Cinderella?

So this one time I was invited to a military ball by a guy I met online three weeks prior who lived in North Carolina, and if that wasn't unbelievable enough, I went.
The only thing I had to lean on was the 3 weeks of conversation via text, sometimes via facebook and very seldomly via skype. What I knew about him was that he served his mission with a friend of mine, who he hasn't had any contact with since the mission, he was a paratrooper in the army, an officer in the army, very handsome and Southern.
When I was first invited we kind of just laughed at the thought, the second time he mentioned it, we looked into it more seriously. He offered to pay for half my flight and I was able to get work off.
I knew how crazy it was. I knew the risks. I had seen enough Lifetime Original Movies to know that I was running risk of being kidnapped, taken hostage, accosted, murdered and so on and so on. Yet for some reason that didn't sway me... very much. He kept my nerves at ease.
I had made the decision to go and from that point on made sure to cover all my bases. I had a place to stay, I had given numbers out to friends, co-workers, family members. I had code words, I had flight options. I had informed him that I was the daughter of an FBI agent. I had ways to get out, and I also had ways to get him caught in case anything went south.
There was so much that I didn't know about him, yet I felt oddly comfortable. There was a part of me that was terrified, but another part of me that couldn't help but imagine how awesome it would be. Go to a military ball with a handsome army man, spend time in North Carolina? That could be an experience of a lifetime and a story to have for the rest of my life.
The thing to solidify my comfort in going was the fact that my dad called him the day I was supposed to leave. Sure at first I felt like I was 16 and this was the phone call equivalent of my father cleaning his shot gun, but I wanted my dad to feel at ease about me going, and I wanted this boy to know that I had a protective father.
After getting the go ahead from my dad I was on my way, and I was SO EXCITED!!! Almost too excited, there was no way the expectations I was building in my mind could possibly be met.
My flight was leaving late Tuesday night and getting into Fayetteville, best case scenario 11:30 Wednesday morning, but more likely not until about 7:30 that evening. I had my laptop and plenty of movies to get me through the layover.
I made both my flights and let the Mr. know I was in town. I told him to not rush over, that I could hang out for a while, but he called me to tell me he was on his way to come get me.
Oh I was nervous. I was about to finally meet this man I had been talking to every day for less than 3 weeks. What if he wasn't as cute as I thought? What if he was disappointed in me? What if we didn't click? In 20 minutes I would answer all of those questions.
I saw his car pull up, he got out and we both just smiled. I did NOT feel like this was the first time we were meeting. We hugged and he drove us to his house. I was exhausted so we just popped in a movie and I took a nap.
He had all these plans to take me to all these different restaurants, try all his favorite places. Immediately I knew I had nothing to worry about. I was getting texts from all my friends, checking in. I text them all (code words included) to let them know they had nothing to worry about.
We got sushi, we got milkshakes, we had Waffle House, we had more milkshakes, he took me on base and showed me all around. He took me to get some Ft. Bragg shirts and sweatshirts. He gave me an army shirt to take home. He took me all around.
North Carolina was beautiful, but the point of going... he took me to the military ball.
Thursday was the Ball. I had my dress all planned, my hair, my makeup and my jewelry. He had to work the day of so I slept in, I worked out (which included hitting myself in the chin with a kettlebell [apparently I don't know my own strength] hard enough that even now, nearly 2 days later, my chin still hurts but luckily no bruise) then I started getting ready. When it came time to leave I felt like a million bucks and he looked it! We looked in the mirror and he said, "We look good!".
We went to the ball and found our table. For some reason seeing my place setting "Lt. ... guest" made me so happy. I was his guest. I was HIS guest. That was me.
I loved the Ball. All the traditions and the customs. I loved hearing him "HUA" when they acknowledged his unit. I loved people calling him Sir. I loved the toasts. One person would say a toast and everyone would say something acknowledging it. I had two favorites, "To the fallen", followed by a moment of silence and then all the men sat the ladies and then someone said, "To the lovely ladies" and all the men yelled, "TO THE LADIES!!!" and cheered.
I was introduced to a few of his friends. One of which sat next to me and chatted a bit asking my opinion of being there, he said it seemed like it would be such a drull being someone who isn't really a part of it. I told him I loved it, I was fascinated being there, all the customs and everything, it's not something I see every day and I loved it, not to mention it was GREAT people watching. To which he said, "It's even better knowing all the men in uniform. It says a lot about the man to see the woman he brings. How she dresses, how she looks." I said, "Interesting, so let me ask you, what am I saying about him?" he replied, "I don't know you well enough to answer that fully, but you're saying good things."
The whole night was just so great. I would like to take a minute and mention, HE LOOKED AMAZING! Ladies... a man in uniform, RIGHT? Not only that, but dress blues? I mean... ladies... take a minute!
After the ball we went to this little fast food place to get THE BEST SHAKE EVER. I had to go to the facilities so we had to go inside. There was this family sitting outside and this little girl saw my army man and goes, "(gasp)HI! Nice suit... Mom look at him, did you see him?" I just smiled walking behind him, so proud to be the girl with him.
When the night was over I was looking at some pictures we took, and it started to hit me. It was almost over. It was then that I realized this experience had met all of my expectations, and it was almost over.
The next day we went and got breakfast this was the day he took me to the base and around North Carolina a bit. He made sure I did all I wanted to do, got all I wanted to get. He then brought me to the airport and we said our goodbyes.
This experience couldn't have been better. You know that feeling where you wake up from an amazing dream and you're so bummed to have it ending. That's kind of how I feel. The good thing is, it wasn't a dream. This is a story I'll have forever.
At one point during the trip he asked me what the craziest thing I had ever done was. Without delay I said, "This!" The time I flew across the country to go to a ball with a guy I met online three weeks prior. Yeah this was definitely the craziest thing I had ever done. Chalk one up to taking risks friends!