Three years ago over this night, I kissed my now wife Angelica for the first time. We were only friends at the time, despite what a number of people had wondered. Sure, we enjoyed doing things together, but ALWAYS platonic (there are stories about just how platonic I was, not getting too close to her, etc., lol).

Things did change after that night. After work we’d been talking for a few hours at her place. We’d both had a pretty crummy day with people at work who thought they owned both of us. Some still try to haunt us today. But that night became a very special night.

A girl in tears.

A boy with bruises.

A kiss as if from a fairy tale story with no hope of being repeated.

It took another two months before I decided I was finally ready to date again after four years of waiting…and it was worth it.