Shortly after moving back to Long Island, Sasha started showing up at a weekly trivia night with her folks. Howie, who had been hosting that event for long enough to spot a new team, says he noticed Sasha from the get-go. Sasha was a little slower on the uptake. She spent the first few weeks cheerfully heckling him before coming in dead last (repeatedly) and walking home. Eventually, though, there were whispers. “He’s flirting” they said. Sasha was peeved. Put off. Totally freaked. She couldn’t deal with the uncertainty. One night as Howie was packing up his gear she marched over and fired off a question: “ARE YOU FLIRTING WITH ME OR ARE YOU JUST LIKE THIS?” Howie froze. He was thrown, put off, totally freaked. Despite this he managed to say: “um…both?” Sasha thought about this for a moment, said "ok," then walked right out of the bar. Befuddled, Howie turned to the bartender and asked “did you see that? Who does that?” The bartender smirked and said “someone whose number you should probably ask for next time.” The story could have ended there, but these two have a unique skill for turning crude intensity into a renewable source of loving kindness. Every. Damn. Time.