The "L" word

We did it. Marty and I finally said the "L" word. It is such a great feeling to be able to tell someone you love them. It was actually kind of funny because some of the things he said when the subject was brought up was stuff in my journal in a previous post that he hadn't even read. So here's the story...
I told him that I wanted him to take me on a real date while we were here in Austin. So last night he took me to a very nice restaurant where his sister-in-law and brother works. It was an Italian restaurant that was intimate and had really good food. I ordered wine and he had a beer. Dinner was chicken alfredo for me and peppercorn steak for him. After we ate he said that there was something he had been wanting to tell me for some time now, but had been afraid to say it. I told him that he could tell me anything. He said that he had fallen for me and that he loved me. I told him that I loved him too. It was all very romantic. Then he said that he had something for me. He then gave me a beautiful pair of emerald earrings. After that whole blog on shopping, he actually took me the other day in order to throw me off since he had already bought them. It worked and I was surprised. Very pleasantly surprised. After we left and were talking in the car he said that he had wanted to tell me that he loved me for some time, but it didn't seem right to do it on the phone or on the internet. I laughed and told him that he really needed to read my journal.
So it's out in the open. I've definitely fallen pretty hard now and it's a really awesome feeling. It's making it harder though to have to deal with the distance. But I think he's worth it and I'm happier than I've ever been. Or at least in a very, very long time.