I was new to the dating world, so my friend Carley encouraged me to get onto a dating app to meet people during the pandemic. One night at my friend Terra's house, we chose pictures & made my dating profile (it seemed Terra had more fun with this than I did!). The whole concept was so strange & impersonal but I kept an open mind. At one point, I scrolled by Jason's profile & thought "he's out of my league, & he has a kid - that could be tricky". (Little did I know, it was his nephew Jude in his picture!) After two bad dates, I was scrolling on the app again & saw him. This time I decided to swipe & thank goodness he swiped back! Even through texting, the conversation was good & I really liked his sense of humor. I think it says something when someone can make you laugh through text without even knowing them! I decided to ask him if he wanted to meet that Friday for a dinner at Mad Mex & luckily he said yes! Of course, that day was so busy at work & I knew before the end of my shift that I would be leaving late. I texted Jason immediately to let him know. He offered to meet on Saturday for brunch if it was too much, to which I immediately said "no! I want a margarita!" So he said he would run some errands & wait for me at the bar in a "blueish, yellowish, greenish, orangish shirt". I replied "Perfect, tie-dye, I'll be able to find you!". I texted when I parked & he said he'd walk up to the hostess stand. I wasn't nervous to meet him, I was excited because I had a good feeling. But when I saw him walk up to the hostess stand, my stomach immediately flipped & I became extremely nervous because HOLY SMOKES is he even better looking in person! I was so nervous that I stuck my hand out to shake his to say hi! He laughed & said "we can hug". So we did. Off to dinner we went & we had such a great time that we got a drink at the bar after dinner. Like a gentleman, he walked me to my car & I got excited this time that he may kiss me (I'll leave that detail for you to wonder!). He asked me to text him when I got home so he knew I was safe & I did. But first I immediately called my mom (who was tracking my location on her phone *insert eye roll here* to make sure I was safe) & I told her I had an amazing time & a really good feeling about him! When I texted him to say I got home, we ended up talking for another 2 hours on facetime - best date ever!

The night that Elyse and I met, I’ll be honest, I didn’t know if it was going to happen. She was working a long shift and was unsure if she could make it. I asked multiple times if she would like to reschedule, but she insisted we keep the date. And I’m so glad she did. At that time, I was unaware of Elyse’s dairy allergy. She suggested Mad Mex, which I thought was due to her being a fan of tacos (clearly things were moving in the right direction from the start). I got to Mad Mex a few minutes before she arrived. As I sat at the bar, waiting patiently, I finally saw her come in, bashful that she was late. In her nervousness, she awkwardly extended her hand to shake mine. I smiled and gave her a big hug. After a few awkward laughs, we grabbed drinks and began to chat. From there, the conversation flowed. We laid the groundwork for a solid relationship. We covered the typical first date topics - jobs, family, school, and of course, pictures of Stella cat. Being it was our first in person meeting, I also got to see the girl behind the online dating pictures. She was beautiful. Her pictures didn’t do her justice. Her eyes immediately blew me away. Her smile is something genuine. I was also struck by her long blonde hair. I even ran my fingers through it and complimented on how nice it was. Little did I know at that point….But more than that, we connected. It’s hard to put in words when it happens, but I immediately felt a sense of partnership with Elyse. When the date ended, I remember leaving feeling like I just met someone unique. Someone who excited me. Someone who I had to see again. Someone who I’d spend the rest of my life with.