Abram and Racine met in August of 2005. They both worked for the same company, but on different coasts. He was living in Los Angeles and she was living in New York. Abram was being sent to New York to provide Pivot Table Excel training to the media buyers in that office. For Abram, this also constituted a free trip to get together with the girl he dated in college. For Racine, this simply meant finally meeting the guy she’d spoken to on the phone so many times.
Abram liked Racine right away and she knew it even though she found him annoying. Still, she invited him to a gathering she was having at her apartment that night.
The next day, Racine invited him to lunch with her and a friend of hers from work. While making small talk, Racine discovered that Abram had gone to Indiana University with another friend of hers who was also best friends with a girl he dated in college.
Abram had the following day off from work so Racine called in sick and they spent the day together. What Racine didn’t know was that Abram was dating a girl from the Los Angeles office.
A month later, Racine was sent to the Los Angeles office to train a new media buyer. She and Abram had continued their conversations and his crush on her was by now quite evident. The two kept it friendly while Racine was in town, as neither she nor his girlfriend Lisa were aware of the common ground they shared in the form of Abram.
Abram happened to be celebrating a birthday while Racine was in town and he had gotten tickets to a Dodger game. Since Lisa was going to be at a concert, he asked a co-worker to invite Racine to the game – thereby being able to provide a justification for Racine’s attendance at the game to Lisa. Racine joined him, his roommate and the new media buyer for the game.
Racine’s trip was eventually extended, so Abram invited her to his apartment for dinner with him, his roommate and his roommate’s girlfriend. By this time, Abram and Racine were getting very close and spending a lot of time talking to each other on the phone. All the while, Abram was still dating Lisa.
It wasn’t until December that Abram told the Los Angeles office of his relationship with Lisa. At the same time, he finally told Racine of his relationship with Lisa. Racine was initially pissed off and her friends, who are primarily male and got wind of this, started to call Abram repeatedly with death threats -- an occurrence Racine was unaware of until the retelling of their story for this piece. By this time, Racine had already developed feelings for Abram and decided she would ultimately win him.
In January (of 2006), Racine returned to Los Angeles and Abram took the day off to spend with her. Meanwhile, his girlfriend Lisa was working. Abram picked Racine up at her hotel and he took her to breakfast. They then went to Malibu for sushi with two friends of Racine’s -- who teased Abram for still dating Lisa and not her.
The following month, Abram traveled to New York for work and wound up hanging out with Racine on Valentine’s Day. Lisa was justifiably pissed but Abram attempted to make up for it by sending her conciliatory flowers. When he showed up at Racine’s apartment, she was wearing very short shorts with a very tight tank top in an attempt to fully execute her plan to win him. However, in keeping a long-standing fidelity promise to himself, Abram didn’t give in to the temptation but while the two were lying next to each other on her couch watching The Birdcage, he “accidentally” grazed her breast.
A major snowstorm hit the area the following day. Racine had decided to stay over with her aunt in Tribeca, so she and Aaron met up for lunch as he was also staying in the city. It was at this lunch that she professed her love for him. Abram told her that though he likes her, he is still with Lisa and therefore nothing could happen…right now.
That trip was the turning point of their relationship.
By the time Abram returned to Los Angeles, Lisa knew of his crush on Racine and that it was also the beginning of the end of their relationship. What she didn’t know was how serious the feelings were between Abram and Racine.
Before leaving for a trip to South America that March, Racine asked Abram to tell her exactly what was going on between him and Lisa. Abram admitted that both he and Lisa knew it wouldn’t last but they were still having fun. However, given his feelings for Racine, Abram knew that he had to break up with Lisa even though the two of them were planning a trip to Jamaica.
Toward the end of the month, Lisa called Abram to book the trip. He told her that they could go to help the relationship but they both knew that their relationship was over and broke up that night.
Abram and Racine emailed constantly while she was in South America. She returned thinking they could now be together. Abram was unexpectedly reluctant and wanted some time and space.
In April, Abram went to New York again for work. Racine told him they should get together and they decided to give it a shot. That night, she once again professed her love for him. He replied that one day he’ll feel the same.
The next night, Abram professed his love to Racine.
The two traveled back and forth seeing each other and meeting each other’s families. A few months later, Abram told Lisa about him and Racine. Lisa said that she was not surprised as she and he were just not meant to be.
Abram and Racine dated bicoastally for a year and a half before Racine moved to LA in September of 2007. They got engaged in August of 2008, married on Halloween 2009 and are expecting their first child in March of 2012.
