24. The fact that this will probably mortify him. As similar as we are, in some ways -- we are very different people.
23. His encyclopedic knowledge of minutae. Especially film and TV minutae. It's mind-bogglingly amazing. The guy's a pub quiz champ for a reason.
22. He always opens the car door for me. In the end, it's the little things that really matter.
21. He is gorgeous. When we finally met in person, my first impression of him was, "Wow....he is really good-looking." This was of course, followed by the inevitable, "Oh. This isn't good. This isn't good at all."
20. He makes the world's best grilled cheese sandwiches and french toast. I'd date him based on this alone.
19. He believes in me and thinks I'm a great writer. Coming from a writer I respect so much, that's high praise.
18. He serenades me with everything from
Motown Philly by Boyz II Men to The Doors to completely retooled versions of Disney songs (I could be wrong, but I'm fairly sure that
A Whole New World from Aladdin never featured lyrics about DJ's boyfriend, Steve).
17. Because even though we've been together for almost nine months, I still get butterflies whenever he calls and thinking about him will still make me smile and blush.
16. He has great taste in music and makes me the best-best-best mix CDs. I have mixes entitled, 'Dear God! Ten Volumes!', 'Eye On Springfield' and 'Now! That's What Dan Calls Christmas.' Tell me that doesn't rule all.
15. He shares his food and lets me eat off his plate (You'd be surprised at how annoying this is to some people).
14. He thinks I'm beautiful. How can you not love a guy who says things like this and actually means them? I've been called cute before. Ditto adorable and precious. Actually, think of any adjective you'd assign to a Labrador Retriever and odds are, I've heard it in reference to me, but beautiful? Never. I've never been told that. Not in a genuine sense, anyway. More in a
slap-the-ass-get-me-another-beer-wouldya-thanks-beautiful way. Everyone should feel beautiful at least once in their life and because of Dan, I now know what that feels like.
13. He drives stick. No, that's not a God-awful euphemism. He's got a stick-shift car and according to numerous sources on manliness (primarily
Maxim,
Esquire and my dad) -- real men drive stick.
12. Despite the fact that driving stick and holding your girlfriend's hand is damn near impossible, he manages it anyway.
11. He always smells great.
10. He inspires me -- to write, to be a better person, to see the ever-evolving beauty this world possesses. Being with him, I'm reminded of how optimistic I was at sixteen. Somewhere along the way, that unabashed optimism got submerged, but now? It's starting to come back and that is a beautiful thing.
9. He indulges my spectacularly crap taste in music. Not many men would put up with their girlfriend belting out off-key versions of old-school Mariah Carey at ear-splitting volumes.
8. He's a great uncle and his niece adores him (His niece, by the way? Smartest child ever. But in a cute way. Not in that pretentious and scary Dakota Fanning way)
7. He's got a huge....wit. What? The kid's funny. He can make me laugh harder with one noise than most comedians can with an HBO special. (Come on now -- did you really think I was going to be so lewd? Ahh, I don't blame you. I would have expected it from myself too)
6. Dating Dan means almost unlimited access to his grey American Eagle hoodie which might just be the most comfortable article of clothing in this world. Ladies, back me up here. No matter how many sweaters and hoodies you own -- the most comfy one always belongs to your boyfriend, right?
5. He introduced Lost, Wawa Iced Tea, Bruce Springsteen's
Atlantic City, Black-and-White cookies, Before Sunrise and Before Sunset into my life, thus making it ultimately better.
4. Best. Conversations. Ever. He's intelligent, eloquent, passionate and opinionated. That's why I love
this picture of us so much. It perfectly captures exactly how we are together.
3. His 'Gatsby' smile. He's got this amazing smile that reminds me of a line from F. Scott Fitzgerald's
The Great Gatsby -- "...and then, his face broke into that radiant and understanding smile, as if we'd been in ecstatic cahoots on that fact all the time."
2. When we kiss, I get weak at the knees and a little dizzy. I used to think that was a myth promulgated by Hollywood and romance novelists to sell tickets and books. I thought wrong.
1. He took the risk, flew 1000 miles and met the Internet Girl. And they'll live happily ever after.
I loved you then. I love you now. I'll love you always.
