i also rejected that special form of peer pressure that seemed to be introduced about that time: "i will only marry a rm". man i hated that. during one of the many breakups with tall guy with sunglasses, i went to an institute dance with my bff and met electrician rm. he was different than any other boy i had met. he wasnt someone that i would normally be attracted to, but he was cute and when he asked me to dance, i said yes. we danced all night long and i had the best time. my bff danced with his buddy and they took us out for frozen yogurt after. when he asked me out again-i immediately said yes. erm would call on wed for a date on saturday. he always had something nice planned. part of the reason he seemed so different was the fact he was 26 years old to my mere 17 years. he was a man. not a boy. no wonder he seemed "different". he had been a little bit of a wild child, but got his act together and served his mission late. whenever he would bring me home, he would turn down my street and drive really slooooooowly. drawing out our time together. he always walked me to the door and we would hug. i think the age difference intimidated me because i was too scared to kiss him. i would run in the house before he had a chance. bff would call me every time we went out-"did you let him kiss you?" she did nothing to hide the disappointment when i would tell her no. i dated erm off and on for a year or two. he was pretty honest about difficulties with his ex girlfriend. we ran into her at a dance one time. i had never met her, but i could tell by the look on her face she was not pleased to see him come in with me. i could tell he felt bad, he didnt expect her there and he was quite relieved when i told him to go say hi and ask her to dance. it wasnt unusual for us to go weeks without talking or seeing each other, but i was a little surprised when i heard him and that girl got married. his friend stopped by to tell me. i guess erm asked him to. a gentleman to the end. a good experience all around.