At the time, Jared was playing the field. But he kept her note. "It was nice knowing that somebody admired me that much," he said.
About a month later, Jared saw Liz online, and asked if she'd like to talk. After several months of electronic communication, they began meeting at a park near Liz's house. The third meeting included a kiss.
Jared told Liz he would try to hit a home run for her birthday. They went to the mall, and even though Stephen was also there, it felt like a date.
But the next time they spoke online, Jared told Liz she "wasn't girlfriend material."
"I was devastated," Liz said.
Jared did have feelings for Liz. But the great conversations they had online turned to awkward stammering in person. And he felt peer pressure to date another athlete.
After high school, Jared studied business management and played baseball at the University of Rhode Island. He launched a minor-league baseball career, playing on teams in the United States and in Canada.
Liz majored in professional writing at Kutztown University, then took a job at a now-defunct Hatboro nonprofit.
Liz and Jared would sometimes run into each other online, or in person during the off-season. Liz was in a serious relationship. Jared would sometimes say if she were ever single, they could go out.
In late 2005, Liz had just moved in with her boyfriend, whom she had dated off and on for several years. One night at the Limerick bowling alley, where her league played, she unexpectedly spotted Jared bowling for another team. Liz was stunned (and a little mad at herself) when she realized she still found him so attractive.
By summer of 2006, Liz's relationship with her boyfriend was going downhill. Meanwhile, Jared, who she continued to see at the bowling alley and online, was popping up in her dreams.
