Also, hallway rumor had it that he and his girlfriend were sleeping together and had even talked about getting married. To be honest, I never gave Brock a second look my freshman year. He was the quiet boy in homeroom who also happened to be in a very serious relationship.

As fate would have it, Brock and I had a number of math and science classes together throughout school. This was very fortunate for me because, while Brock was a natural at math and science, I was NOT. Thus began our friendship. I would go to Brock often for help in all things mathematic. It was during our sophomore year that Brock actually broke off his serious relationship, but it wasn't until our junior year that our friendship grew into something more.

Now, the first time Brock and I dated, we were really just friends. I'm proud to say that there was no physical relationship.  Actually, when I look back, it's amazing that we worked out. I think I was really attracted to his caring personality. He was so sweet, and I could be a bit sassy. So we dated. It lasted for a few months, but I wasn't convinced about "us" so I broke it off.

JEN: You see, I had witnessed the pain and heartbreak of bad decisions firsthand. My mother had me at the age of 17, and my father took off. I didn't meet him until I was twenty years old. Now, my mom was a great parent, but it was still really tough. She was a single mom trying to raise a really strong─willed little girl. As I got older, I was determined that my life would be different. I wanted to grow up, go to college, and eventually have a loving husband, and a strong, healthy family. These were all the things that I missed as a little girl and knew that my mom also missed.

I also knew that while dating was fun, most of the guys in junior high and high school were not looking for long term relationships. I certainly wasn't going to have sex with any of them. Finally, I watched a number of my really good friends end up in pointless relationships. Each of them was smart, pretty, and fun but that didn't stop them from getting sexually involved with various boyfriends who didn't treat them very well. I knew that I wanted something different for my life. That's my background, but Brock has his own story.

BROCK: My childhood was crazy. As a little boy, I witnessed my father have affairs with other women, battle alcoholism, and even physically abuse my mom. My mom and dad divorced when I was five but eventually they remarried each other. My father, however, died of a heart attack when I was thirteen.

After my dad's death, my mom and I moved. So, being a guy who lost my father at age thirteen, and who hadn't seen great examples of true, committed love growing up, not surprisingly, one of my first relationships immediately involved sex. I was fourteen years old. At the age of 15, my girlfriend got pregnant. It was a difficult experience for both of us. Let's face it, there is no easy solution when you are a freshmen in high school and pregnant. After we broke up, I felt guilty for hurting her, but continued to be sexually active with other girls. When I had a second pregnancy scare, it really opened my eyes and I knew I had to make a change in my life. And I did.

JEN: Really, both of our upbringings contributed to the tumultuous relationship. Sure enough, six months after we broke up the first time, we were back together. I guess it was destiny calling, although it took me a few more years to really listen. We dated most of our senior year, even as we were making major decisions about college and our future.

I wanted to have my own college experience. Alone. Boy was I ticked when Brock decided to go to the same school. But, what could I say? The school offered him more money than any of the other schools; he had no choice but to accept their offer.

So in August we both set off for college. I once again broke up with Brock. I felt like Brock was really needy and I wanted my own space. So there we were–at a college of 1,200 students (even smaller than high school), and we were on our own. I thought Brock would be lost without me, but I was in for a real surprise. He made friends, even a few close girl friends. Needless to say, with such a small campus I always knew what he was up to, and many times my jealousy raged.

We got back together our junior year of college, and this time we knew there was no turning back. I had grown up; Brock had grown up. I knew where I wanted to go with my future, and I was confident in who Brock had become. The night we got back together we knew that marriage was in our future.

We had grown up a lot since our senior year of high school. But, one thing had not changed–to keep our goal to have limits. It may sound extreme, but we decided to only hold hands and kiss goodnight–for us, that meant no French kissing until we were engaged. We both knew that if we started French kissing, it would be really difficult to stop.

Two years and two months later we married. We honeymooned in Aruba, and couldn't have been happier. We both knew that we were committed solely to our vows, "til death do us part."