How We Met

Because it's kind of an interesting story, I thought I'd tell of how Aaron and I met and then became a couple.

the first photos of us together taken on my camera phone

We "officially" met on August 22, 2005, but I had known who Aaron was for a long time before that. I had been going to Largo (where we works as a sound guy) since I had been going to college in 2003. I went to Largo so much that I knew who the three sound guys were- the cute one, the older one and the one who only does sound for Jon Brion. Guess who Aaron is... actually no, he's the cute one! He was so cute to me that every time I went to Largo I would check and see who was doing sound that night, if it was Aaron I'd be all excited and then look away before he noticed me looking at him. 

Fate intervened in the form of Sean Watkins from the bluegrass band Nickel Creek. We became friends and one night he invited me out after a Largo to hang with everyone at Tom Bergins. So I went over there and found myself surrounded be all these Largo employees and performers and I was having a blast. Sean, Michael and I were playing a game we call "quarters." It's where you spin a quarter on it's side and try to stop it with one finger while keeping it on it's side. As your skill level progresses you move from quarters all the way down to dimes.

While we were concentrating on this game I didn't even notice that someone had just entered the bar and took up the empty seat next to me. When I finally did look up from the spinning coins I was in shocked. It was the "cute sound guy" sitting right next to me!!! And oh my god was he adorable and he was wearing hightop converse shoes. (My favorites!!!)

Michael introduced us and I thought he said his name was Erik. So I was calling him Erik for the first 30 minutes until I asked, "is it Erik with a 'c' or a 'k'?" And he said "actually it's Aaron." I could just feel my face turning red, "I've been calling you Erik this whole time!" And then he smiled his sweet smile and said "I know, it's been funny." The jerk.

So Aaron and I spent the whole time at the bar talking and flirting and laughing until it was closing time. Not wanting the night to end, Aaron suggested that we move the party over to Swingers for a late night snack. I agreed, as did almost every one of the Largo employees. So I followed Aaron's car over to swingers, even though I knew where it was, I just wanted to make sure that I got a seat next to him. And I did! The flirting and the laughing continued...

our first halloween together!

But then the check came and was paid and it was time to leave, and we all walked out. 

Awkwardly, I stood around saying goodbye to Sean and to the other people that I had just met 

and so did Aaron. Until it was just him and me standing on the sidewalk at 3 in the morning. Aaron was smoking a cigarette (which is the last time I ever saw him do that) and I was just standing there... waiting... for him to do something like- oh I don't know- ask me for my number!!! But he never did. So, with a heavy heart, I said goodbye and walked away from him.

When I got to my cute new convertible mini cooper I had one last idea! I put the top down, rolled down the windows and drove up to where he was standing, still smoking, on the street. I said "Hey stranger," with a big 'ol grin. And he said, "is that your car?" And I said, "no I just stole it, hurry and get in, I gotta make my getaway." He laughed, finished his cigarette, and got in the car. But he STILL wasn't asking for my number!

Now we're sitting in my car at 3:30 in the morning, and there was really no where to go because nothing was open. But we wanted to keep hanging out. So I did something I would normally NEVER do and I invited a total stranger back to my apartment! (yikes!)

My apartment was a absolute total mess. I'm generally a very messy person, but I had just gone through a break up and had been very depressed and the last thing I cared about was caring for myself.  So it was even messier than I had ever seen the place. So I thought, 'you know what, if he sees this and he still asks me out again, he's the guy for me.'  

We sat in the living room talking and he was nice enough not to mention the mess. Than at one point he pulled me down off the arm of the couch we were sitting on and kissed me! And then we made out until it got ridiculously late/early and I had to kick him out of my apartment.

I drove  him back to his car at Swingers and that's when he FINALY asked me for his number. 

And, like a good boy, he called the next evening to say he had a great time. 

I still have the message he left saved on my phone.

As we started talking we both confessed that we weren't looking for a serious relationship at that point, we were just happy to date and have a good time. We look back and laugh at this now as we're planning our wedding! So much for not serious.

The day we became a "serious relationship" was a story not unlike our engagement story...

We'd been dating for 3 months when Aaron invited me to come with him to Vegas from October 10th to the 11th. He met someone who got him an audition for the Blue Man Group and also got him an invite to the opening of some swanky club and he said he'd go to both. But Aaron hates Vegas, so he thought it would ease the pain of having to go if I shared in his misery. So the audition was a disaster- he nailed the drumming part but failed miserably in the acting part. We went from the audition to the opening party, and all I can say is FREE DRINKS!!! After drinking and wandering around this extravagant club and decided that it was just not our thing. So we left.

Aaron stopped at a liquor store to get us some cokes and snacks for our hotel room, and I sat in the car waiting for him, and that's when it happened...

An extremely drunk guy came stumbling out of the liquor store and noticed me sitting in the the car. He came up to the window and tried to get my attention, I smiled nervously and looked for Aaron inside the liquor store. The drunk guy was "with it" enough to notice I was looking towards the store for help and he looked into the store too and saw Aaron. So the drunk guy stumbled back inside and i watched as he approached Aaron. I saw him motion over to me and then ask Aaron a question ("Dude, is that your girl?"). Without hesitation Aaron said yes, I saw him nod. Then the drunk guy looked through the window at me in the car with a questioning look, like as if to say, 'is this true?' And I shrugged my shoulders and raised my hands as if to say 'Sorry man, it's true.' And the drunk guy shook Aaron's hand, walk out of the store, waved at me and then was gone. 

It was like some bizarro Las Vegas drive thru wedding, officiated by a drunk frat boy.

When Aaron got back into the car we laughed as we realized we had just committed to each other, and it felt right. Aaron realized when the drunk guy took an interest in me that he didn't want me to be with anyone else. And when I looked to Aaron so save me from the weird drunk guy I was glad he was there to rescue me. And we've been in a legitimately "serious relationship" ever since.

And then you know the engagement story already...