Thomas & Erin
A Tale of Love (and bacon)
Meet Erin...
She is originally from Texas, extremely smart, incredibly gorgeous, and the sweetest woman in the world.
She has an amazing son, Austin, who is a master at minecraft and has nerf gun skills that leave his opponents (Thomas) no chance.
She loves the Texas Longhorns, sings Taylor Swift in the shower (and everywhere else), and is addicted to Candy Crush.
Meet Thomas...
He's one of the very few remaining native Nashvillians. Technically he is from Gallatin, but close enough. He's a nerd, runner, hockey player, and almost always much happier than his tweets make him seem.
He loves Erin, bacon, lobster, good burgers, and whiskey.
He's a fan of the UT Vols and Nashville Predators, does not sing Taylor Swift in the shower (or anywhere else), and is not entirely sure how many computers he actually owns.
October 28, 2011 - It begins...
Thomas showed up at his usual Friday happy hour spot and saw a gorgeous woman, still wearing the mad hattress costume that gave her 1st place at her office earlier that day. He was especially drawn to her curly, brown hair.
Erin was new to the happy hour group, so she was willing to talk to anyone, even Thomas. But they soon discovered they had a lot in common. Both were raised in strict, religious families and at least an hour was spent just naming "classic" movies neither had seen.
They sent lots of twitter DMs back and forth, and eventually she asked if he would like to have drinks with her. A first date!
However, that first "date" soon turned into lots of questions about relationships, specifically what had gone wrong with his in the past. He was a little sad it hadn't turned out the way he expected, but still happy to have found a new friend with so much in common.
When he got home she sent him another DM saying that a better way to reach her would be with her phone number. Maybe this was going to work out after all!
The next Friday she came to HoH again, but this time she had 20 pounds of bacon in her trunk. She had truly found the way to his heart! The next few weeks he made her dinner, she watched a horrible movie with him, they went to a Preds game and even kissed on the jumbo tron!
But alas, the time was not right for either of them. This fairytale would have to wait a while. And so 2011 came to an end with them apart.
Fast forward to 2012
Thomas joined friends for a St. Patrick's Day party and had not been there long when he saw a woman
in a green dress walking in from her car. "Who is that gorgeous woman?" he wondered.
It was Erin.
He found himself sitting directly across from her. This must be some kind of a sign from the universe.
Then she started talking to her girlfriends about the guy she was dating.
Just friends...
Nothing came of the St. Patrick's Day meeting, but it wasn't long after that he helped her move some
furniture.
Then they begin hanging out more and more. Happy hour, brunch, dinner. Everyone began to
ask if they were dating. "Nope, we're just friends."
Just friends... plus kisses
Hanging out with friends didn't seem to be enough so they found themselves staying places after
everyone else had left.
Maybe there were some kisses in there.
But they were still just friends, of course.
Steeplechase
Both were going to Steeplechase and Thomas suggested that Erin could meet at his place and ride
with him. It would be less driving for her, but he *may* have been thinking more about how it would give
them extra time alone together.
When he opened the door and saw her in that red and black dress
it quite literally took his breath away for a few seconds. She had never looked so amazing!
It was a fantastic day together and with friends, who were still asking if they were dating and
mentioning they looked cute together.
It would be the only time she would let him wear a bowtie.
Or those white leather shoes.
Memorial Day Weekend
Thomas invited Erin to spend Memorial Day weekend on a houseboat with friends.
It was that weekend, on May 26, 2012 to be exact, that both of them
finally admitted to each other how they felt.
They would be the last 2 people to discover that they
were in fact dating.
Travel
Their first official trip together as a couple was a weekend in Chattanooga.
He introduced her to old friends, showed her around the city he called home for 4.5 years, and they
went ziplining together.
More Travel
Travelling would become one of their favorite things to do together.
Gatlinburg in August, Boston in September, Memphis in December.
They both fell in love with Boston and agreed that "Memphis was... something".
New Year's Eve
That New Year's Eve would not be spent alone. It was a quiet-ish night in Gallatin with her and
Austin. It was unlike any NYE in the past.
It was exactly where he wanted to be.
Valentine's Day 2013
In February they celebrated their first Valentine's Day as a couple.
In March they went to their first concert together to see Delta Rae who they both love.
1 Year Together
May started with their 2nd trip to Boston together, a city they both loved very much. It began
with a flooded hotel room, but only got better from there. This time she didn't have mono or a
tick-borne illness which made it even more enjoyable for her.
Later in May they celebrated 1 year since they had finally admitted to each other that they were in fact
dating. The whole weekend was spent at the pool in Gallatin with Austin.
It was the best Memorial Day weekend ever!
June
In June they saw Delta Rae again at Dancin' in the District downtown.
Thomas and Austin ran their epic race against the General Jackson and won!
Erin hit her goal (because she's an AMAZING saleswoman who rocks at her job) guaranteeing that they
would be going to Maui on a free trip in August!
Austin, TX
July saw them traveling together again, this time to Austin, TX where Erin went to college.
Thomas had never been and was excited to finally see the city and get a tour from an expert.
It was a work trip for Erin, but the first night was theirs.
He insisted she show him the famous tower on the University of Texas campus, which she had shown
him pictures of so many times in the past.
It was there that Thomas asked his best friend if she would spend the rest of her life with him.
She Said Yes!
To Be Continued... forever!
Normally this is where you'd see "The End", but this tale of
love (and bacon) is just beginning...