New Years Eve, 2023. Conley decided that his New Year's resolution was to learn the guitar. Walking back home from a party in the U-district to his Wallingford apartment, he passed a flyer he hadn't seen before. "Guitar lessons, first one is free," it read. "Well this is as good a sign as any," he said to himself. He wrote down the number and set up an appointment with Carmen, a quarter-Bulgarian Florida girl who was relatively new in town. It had been a difficult winter already for her. Not used to the cloudy and gray of Seattle, Carmen was not just looking for music students. Deep down, she was looking for someone to be her sunshine. A week later, they met in South Seattle for Conley's first lesson. Waiting in the rented office space, Conley was surprised when a young woman with white seashell earings and long brown hair walked in through the door. "You must be Conley," she said, offering her hand. "Nice to meet you. You can call me Carmen; take a seat." She turned and pulled her guitar out of its case. Staring at him inquiringly she asked, "Where's your guitar?" "Oh.... I..." he started. "Oh, I see," she smiled. "Dont worry, I've got an extra one you can borrow. She left and returned with another guitar. She handed it to him and smiled. "He's kinda cute," she thought to herself, but quickly tried to brush the though aside. "No, Carmen, this is your first real student. Dont make things weird. Keep it professional." After 30 minutes, Conley was already playing a couple chords. "Dang, she is good," he thought. "Where did she come from?" As the lesson came to a close, he asked, "When are you free again?" Happy to have another lesson to book Carmen reached for her notebook. "Oh! Well howabout a week from today, same time?" "Works for me." A week later, Carmen found herself taking a little extra time to get ready for her new student. "What has gotten into me. Why do I feel so nervous," she thought out loud, brushing her hair in front of the mirror. Conley was also taking some extra time to get ready. For some reason, he found himself caring what she thought, not just about his guitar playing, but about him. The lesson proceeded as it had before, but Carmen did not stop when the 30 minutes were up. She didn't care about how much time she was spending, all she knew is that she was enjoying it, and so was he. "You know, I was wondering last week," Conley started. "What brought you out to Seattle?" "Oh, just a job," she grinned, "just like everyone else." "You aren't like everyone else," he said without thinking. She immediately looked up into his blue eyes, a stark contrast between his slightly blushing cheeks. "Oh?" she challenged. "What makes you say that?" "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that.... I dont know why I said it." "Oh." He thought he saw her smile fade slightly into disappointment, but it corrected itself quickly. "No, wait, I didn't mean it like that, I just..." he began, unable to put his thoughts into words. "When can I see you again?" Carmen reached for her notebook. "Well howabout same time ne-" "No," he interrupted, "That's not what I mean either. When can I see you again?" She blushed. She definitely was not expecting this otherwise shy stranger to be so forward. Perhaps she did not know him well enough. "I am free tomorrow evening around 7." "It's a date" ...... and the rest is history. Just kidding. We matched on hinge, went to a bar, hit it off, I cancelled all the rest of the Hinge dates I had scheduled, and the rest is just beginning :)