It was a cold, dark Wednesday near the beginning of February. The year was 2022. Across the street, she spotted him. His hair blowing behind him, walking with a purpose. Right on time. He either has his life together or he wants to make it look that way. She’d find out soon enough. She hopped out of her Uber and followed him into the somewhat local dive: The Sportsman’s Club. Joey was new to his 30s and was finally feeling like he had something to offer the world. Enough trial and error to know what he was looking for. Far enough into his “career” he might pass as a financially responsible adult. The whole walk to the bar had been a blur. His mind had raced with thoughts like “Be yourself. What’s the worst that could happen?” And, “Should I have eaten dinner already?” As he approached the bar he knew there was no turning back now. Not that he wanted to. From the first picture he saw, he knew he had to meet her. Kristen was her name. According to her profile, Kristen was an actuary at the time. But that didn’t tell you much about who she really was. Yes, she worked hard, and yes, she was successful. But, there was far more to her than that. The last few years had seen big changes in her life, and she was determined to move forward with intentionality. Despite her calendar being booked to the very minute with various tasks, from meeting Julie at the gym, to journaling, to figuring out her next career move and maybe even manifesting the fall of corporate America, she managed to squeeze in some time to meet this mysterious boy she found on the internet. She was interested by his profile but wasn’t going to get her hopes up. Almost as if he had an in with the staff, the two were seated at the only vacant seats in the entire place. A small booth nestled away from the patrons crowding the bar. The conversation had been going well. They had already covered most of the usual first date topics: where are you from; what’s your family like, and “so, COVID, right?”, when eventually Kristen had to address something. “Stop looking at me like that!” She laughed but she was certainly thrown off by his intense gaze. “Oh no. What was she saying? What was I saying?” Joey’s mind raced, realizing he had stopped speaking as he was looking at her. Something about her eyes drew him in, but it was something about her presence that kept him there. Though it was crowded place, it felt like it was just the two of them. He could stay there forever. Escaping her trance, he stammered “Uhhh wait like what?” Smooth save. “You just stopped talking.” Kristen said, simultaneously being pulled into his blue eyes. There was something deep there. What was it? She was trying to figure out what it meant, but either way, she knew she had to see this man again.