I met my girlfriend of 4 years at a show at a local bar. She was talking to a mutual friend, so I wormed my way into their conversation so I'd have a reason to talk to her. I ended up asking her out later, which she declined... At first... Over the next few months, now that we knew each other, we kept running into each other at parties with mutual friends. Because I'm a grownup and don't take rejection personally, we'd still talk and joke around with each other and generally be friendly. I wasn't trying to win her over or "wear her down," or anything stupid like that, because, again, I am a grownup. She ends up coming over to my place one night tagging along with some friends. I didn't know she was coming, so the house is a mess, I'm a mess, I'm dressed like a slob and playing Black Ops. She walks in, sees me in my loserish glory, and I think to myself, "well, at least now she knows for sure she made the right call in turning down my offer of a date." But that's not what happens. Because I had a cat that I adopted as a stray. My gf is an animal lover. She works at a vet clinic and rescues animals that others won't take. She sees me with my cat and, coupled with my winning personality, thinks maybe she made a mistake after all. Maybe she's crushing on me just a little bit. It takes her a couple months to finally muster up the courage, but eventually, she asks [b]me[/b] out. We bought a house together last year, and I'm hoping to put a ring on it.