An impromptu pasta dinner brought Vivian and I together, and with our mutual friend, Lisa, the three of us found ourselves amidst of table exchanges dominated by awkward silences and forced giggles, with only a cheap bottle of Pinot Noir to save us from what could have been far worse. As the night would have it, however, one bottle turned into two, and two led us to a nearby Korean bar. Glasses of beer were being emptied as quickly as they were being filled; soju shots equally came and went. Before either of us realized, we were crazed. By then, Lisa had faded out of the picture, and Vivian and I were gossiping and bantering as though we were long lost friends. Fast forward to later that month, I had been chasing Vivian around for two weeks, and she had already rejected me twice. In retrospect, I don't blame her; she barely knew me, and I probably looked horribly desperate. But as the cliché goes, I knew "she was the one." Vivian was driven, had a quirky sense of humor, athletic, and most of all, she could drink like a tank. I mean, who wouldn't fall for a woman who never shies away from a drink?! Jokes aside, from our passion for our respective careers to our love for exploring eateries and exercising, I found myself being able to relate with Vivian in all aspects of life. More than that, Vivian motivated me to always be the best version of myself, and I saw a future with her that I had never before with anyone else. Fast forward to another week later, I invited her to my birthday party, and she showed up! We had an amazing time; my friends all loved her; we laughed, hugged, and kissed. And here we are now. :)
That day started out with the worst hangover I had ever experienced. I couldn't even get out of my bed all afternoon, let alone take a shower or eat. That's when my friend, Lisa, invited me out to a dinner with her friend. Feeling very lazy but craving food, I decided to show up with no makeup on and hair unwashed, wearing last night's outfit and carrying a huge paper bag that contained all my belongings. That's the first encounter I had with Jay. Introducing myself to him for the first time, Jay came off standoffish and rather... flamboyant. In order to wave away the awkwardness of meeting new people for the first time, we decided to order wine with our food. And even though the smell of alcohol was still triggering me, I couldn't say no--you're supposed to drink wine with Italian food, after all ;). It should come to you with no surprise that one bottle turned into two, then to a pitcher of beer, then another, and another... to this day, Jay tells me that he's never met a girl so unkempt and can drink as much as I did that night. Fast forward to five days later, we were hanging out with each other again at an Izakaya, having a light meal with drinks, where he proceeded tell me he liked me and couldn't stop thinking about me. Of course, I did not expect the conversation to turn out like that--so I turned him down. For the next two months or so, I kept pushing him off, making excuses to not hang out with him alone, to no avail. Until one day, I gave in and said ok to him. I DID like hanging out with him after all! I think what made me cave was the air of confidence around him. Unlike most people I've seen, Jay walks with his back very straight, looking far ahead, without being distracted. He was so sure that I was THE one for him and relentlessly told me that he is the one who can make me the happiest person in this world. It was that sense of certainty that made me fall in love with him. And I can tell you that he wasn't wrong about making me the happiest woman!