Galen met Laura at lunch during her second week of college. Neither of them knew it at the time, but it was the start of something great. In fact, if not for Galen wearing a t-shirt from a band that Laura liked, there is a good chance they never would have gotten together and the world would have been a much darker place — at least for them.

Because, when they met, Galen was distracted. She was trying to impress a couple of girls, and Laura was not one of those girls. This fact, combined with Laura’s introverted nature, meant that while they sat at the same table, they didn’t say a word to each other after everyone introduced themselves.

By the end of lunch, Galen had kind of forgotten that Laura was even there.

So, when Laura invited Galen to go on a walk in their college’s arboretum around sunset a couple days later, she was surprised. Who was Laura again? Where did she meet her? Whatever. It doesn’t matter. What should she wear? Through the sort of wishful thinking only possible in the first couple weeks of your freshman year of college, Galen had immediately assumed Laura was asking her out on a date. A real, big girl, date.

Sure, Laura didn’t say it was a date, but it was implied, right? After all, friends don’t go on walks in arboretums at sunset together. That’s like, weirdly romantic for something that’s not a date. Maybe, Galen thought, Laura didn’t call it a “date” because she was worried that Galen would turn her down? Now that made more sense.

For her part, Laura did not think she had asked Galen on a date. She was just trying to make a friend. Just… in a really romantic way.

When the evening came, they spent hours walking and talking while under the romantic sway of an intentional collection of trees. When they got tired of walking, the pair ended up on a bench, talking for another couple hours. And, when exhaustion finally set in, Galen walked Laura back to her dorm, where they had an awkwardly long goodbye. You know, like you do on a first date.

If this isn’t a romantic setting, I don’t know what is. Photo courtesy of Gustavus Adolphus College.

Even for Laura, it was somewhat hard to deny that they had gone on a date.

A couple days, and a couple more “not dates” later, they attended a campus talk about consent. The talk prompted Galen to get her shit together, and when she walked Laura back to her dorm that night, she asked Laura if she could kiss her. Laura said yes — but only on the cheek. Galen was excited. Two nights later, Laura told Galen that she could kiss her on the lips — if, you know, she wanted. Laura was very nervous. She’d never kissed anyone before. Galen was very excited.

Their first “real date,” followed shortly after. For this “first date,” they walked to the local food co-op to buy granola and then ate dinner at a nearby diner. Honestly, the arboretum was more romantic.

A little over a month later, Galen and Laura were most often found awkwardly — yet passionately — making out in Galen’s room. For like, hours. Galen had only made out with one girl before, and Laura had never made out with anyone before. Galen loved that and took it upon herself to ensure Laura was comfortable. Galen remembered what it was like when a girl she dated in high school got a little too handsy and she felt like she couldn’t say no. Galen ended up crying herself to sleep, and felt disgusted with herself for weeks afterward. She didn’t want Laura to feel like that. No, it was better to take things slow.

So, most nights, when they were done making out, they’d watch a movie. Laura would fall asleep, cuddled up next to Galen, before waking up at the end of the movie to walk back to her dorm and sleep in her own bed.

By winter break, Galen had started writing romantic songs for Laura on her acoustic guitar, and recording them with her laptop. She gave them to Laura as gifts for her birthday and Christmas.

Things were great, and they only got better.

At the start of the second semester, Galen moved across campus into an empty dorm room across the hall from Laura. And, after two weeks of Laura walking back to her room at the end of the night, Laura moved in with Galen. She moved everything but her clothes. Those stayed in her original room. You know, just in case anyone with the college asked questions.

A short time later, after they had been drinking beer obtained by a friend of a friend, Galen brought up the “L” word.

Love.

Galen thought the conversation was long overdue. She was head over heels in love with Laura and couldn’t imagine using any other word to describe her feelings for her. In fact, her exact words were, “If this isn’t love, I don’t know what is.”

Laura wasn’t quite ready for that, and had to take a couple days to think about it. She couldn’t imagine using another word to describe her feelings for Galen either, but it seemed like a big step. Love? As a freshman in college? With her first kiss? But, it was unavoidable. She did love Galen. She loved her a lot.

They celebrated their love by making out even more.

A month later, Laura confided to Galen that she was bi. Galen had suspected as much, given their conversations. In fact, it had made Galen nervous. She was worried that Laura would eventually decide that she didn’t want to be with her anymore. But, after the two talked about it, Galen felt better. She even confided to Laura that she sometimes struggled with her gender. She told Laura that she didn’t relate strongly to the stereotypical ideas of “man” or “woman.” She said she was probably somewhere in between, but leaning towards “woman.” By the end of the conversation, both of them were closer than ever.

They spent the rest of that first year together watching shitty CW shows, making out, and talking until they fell asleep — which pretty well accounts for the rest of their college experience too, come to think of it.