Our hearts were ringing
In the key that our souls were singing.
As we danced in the night,
Remember how the stars stole the night away
-“September” by Earth, Wind, & Fire
There’s several reasons I’m starting this post off with some of the lyrics from the great Earth, Wind, & Fire song, “September”:
- It’s one of Lauren’s favorite songs
- Lauren and I started talking on September 21st
- The lyrics I picked out described the feelings we felt on our first date(s)
Depending on who you are, and if we’d been drinking when you’ve asked us, you may have heard different stories about how Lauren and I met. We told some people we met at the bar, some people may have heard that we met out volunteering, others that we met at the library! Truth be told, we met on the dating app “Tinder”. I traveled a lot for my job, so whenever I was in a new town I’d use the app to meet new people to show me around town. South Florida was no different at first…I logged into the app and started swiping!
One profile that caught my eye was this pretty girl who had taken a picture next to a very ugly bridge troll. I had to know more about it! Luckily we both swiped for each other, and we were matched. On the twenty-first day of September, I message Lauren for the first time. My smooth pickup line you ask? “Hi! Is that a bridge troll in your picture??”
We talked for a couple of days, first in the app, then via text. After several days of fun conversations, we decided that the time had come to meet up in person! Being that I was new to the area, I had Lauren pick the place of our first date. She decided on a nice little restaurant in Delray Beach called “3rd and 3rd”.
We arrived to the restaurant within minutes of each other. When we got out of the car and I saw her in person for the first time, I lost my breath. She was even more beautiful in person than she was in pictures! How did I get so lucky?? We hugged, I made some corny joke, then we entered the restaurant. As soon as we sat, I snuck a text to my friend Scott saying “holy shit…she’s way out of my league!!”
I’ll spare you the long details about what we ate (amazing steak and fish) what we drank (wine and beer) and what we talked about (anything and everything). But when the bill was paid and it was time to go, neither of us wanted the night to end. So we decided it didn’t have to! During our texting conversations Lauren talked about a wine bar in Delray Beach that was “self serve”. Basically you get a card and wine glasses from the hostess then walk around to all the different wine machines and pick what you want! Very, very dangerous….but delicious as well. We arrived at N2 WineBar about 30 minutes before it closed for the night. We enjoyed several different types of wine, and even more great conversation about everything we could think of.
After last call at N2, we still couldn’t bring ourselves to end the night. Luckily, just a couple of short blocks away was Dada’s…a place known for amazing mojitos and their bacon-wrapped dates…at least that is what Lauren knows them for. We take a nice walk to the bar, where once we arrive we see that they also have a live band playing that night.
On the way over, Lauren tells me about their “backroom” where they have a few tables set up with a projector screen in front of them. If you’re lucky you get to choose what movie plays. Luck was in our favor again that night, as that room was available and it was just us in it! We ordered our dates and mojitos and continued our talk.
The entire night I couldn’t believe my luck. I have met someone amazing, someone beautiful, someone funny, and someone who thinks that I was funny too! As the night grew to its inevitable end, I knew I had to kiss her. We moved from the backroom up to the main bar area so we could watch the band play its last set. Dada’s has these cool chalkboard tables and they provide chalk for you to draw if you wanted to. We wanted to. So we continued to talk, draw, and enjoy the music. When the band announced that the next song was their last, I made my move.
Now, what happened next changes depending on who you ask. I know it was me who leaned in first for the kiss, Lauren insists that it was her. Either way, it was magical.
We ended the night by running back to her car in the rain (because of course it had to start raining while we were in Dada’s…don’t most fairy tail stories involve rain?) We kissed outside again, just to get that Rom-com “kiss in the rain” checkmark on our date, then sat in her car for another hour listening to Kings of Leon and singing along.
September 25th is a day I think about a lot these days. Our first date, which was really three dates. It is a memory I hope never fades.
As many of you know, Lauren is fighting a serious battle against cancer. If you have a chance, please visit our GoFundMe fundraiser (https://www.gofundme.com/knmv7f7q) and give it a share. The money raised will go to help pay our bills as we continue this fight. We thank you for all of the assistance, love, and prayers you have already given us.
Our Tale 
I love your love! ❤️
This is really touching.