I slipped into a white pair of jeans, a grey vest, and sandals, taking my time to reapply my lipgloss. It was a big Saturday night. My parents were at church, but I peeked through my bedroom window just to make sure the coast was clear. He was picking me up at 7p.m. and I nervously waited for his Nissan Sentra to pull curbside. I had it all planned: I'd ensure the porch light was off, slip through the front door and into his passenger seat. Sure, JD told me he wanted to meet my parents before taking me out on our first date, but my parents? They hailed from prehistoric times and might've chased him with a wooden club.

I ran to his car before he had a chance to approach the front door and it was like a scene from Fast and Furious. I flicked my tousled hair with a panicked look in my eyes and shrieked, Go, go, goooooo! As we drove to the movie theater, I promised he'd meet my parents in the future (once I hid their weapons and sharp objects).

We walked through the outdoor plaza filled with people, palm trees, and water fountains. As we passed Barnes&Noble, I pointed to one of my favorite children's book, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. JD confessed never reading children's books. No Clifford? Corduroy? Berenstein Bears? Mother Goose?! Nope, nothing. I spent the next half hour describing the importance of these books and before anyone gets confused I totally realize I had NO CLUE how to go on a date. Or act cool. Clearly.

We went to Starbucks, ordered drinks and sat by an outdoor fountain under a sea of twinkling lights from illuminated palm trees nearby. We missed our movie. JD and I were two 17-year-old kids caught up in the madness of high school, but in that moment, it was just us. We spoke about the future, without knowing out lives would still be interlocked, dependent, connected…well…forever.

JD and I sat in Lolita's last night to celebrate Cinco de Mayo in Philadelphia. He asked if I could believe that this was our lives? All these years later and it's still us? I shook my head and swirled the ice cubes in my glass. I proposed a toast (I always propose toasts…cut me some slack, I'm a WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER!) and we clinked glasses. We went back to talking about life, the Lakers, and this weekend's wedding which–and I'm really proud to admit–was better than the Berenstein Bears. By just a bit.