It was the Friday before Labor Day in 1997 and I had arrived back to my apartment after work. Wayne, one of two roommates at the time, was sitting on the couch watching TV. Chris, the other roommate and my best friend for the last 15 years, was doing something - I just can't remember what at this point. Anyhow, we discussed our plans for Friday night. Chris was going to work which left Wayne and myself to figure out our plans. He told me our friend Kyle was going to be going to Sing Sing - a piano bar in downtown Denver - and he was bringing a date. Kyle always seemed to have a date so I was not surprised when I found out he wasn't coming alone.

We decided to meet Kyle and his date at Sing Sing that night. I had been kind of in a dating rut at that point and decided I needed to be more outgoing and meet more people. So I told Wayne that I would try to get the phone number of Kyle's date. I knew this might make Kyle upset but he dated so much and he flirted with so many girls that I knew he would get over it.

Around 9:00pm or so Wayne and I left our apartment to meet Kyle at Sing Sing. We arrived first but unfortunately 500 other people had arrived before us. So when we finally got inside after waiting 30 minutes, our only option was to stand against the railing in the back of the bar facing the stage. About 15 minutes later Kyle arrived with his date. Kyle introduced me to Gena and being as nervous as I was, I could only muster a "Hello." My first reaction was that Gena was very pretty. She was cute and she had brown hair. I've always been a brunette kind of guy. And she had dimples! Then I thought I don't just want her phone number - I really want to go out with this girl!

Kyle left to buy drinks for himself and Gena. While he was gone Gena and I made small talk. I remember finding out she was in school in Boulder and Kyle had picked her up at her place. I kept thinking about how I could obtain her phone number without Kyle noticing. Our conversing was made easier because Kyle was content talking to Wayne. I thought he was ignoring her - not on purpose, but because he was preoccupied with other things.

At some point Kyle left again for drinks and I thought, here's my opportunity. But we were watching the action onstage and by the time I got the nerve, Kyle was back again. But about an hour later we were all talking about going home so I figured here's my chance. I turned to Gena and said, "Would you be offended if I asked you for your number?" to which she replied, "Of course not! I'd be happy to give it to you!" Whew! It finally happened and I was thrilled. Wayne overheard this and grabbed a napkin, wrote something on it while he continued talking with Kyle and slid the napkin over to me. I looked at it and it said, "You're such a jerk". Wayne wasn't angry - he actually thought it was funny that I got the phone number of Kyle's date. I just smiled. I wasn't sure if Kyle was aware what happened. We said our goodbyes and Kyle left with Gena to take her back home. Several years later, Kyle told me he knew what happened and was upset at the time but now was happy for us.

On the way home I couldn't believe I had Gena's phone number and I was really excited about asking her on a date. I told Chris about the whole evening that night and he thought it was funny but he knew I was really interested in Gena. He couldn't believe I had the nerve to get the phone number from her while Kyle was there.

Between how we met and our first date there's one more interesting story. I called Gena Saturday morning and asked her if she wanted to go to the Taste of Colorado on Sunday. She told me Kyle had called her already and asked her the same thing. This indicated to me Kyle was still really interested in going out with Gena. One thing was for sure - I did not want both of us dating Gena at the same time. So I told Gena she had to choose between Kyle and myself. I think she said she'd have to call Kyle back and then she'd call me back with her decision (my memory's fading so this may not be 100% accurate). Regardless, we were on the phone when she told me she would go with me on Sunday and not Kyle. I was so relieved. So that Sunday we went on our first date and we've been together four years in September.

It was the first day of my last semester at the University of Colorado at Boulder (September 1997). As I stood in line to get my CU parking permit, another student in line, who I now know as Kyle, asked me if he needed his auto registration in order to get his parking permit. "Not if you're from Texas," I said. Of course he wasn't, and was intrigued by the statement. So upon returning from getting his registration out of his car, he wanted to know more. (Ok, fine, I was flirting.)

We became friends and ended up spending the whole day together in preparation for the semester. We went to the bookstore to purchase our textbooks, we went to the CU stadium to purchase season football tickets, and even attended each others' classes trying to decide which classes would be appropriate for each of us to register for. As the day came to an end, we walked back to our cars (we had purchased permits for the same lot) and Kyle mentioned he was meeting some buddies for a drink that Friday. He invited me to come along, so I gave him my phone number and asked him to call me later in the week. He did, and I agreed to go with him to Sing-Sing, a piano bar in downtown Denver. Friday evening came around, and I was pretty tired. I didn't feel like going out, especially since we had Varsity Crew practice the next morning. Besides, I barely knew the guy. I wanted to cancel, but by that time it was too late. Kyle (who lived an hour away) had surely already left to come pick me up. So I called my friend and ex-coach Vicky, and said that if I didn't show up for practice that Saturday morning, that something terrible had happened and gave her the name of the guy who was sure to be the culprit.

Unable to politely get out of the date (being a Southern Belle is all about proper etiquette), I was forced to get myself into a sociable mood.

We walked in to the bar and immediately met up with his two friends. He introduced me to his friend Wayne and his friend Marc. As the night wore on, I noticed that Marc was pretty cute, but not very talkative - at least he wasn't talking to me. I tried talking to him and flirting with him (I didn't know where Kyle was) but Marc just didn't seem interested. I sort of dismissed the idea of getting to know him better, and at the end of the night, was ready to go home. Right before Kyle and I left, Marc came over to me and whispered, "Would you be offended if I asked for your phone number?" I told him I'd be happy to give him my phone number, except that he didn't have a pencil or paper. His response was just that he'd memorize it. Yeah right, I thought to myself.

Doubtful yet hopeful, I gave it to him. To my surprise, the next day he actually called, and even though he had little time to converse on the phone, he was eager to ask me out for the next day, Sunday (On Monday he had to leave for Chicago due to business). It's a good thing he called when he did, because not much later, Kyle called to ask me out for that same Sunday.

Needless to say, I was much more excited to go out with Marc (sorry Kyle! if you're reading this!). We spent most of Sunday at The Taste of Colorado, which is an outdoor food tasting sponsored by restaurants in the Denver metro area. We had a great-time and were somewhat surprised by how comfortable our first date felt. Needless to say we both couldn't wait till he got back from Chicago so we could go on our second date! Since then, we've been inseparable!

Oh, and as for Kyle, we're all still friends. You can still find Marc, Kyle, and me hanging out at bars around town.