Mari liked one of my pictures on my dating profile on Hinge, but I was incredibly nervous about talking to girls still so I complimented a picture of her and Eclipse. It got serious very quickly as we explored important make-or-break topics such as the number of children we want, our career goals, and who is in charge of the lawn care. I appreciated how straightforward Mari was, that we both were interested in the exact same type of relationship. We decided to meet up after two weeks at Mari's college apartment to bake cookies and play games. I begged her to tell me if she needed anything and ended up bringing a bouquet of flowers (my first time buying flowers for a date) and a bag of sour cream and onion chips (also a first for a date). Mari hugged me in the parking lot; I was surprised. As soon as we got up to the apartment, Eclipse came up to scold me. So naturally, I sat in the middle of the kitchen to talk to her. She climbed into my lap. Mari says that was the moment she knew I was a keeper, but all I remember was feeling nervous and unsure about everything except letting the cat do what it wanted. We made M&M cookies together then, and it was a really great bonding experience since our cooking styles were very different. Mari was precise and followed instructions, I took everything with a grain of salt and did my own thing. She talked fast, she was excited, she was nervous, and I never wanted the date to end. However, I had things to take care of since my niece had been born earlier that day. I was reluctant to leave, even after playing Uno together! I am tickled that our first date was so indicative of our continued relationship growth. My favorite date nights are cooking dinner together and playing some board or card game. We hope you enjoy our reception that will be centered on food and games in honor of our first date!