Last night my doorbell rang. When I opened it, there was a man holding a whole handfull of red balloons.

“Umm, I think you have the wrong house,” I said almost immediately. “What number are you looking for?”

“These are for you,” he replied with a smile. “Is your name Matt?”

“It is, but… huh?” I said, still kinda in shock.

“One thing I need to tell you though and I hope you’re not mad,” he said, almost sheepishly. “I lost the card that came with the balloons.”

“You’re kidding,” I said, still a bit confused. “Well, who are they from?”

“I called my office and they read me what the card was supposed to say. It said, ‘Happy Graduation..you did it! Love, Ryan.”

He handed me the balloons, smiled again, and whispered, “Congratulations.” He ducked below the balloons that were now crowding the hallway in front of my door, and he disappeared.

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I’ve never gotten balloons before….and in fact, I kinda have never gotten anything delivered like this before. At least, not that I remember. I immediately called him, laughing and so incredibly happy. It was so sweet.

“I didn’t want to have them delivered on your graduation day because then they wouldn’t be much of a surprise,” he said. I could tell he was beaming on the other end of the phone.

“God, I was surprised all right,” I replied, still in shock that there were now a whole gaggle of balloons in my hand. “Thank you so incredibly much!” If he was here, I’d give such a huge kiss and a hug.

“I’m glad you like them,” he beamed. “I'm really proud of you.”

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The odd thing about this all is that, over the last week, I’ve really begun to do a turnaround with Ryan. We've spent a good amount of time talking. And for once, I feel the attraction to him that I think was missing. I didn’t feel frustrated or ambivalent anymore. I'm starting to really like him. Maybe our trip to Ohio helped me understand what this is… and made me realize what I had right in front of me. Perhaps it gave me some clarity. So far, it has…and I realize that I do like him… and yes, I "like him" like him.