Kristin & Brady met six years ago in the most romantic place in all of Denver. A dive bar. To Brady’s luck, Kristin had just sworn off Tinder—and men altogether. For Brady, who had never really been that great at approaching women in the first place, it should have been easy to simply approach the “cute hipster girl”sitting at the bar with her friend, right? Nope. Instead, he walked past her, found a booth, & started chatting with his friend Drew. “Who do you keep looking at?” Drew said to Brady as he looked over his shoulder toward the bar. “Just that cute hipster girl sitting there.” “The one with the flannel shirt, blonde streak in her hair, & nose piercing?” Brady’s heart fluttered with each word of the description. “Yes, that’s the one.” “Go talk to her,” Drew said boldly. “Hah, not a chance. I don’t even know what I would say.” Brady hid behind his beer, still peering over toward the bar where Kristin sat with her friend. “Fine, I’ll do it.” Drew stood up & made his way toward them. The perfect opportunity for Brady to quickly run to the bathroom & hide his embarrassment while staring at the dingy wall behind the row of urinals. Drew approached Kristin & her friend Kerstin at the bar to strike up conversation. Quickly recognizing the death stares from Kristin—the woman who HAD SWORN OFF MEN—Drew introduced himself to Kerstin & eventually, the three of them stepped outside to get away from the loud music. Brady, who had been pretending to pee for about five minutes, eventually had no choice but to leave his urinal sanctuary. After exiting Brady spotted Drew outside, talking & laughing right next to the cute hipster girl. He anxiously ordered another beer & joined them on the patio. “Drew! Hey, there you are.” Drew introduced everyone. Seeing his opportunity, Brady pulled up a chair & locked eyes with Kristin. Words already tangled in his mouth like a pile of Scrabble letters waiting to be played. What would he say? Remember, Kristin HAD SWORN OFF MEN, & the look she gave Brady certainly echoed that sentiment. But like a golden retriever, completely oblivious to anything but love, Brady thought he just needed to break the ice. He flipped his coiffed hair, put on a crooked smile, & mustered up the most enigmatic introduction. “Hey.” “That seat is taken,” she said to him, looking at the chair in his hand. This was not how Brady was expecting things to go. Confused & panicked, he stumbled across a few half-words before apologizing & trying to recover any dignity he had left. Kristin, empathizing with the sheer panic scrolling across Brady’s face, saw something in that moment—something that cooled her demeanor, for a moment at least. She allowed Brady sit next to her & do his best to gain her attention & favor. They all talked about the concert that Kristin & Kerstin planned to attend, some hiking suggestions, & a few of each other’s favorite restaurants. Drew & Kerstin who had hit it off exchanged numbers, while Kristin entertained Brady’s romantic pursuits enough to make him think he was actually pretty good at this whole flirting thing. Come evenings' end a second double date had been scheduled. To Kristin's surprise, at the end of this second date something had really clicked between her & Brady. While the once apparent chemistry seemed to fizzle between Kerstin & Drew, Kristin & Brady had found something in each other that evening. Maybe Kristin decided to give men another shot. Maybe Brady finally broke that icy exterior. Whatever it was, there was a spark—exchanging stories of their childhood, relating on film, art, music, & television. It was, as they say, history from there.

Today, they reminisce & laugh about how they met. In fact, they’re doing it right now, as they write this, over a bottle of wine on a calm spring afternoon. Written by Brady (proofed by Kristin)