Darling's the kind of guy that you know you've strucked gold if he chooses you to be his friend. Hands down, I knew he would be the funniest, craziest, coolest, most interesting and entertaining person I would ever stumble upon. Even the people around him seemed to know this too and they all wanted in on the journey he calls his life. And I was glad that he let me tag along. Boy, what a great ride it was... and still is.

Even before he promoted me to my current status, I knew there was an endless line of girls waiting, no, begging, for a piece of him. After years of observing, I could tell by now who's got their sights set on him, who just wants a piece of his ass, who would just melt away by a single touch from him, and who was still nursing the heart he had broke. I watched in the background as one by one of those girls fail miserably to retain his attention/interest. I remember laughing away, telling him,"I don't know what you saw in her. She just doesn't get you. But she is pretty, I'll give you that." I don't know why but it still cracks me up whenever I see girls checking him out.

I was content in being "just friends" with him. What's not to be content about? I get to know him first, as friends. I get to see him without the mask he puts on when he was wooing other girls. As I learned more about him, our comfort zone with each other became bigger. We were "just friends" and happy to be "just friends".

One of the things I loved to do when we were "just friends" (and still do) is to go out and eat. I think that's one of the many reasons why we love to hang out with each other so much. Darling's not the kind of guy that likes to be around girls who "control macho", salad eaters, or weight watchers. "You eaten yet?" was always our opening line to going out. Once we've filled our bellies, we'd look for things to do or go for a swim, then eat some more.

If you had asked me years ago if I ever thought what were the chances of hooking up with Darling, I would've immediately answered,"Not a chance". Even then I knew he was way out of my league.

I would've been content if our affair was short-lived for I knew it would've been the best fling ever. Yes, there was that possibility that I may never recover from the broken-heart, but I took my chance when I saw it. After what had happened in the past, I had guarded my heart in such a way that puts the Alcatraz prison to shame. But thank God for making women weak - the moment he stole a kiss from me, I could feel my defenses slowly melting away. It was like as if he was stripping away my pride, my fears, from me with each time his lips touched mine. I knew I was done for and yet I couldn't help but allowed myself to fall more and more in love with him anyway.

The first impression you get when you see Darling is that he's the kind who doesn't have a care in the world. It makes you wonder if he ever gets stressed out like the rest of us. Does he have any worries? His attitude towards life just rubs off on you, too. Each time we hung out, I could feel whatever worries I have slowly leave my already heavily burdened body. He's kinda like an Energizer battery, I suppose.



He's the go-to guy when you're in trouble. Always there to lend a helping hand when a friend is in trouble or gets too drunk to drive home. Sometimes he may even be the cause of you ending up in trouble. But one thing he never does is ditch a friend (well, unless if he hates you, then that's a different story). I had gotten drunk once, pissed drunk (all thanks to him and my ability to chug down beer at the speed that would make Speedy Gonzales look speedy-less). But not once did he leave me (although it was impossible to leave me because I had 'leeched' onto him). He carried me to the car (although according to my version of the story, I walked to the car), drove me home and made sure I made my way safely into the house. The next day, he took me out for lunch to help nurse my hangover (I secretly think he did that so that he could recount the embarassing story of how drunk I was the night before).

How we got together may sound like those relationships that wouldn't even last a week. You'd be surprised that it was drinks that brought us together. A few months prior to us hooking up together, I had told him how I had developed feelings for him - feelings that "just friends" shouldn't have. I had even wanted to stop being his friend for fear I would turn into a psychotic, possesive, jealousy-driven person "if I can't have him, then no one else can". But despite of that possibility, he still stood by my side, insisting that he'd be my friend and wouldn't have it any other way. So I tried my best to be "just friends" with this guy who was proving to be real hard to be "just friends" with.

Then there were signs that maybe, just maybe, he felt something for me, too. So I went back to see him. I was like a duck swimming in a lake - calm on the surface, but peddling like mad below the water. We went for drinks at Senzo. I was happily sipping my Pina Coladas, thinking "hey, maybe we could be just friends. It's not so bad." Then out of the blue, he grabbed my face and kissed me. I remember telling him,"This is a mistake. We shouldn't do this. It's going to fuck our friendship up." He assured me that he's been wanting to do it for quite some time and he also could no longer hide his feelings anymore.

