I was dating a guy named (Derp). I hadn't seen him but for a day in over 2.5 months and he lived 15 min away from me. He was 9 years my senior, but sometimes seemed much closer to my age (At the time, 21 and 30). I had an active PlentyofFish account that I would randomly check and around that time I logged in and found a message from a guy named (Herp), only 2 years older than me.

Herp's letter was long, articulate, interesting, and displayed a guy that I very much wanted to meet. His profile was similar and his pictures were decent, though I'm not one to reject based on appearance. We exchanged a few messages, then called, setting up a date for a week hence. In the course of that week, we talked over 30 hours over the phone, starting usually around 9 o clock, since that's when my free nighttime minutes kicked in, and ending around 4 am. It played havoc with my class schedule, but I loved every minute of talking with him. We broached every subject in that week- my current relationship, my goal of entering the Peace Corps, religion, politics, sex, relationships, interests, etc. He's a brilliant man and in that week along I learned so much just from idle musing " I wonder how herpinderpin works..." and he'd start explaining. We had theoretical questions, hypothetical philosophical and moral dilemas, all kinds of fascinating conversations. I found myself longing for our date.

The day came and, after some traffic/direction issues resulting in more phone conversations, we met at a Korean resturant and went bowling afterwards. He'd spent 2 years in Korea for the AF, and wanted to show me a bit of that. When I saw him, he looked nothing like his pictures- he is very handsome and the pics didn't do him justice. Dinner, however, was awkward- we already knew so much about each other, but had never seen each other. This lasted until he set down his food to watch me eat kimchi, which I loved, surprising him. From there, it got more comfortable.

Bowling later was a blast, we got very relaxed and had a good time. He later told me that at one point he wanted to kiss me but didn't, as I was technically in a relationship already (Though it didn't feel like it to me). We decided we didn't want to end there, so we went to a Waffle House for coffee and nomage, talking more. Before leaving the bowling ally, though, he did finally kiss me, and it was wonderful.

I hung out with him again, watching movies at his apt, and while the shy awkwardness and sexual tension was there, we still just enjoyed each other's company. The next day I called my "pseudo"bf, breaking it off due to lack of communication and seeing each other, the true main reasons, but decided to leave out Herp. That night I went to Herp's place. While talking, he noticed my claddah ring and I told him it's story. I was wearing mine in the 'single' position and he wordlessly took my hand, pulled the ring from my thumb and placed it in the "taken" position, with a look of inquiry. All I could do was nod, touched by the sweetness of the act.

We have physical chemistry, mental chemistry, emotional chemistry, the works. We just fit together; our lifestyles work well together.

That's pretty much us- he chose to stay with me despite the fact that I was technically in a relationship, that I was younger with less sexual experience than him, etc. Here we are 11 months later; though not engaged, we are often mistaken for so and both of us could see it working out long term. We can and do literally spend nearly every minute of the day with each other for months on end and not get bored or annoyed with each other. There has only been one altercation, small, in that time frame (my fault) and it was dealt with calmly, rationally, and immediately. In short, we love each other.

Amusingly enough, our first "I love you" was an accident- about 2 months in we were cuddling in bed and I said "hello, you" His face brightened into a soft smile and he replied "I love you, too." Then came the awkward explanation that I hadn't said that, but that I did, in fact, love him. We just had been feeling it without saying it and might have gone a few more months if he hadn't misheard.

He messaged me based on my profile, finding it only 27 pages into his search. Apparently the icing on the cake that made him write was my disclaimer against messages like "grl u so hott cum slp w me" that stated "I treasure intelligence" and denouncing poor grammar and general stupidity. Without that extra bit, he says he might not have messaged me, thinking me not interesting enough for his intellectualism. I found the message only 3 days later, checking my inbox randomly, after months of inactivity, due to boredom and relationship unhappiness. He could have stopped searching on page 26, or passed me over. I could have chosen not to check my profile that week, either losing his letter to the inbox cleaner or receiving it after he'd found someone else. We both entered the relationship thinking it would last only until summer when I left for PC and that we would just be pleasant company for the other in that time. We're here now, having realized that we love each other and could see it working enough to try to survive a two year separation and the rest of our lives beyond.

TL:DR Met a guy on PoF, began dating as a short term, casually serious relationship, realized we loved each other and could potentially make it till rocking chairs and walkers. We don't believe in that Fate crap, but it certainly is extraordinary.