We met at No Frills Grill where I worked, we had seen each other in passing before but offered nothing more than a glance or a smile. One night he came up with his buddies and it was my first night to work the Patio by myself so I was a little "In the Weeds" which didn't make time for much conversation other than Introductions. However I was able to get a laugh out of them when I came around the corner with their drinks and heard them claiming something was "Retarded". To which I exclaimed "Woh Woh throwin hard R's over here!" I think I won the group over a little that night. The next time we would meet would be a couple of days later, he came strolling into the patio again but this time by himself. He would sit at a table with his friend Sosa as I came up every so confidently with my memory of names. "Hey Conor!" Boy was I wrong...he laughed and said CJ, Conor is my friend that was here the other night. I remember being so embarrassed I almost avoided his table after that like the plague. However I'm making my rounds of the Patio and stop by to check if they need another drink, Sosa orders his Blood n Honey and a pack of Reds and CJ says I'll take another beer, another shot and....Your Number. I can feel the heat rush to my face, I'm bright red but I get out the words "Okay" trying not to panic I gave him my number and then as fast as I could book it back inside to hide. I had been out of the game awhile so talking and flirting was kinda foregin to me plus I had just promised myself NO BAR GUYS. Well we started texting and its going pretty good, so he invited me to his Birthday get together at his friend's house. I panic yet again because I don't know any of these people and I don't want to go alone so I ask if I could bring a friend. This is where it gets a little interesting...So my friend and I pull up to this address I immediately DO NOT want to go in because I realize as we are pulling up I use to live next door to this house with my EX and other roommates. YIKES! I also know the boys I lived with before were TERRIBLE neighbors and I was going to be associated with that if I brought it up or The owner of the house recognized me. So me and my friend amp ourselves up right, just let him know we are here and go have fun even though everything in me was saying DRIVE OFF! Well he comes out so we then go to get out the car and as we get out of the car the horror on his face I will never forget. He wasn't looking at me but at the friend I had brought with me, it was very obvious to me even in the dead of night from a few yards away his distaste for this girl. Even still I walked toward him and he gave me a hug then we went inside, we all went on to have a GREAT yet strange rest of the night. I did come forward and admit my guilt that I am the old neighbor and originally did not want to come in with the host of the house who is his friend Conor who then shared that with the entire rest of the house and we all joked and laughed about that. Once the night was coming to an end he walked me back to my car and we ended his Birthday night with a kiss. We went on a date the next day and talked about how he knew my friend I had brought to the party and the face he made when she got out of the car. We will just say he had better judgement than me. The rest is pretty much history and we've been inseparable ever since. We have gone through many tragedies and struggles as a couple in just the few years that we've been together, from deaths to fires to job loss you name it. The Bond we have is strong and one I hope continues to grow as we grow together. We were never promised an easy life but it feels easy when you have the right one beside you to do life with.