Well, naturally, like any other girl who thinks she's just a 'casual' friend, I thought,"Okay, I'm leaving in 3 days time. He'll hang around with me, he'll say all those nice things I want to hear, we'll probably make out some more, and then when I leave, I'll never hear from him ever again. Great." I don't know what I did to ever deserve him, but 3 weeks later he flew to see me. That's when I knew he was serious about us. Dead serious.

One of the many things I love to do with him is to get him to take his bath. It's quite a challenge, really. After repeatedly nagging at him that it's time for him to take his shower, he would play dead in bed, prompting me to miserably try to drag him out of bed and into the shower. I'd end up trying to move him and he'd try to keep me in bed, and this would last for quite some time. Anyway, I'd end up all sweaty and in dire need of a shower myself. Is it any suprise that that's the time he's willing to jump into the shower. After months of observing this peculiar behavior of his towards water and cleanliness, it was only recently that I found out the true meaning behind this game. It was his way of getting my attention and getting me to touch him. Bathing has very little to do with it.

That's just how he is. To understand him, you got to look pass through his words and see what he's actually trying to convey through his actions. I love that about him. It's like I get to play a mad scientist conducting mad experiments and he's my little lab rat. But somehow I get the feeling that I'm actually the lab rat who's been made to believe that she's the scientist.

Gosh, there's so many things I love about him - how much he respects me and treats me extremely well, the gentle pecks he gives on my forehead when we're out window-shopping, the out-of-the-blue I love you's when we're walking, the games he comes up with, how he makes me feel pretty on my not-so-pretty days, the support he gives me on my not-so-good days... the list is endless.

He amazes me with how much he's able to put up from me. From my picky style of eating, to my spoilt brat behavior, to my diva behavior, he just soldiers on. He could've easily left me alone with my ridiculous demands, and yet he always finds a way to tame the wild spirit within me. For example, on New Year's I was bored out of my mind at the place we were at and the countdown was only 15 minutes away. He drove us all the way home so that we can watch the fireworks from his balcony. If it were me, I would've stayed and suffered that dreadful 15 minutes. But no, not Darling. He would never let me be bored. He improvises, and that's something I'm proud of him.

I like it when he gets all bossy with me. Even though he can be romantic and all that, he isn't afraid to put me in my place (unlike some of the previous I dated before). Whenever I go out of control (which I tend to be from time to time), he would assert himself as the man in the relationship. I always feel like a 5 year old who got caught with their hand in the cookie jar. He can be very stern if he wants to be. I like that in a man, in my man. He can be all fun and games, but business is business. If this is how he is with me, then I dare say that I don't have to worry how our kids will turn out to be.

I always get speechless whenever he thanks me. It's crazy to be thanked for being a great girlfriend. It's just weird to be thanked for the things you do out of love because you don't expect anything other than making that person happy. But I guess I should take those thanks with pride because it shows that he doesn't take me for granted.

If we were trading thank you's, trust me, I would be the one who'll be doing the thanks the most - for having to put up with me and my temperamental nature, for putting my needs before his, for the sacrifices he made (and going to make), for being my dream come true, and for loving me just the way I am. Baby, thank you for letting me in on your best kept secret, for letting me see the real you. Thank you for this honest and most rewarding relationship.

I could go on and on about how he is, but I fear if I do that then you all would want to have him too. And I can't possibly compete with all of you. You see, I believe that I have in my possession a rare man, the kind that God doesn't make anymore, the last of his kind, the 8th wonder of the world (and he's straight!). I also know for a fact, and I dare say this with a pinch of arrogance, that we have the kind of love that most spend a life time looking for but just can't seem to find. But like I said, he's the last of his kind and he's all mine.

Babe, I know that you would hate me for putting this post up, that I have somewhat tarnished your macho rep and that I'm letting people in on our private life. But I can't help it, baby, if I want people to know that little truth about how special you really are. And maybe it would inspire others to search for their soulmate and not settle for anything less than the best.

I love you and I can't wait to sign along the dotted lines with you. Happy 1 year anniversary, baby.