Taking the long way home.

Thinking about it now, it's easy to see that Car Guy and I didn't have a whole lot in common. He liked horsepower and I liked the originals with four legs. He grew up in town and cruised the square, while I grew up on the farm, cruised the fence line in my old pickup, and wasn't allowed to go to basketball or football games until the horses were fed. But, then again, Car Guy didn't like basketball or football anyway.

Still, he was my first real boyfriend. I just couldn't get over the fact that Car Guy - or any guy, for that matter - would be interested in me. 

Despite the fact that we didn't have anything in common, our relationship moved along smoothly for the first few months of freshman year. Then, like any good high school romance, we broke up. The funny thing is, I can't remember why we broke up, or who did the breaking, but we did. I found a date for the upcoming Sweetheart Dance and we stayed away from each other for a few months.

Then the talking started again. The crazy thing is, I don't ever remember having that much to say.

Still, the talking started again. Talking lead to hanging out at lunch. And, hanging out at lunch lead to dating. Again.

So, there we were, a couple again at the beginning of sophomore year. And, for the most part, the next few years weren't too eventful in the relationship of Annie Oakley and Car Guy. We went out to eat, went to dances and we made out on the couch. And, we made out on the couch. And, well you get the picture.

Give me a break, it was a high school romance.

As we rolled into senior year of high school, however, things became more complicated. Car Guy started blowing me off on a regular basis (I assumed he had some four-wheeled romance on the side and I later found out I was right, except for the fact that it had two legs instead of four wheels) and I was left finding new ways to entertain myself. Still, I enjoyed my time with Car Guy and, every so often, entertained thoughts of us being together forever.

Then, Car Guy lowered the boom. Just before our senior homecoming, he ended our four-year courtship. Of course, I was devastated. Not only did my boyfriend of so many years dump me for no reason, but I also didn't have a date for the rapidly approaching homecoming dance.

Noticing a pattern here? I really have a problem with dances. Probably, because I'm a tomboy and don't like wearing dresses unless I'm wearing them for someone specific. Whatever.

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Little did I know, Scoop had just broken up with his flame, too. Car Guy and I saw Scoop on a regular basis at school - and sometimes, we even drove out to Scoop's house for movies and his mom's famous cheeseburgers. But, we weren't close enough for me to be in the loop concerning his love life. 

I also didn't know that Scoop was entertaining the idea of asking me to the homecoming dance. He had known that Car Guy was planning to fly the coop and, being the gentleman that he is, thought about rescuing me.

Unfortunately for Scoop - and me - he had already agreed to go to homecoming with his most recent ex-girlfriend. And, Car Guy had decided to pity me and take me to homecoming, "because he promised to before we broke up."

(I know, this stuff is deep.)

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The night of the homecoming dance finally rolled around and Car Guy drove out to the boonies (also known as my house) to pick me up. Seeing as he had recently broken my heart, I was in no mood for talking or showing any kindness toward the former object of my affections. But, Car Guy showed up at the door with a bouquet of flowers and some ridiculous apology.

It worked. I was happy and my dad took pictures.

We headed back to the high school as a couple and finished our senior year that way. But, like many high school romances, things were never the same. I started to notice the little ways that we didn't work as a couple. And, when my dad died just before we graduated, Car Guy showed up to comfort me. However, when I saw him walk through the emergency room doors, I ended up more annoyed and angry at his presence than anything else.

Still, we stayed together until the end of our senior year. We still spent time together, but we also spent time apart. He had a new four-wheeled love interest and I decided that I would exercise my love of sports by attending all of the high school basketball games without Car Guy in tow.

You know who also loved sports? That's right.