How did it all begin, you ask? Well, here's the tea. Matt, who had been living in NYC for 18 years at the time, was working as a renowned karaoke host at a gay bar in the West Village. Eddie, who was near the end of his Master's program at NYU, started going to said gay bar with his friend, Richard, for karaoke every Tuesday evening. So that's it; end of story (not exactly). Every Tuesday night, Eddie would walk in with Richard, and Matt would come up to the two of them, chat it up with Richard, then turn to Eddie, squeak out a "Hi!" and scurry away. However, when Matt was behind the microphone as the karaoke host, he had the golden opportunity of teasing and flirting with Eddie every time he walked up to the stage to sing. This was the pattern until several weeks later, when Matt was at a gay bar in Hell's Kitchen celebrating his friend, Will's, birthday, and Eddie walked into the bar. Eddie was there to meet Richard, but the first thing he saw was Matt staring at him from across the bar. Eddie walked up to Matt, who promptly said, "Richard's over there." Eddie walked over to Richard at the bar, setting the scene for the most contested part of the story. Matt's side of the story: he ordered drinks for Eddie and Richard and they both turned the drinks down. Eddie's side of the story: in the midst of a very loud, crowded bar, Eddie couldn't hear anyone calling his or Richard's name, causing the bartender to return to Matt and tell him that we had "turned the drinks down." No matter what the true story is, Eddie eventually walked over to Matt to learn more about him, prompting Matt to ask "So a guy buys you a drink and you turn it down?" Shocked by the accusation, Eddie quickly assured him with, "Listen. I'm from Wisconsin; I would never turn down a free drink." That was the beginning of much talking, laughing, a little kissing, and a first date one week later at a Chelsea restaurant called Il Bastardo. The rest, as they say, is history.