A Tale of Gold and Stone

He says . . . Our story began way back in High School circa 2003. Lara and Terence both had a mutual friend at whose house they would often gather with various other friends. There was always a lot of staring but not a whole lot of talking as Terence was (is?) the brooding type, and Lara figured he wasn't too fond of her. However, much to her surprise, Terence did ask her out twice at some point between 2004-2005. There was an instant attraction but it fizzled fast as Lara thought Terence was whack after he told her he thought there was 'definitely something between us'. Fast forward 11 years later, Terence is scrolling through a dating app that shall not be named and he sees a beautiful, dark-haired woman, and says to himself - "I know that girl!". He didn't, he was just confused. But the next day this happens again with an even more beautiful woman, and he says to himself the same thing. He was right this time. It was Lara. The one that ran away. He figured he needed to do something to get her attention so he sent her a message and attached a 'charm', which would bump the note up to the top of her list. And then...silence. Weeks went by and Terence figured he must have really freaked her out all those years ago. He shrugged his shoulders and moved on. Then, about a month after he sent the message, he got a ping. It was Lara - excited to hear from him...

She says . . . If you ask Lara, their story truly began at a cabaret in 2002. The way Lara remembers it, "Terence stepped on to the stage and everything else stopped". She was mesmerized by his voice, -not to mention his dashing good looks. They would see each other at parties over the years, but Lara always kept her distance since Terence barely spoke, let alone glanced her way. Yet, one night he offered to drive her home. After Lara had gone inside, she received a creepy text from him informing her that there was 'something between us.' Needless to say their short lived love affair fizzled, and the two parted ways for over a decade. They both went on to have new experiences; they loved, they lost, and they managed to find their way back to each other (with a little help from online dating). Lara joined the app (that shall not be named) as a joke with her profile created by a friend, with no desire to actively pursue anyone. After a terrible afternoon she decided to humor herself and check the app, and to her surprise a "charm" was waiting for her attached to a message from none other than "there's something between us" Terence Stone. After the shock subsided, plans were made immediately...

They Say . . . The next day they got drinks at the Penrose on the upper east side in Manhattan. It was awkward at first but they both eventually settled in (thank you, whiskey) and shared a series of deep thoughts, which culminated with Terence saying, "You know, I always thought there was something special between us." And Lara thought to herself this time, "You know - he might just be onto something."

On a misty, overcast day, Terence took Lara upstate to go hiking. He made sure to bring sandwiches knowing his girl would get hangry doing physical activity without immediate reward. After some time walking the rainy trails Terence took Lara off the beaten path, and got down on one knee in the romantic, fairytale-esq setting. She said "YES" and they had their celebratory picnic in the woods, which was icing on the cake of an incredible day.