When it comes to telling the story of how BK and I met, there isn't much of a story to tell. My friend was dating his friend at the time. She brought me to his house one night. And we met.

It's what happened after that mattered. He called me soon after (he didn't wait the designated number of days some guys wait after meeting a girl they like before calling her). He asked me to go to dinner the following Saturday (he didn't try to get me to meet him for drinks during the week). And he made it known from the start he liked me and was interested in learning more about me (he didn't play any dating games). I knew this would be a traditional date, the kind single 20-somethings don't encounter too often these days.

There's something I didn't tell BK in the beginning -- and for obvious reasons -- that we've since laughed about. After I already said yes, my mom had to encourage me to go on that first date.

I'll be clear: My reluctance had nothing at all to do with BK. It was quite the opposite, actually. I knew he was one to be taken very seriously, one that I could even end up with. I'd been majorly disappointed in love once before, and that was enough -- I wasn't sure if I was ready to give it another chance.

But I couldn't write this one off. It was clear after meeting him only once that he wasn't just some guy.

Of course that was exactly why, my mom urged, I could not cancel. I spent the morning and afternoon leading up to the date coming up with all kinds of excuses: I had nothing to wear (my closet was bursting with fashionable options) and I didn't feel well (if anything it was self-induced). I knew the truth, though. It was time to start the next chapter of my life and I was stalling.

My mom's words helped me see things more clearly: It can't hurt to give this new possibility a chance. You'd only be hurting yourself to shut down and shut out something potentially good before it even starts.

That night BK told me I looked nice, he opened the car door for me and drove me to the city for a nice (but not too nice that it would scare me away) dinner. After, my best friend, my mom and my sister all asked me if I was happy I went. And I really, truly was.

I'm not sure if I would have actually canceled or if it was more a test of my own strength at a time when I didn't feel like trying -- at all. But what I quickly learned was that dating BK didn't require any effort. It was just right.

And the only way I learned that was with a loving push from my mom.