Share Your Story

Throughout history stories of romantic meetings are chronicled and passed down through the ages.

Now it's your turn to share your story. We want to know,
So... How Did You Meet Anyway?


Saturday, July 28, 2012

Blockbuster Romance




In the spring of 2007, Matthew moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan after having lived in Sweden for five years and set up a profile on The Hunt. Wayne, who liked Matthew’s chest shot, sent him a message.

Despite the reputation of the site, the two had a relatively innocent conversation.

Matthew was not out at the time and had just gotten out of a four-year relationship with a woman in Sweden. They were planning to get married but she didn’t want to come to the States.


After two months of chatting, Wayne wanted to meet Matthew in person but Matthew was reluctant since he didn’t know what to expect. Wayne was still able to convince him to come over to his place.


Matthew was pleasantly surprised by what he saw when Wayne came to the door, as he had exceeded expectations.

They went to Blockbuster to rent a movie but it took Matthew a very long time to pick one and he wound up selecting the very date-friendly Apocalypto. Wayne had seen it before but for some reason did not object to the selection.

While watching the movie, Wayne expressed his interest by putting a hand on Matthew’s leg. Matthew was similarly interested but wasn’t ready to let his guard down. He let it down enough for the two of them to start   making out during the movie, which was fine since Matthew was not interested in watching any more of it.

Matthew and Wayne stayed in touch with each other throughout the summer.

That fall, Wayne called and told Matthew that they needed to talk. Matthew was very much into Wayne by this time and afraid that Wayne was going to break up with him.

Instead, Matthew showed up to Wayne’s apartment – where he sat Matthew down on his couch, got down on one knee and proposed that they date each other exclusively.

In 2009, Matthew and Wayne moved in together.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Hey Bike Guy!

It was May 2008 and I had just finished my first year in the classroom when I got it into my head to go on a bike trip. A long bike trip, from NYC to Chicago. So I trained and set off in August, really without too much of a plan. I had planned out where I wanted to end up each day, but had made no arrangements for actually staying anywhere. The first two nights of shady motel and illegal camping were adventurous, but not restful, so I decided to couchsurf, which I had done before both as guest and host. The third night of the trip, I found myself in Binghamton, NY, staying with a funny, strange guy about my age.

So he says he'll meet me at his house at such and such time and I'm there waiting for him. He shows up about an hour late with three people other people in the car: a cute girl in the front seat and two other guys in the back. It's the girl who sees me, leans out the window and yells, "Hey bike guy!" Right away I notice that she is really pretty, but a pretty girl in a car with three guys probably equals boyfriend, so I say nothing. Introductions, but pretty girl leaves with the two guys who aren't my host. It turns out my host and another guy are her cousins; the other is into guys. About two hours and six beers later, I'm at the house playing chess when she comes back. We chat, but still out of the loop and not wanting to embarrass myself by asking, I decide to play cool. She says she's moving to NYC in the fall and could we meet up sometime. I say of course, hoping for it but expecting nothing.

Sunday, July 15, 2012

There's A Very Nice Boy...

In this week's Summer Re-Run selection, the author of multiple women's fiction books,Shobbhan Bantwal, shares her unusual "how we met" story. Read about this arranged marriage that resulted in love, partnership, and commitment.Ms. Bantwell has also recently published a new book...just in time for a fun summer read.

THE RELUCTANT MATCHMAKER is the sixth "Bollywood in a Book" by Shobhan
Bantwal.

There's A Very Nice Boy...

Imagine meeting your future husband two days before you become engaged to marry him. If that is the stuff of storybooks, then I should consider myself the heroine of the story.
My husband and I met in India two days before we were engaged. And ten days later we were married. No, it was not love at first sight, and it was certainly not a shotgun wedding. What we had was an old-fashioned arranged marriage. In a conservative culture like ours, back in the early 1970s, marriage by arrangement was the norm and not an aberration.
It is not so much the quick engagement and wedding that seem to fascinate the average American but the idea of marrying a stranger...

Saturday, July 14, 2012

A Bastille Day Story



La FĂȘte Nationale

  "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times"....it was the year 1789 and the liberation of the Bastille began the bloody French Revolution. In Charles Dicken's brilliant and exciting Tale of Two Cities, Lucie Manette and Charles Darnay survive the wicked revenge of Madame Defarge to have a happily ever after marriage. This week's story demonstrates that although Bastille Day may still have its pitfalls, courage and perseverance can ultimately result in that fairy tale ending we all seek.  
Summer 1991, mid-June night:
A friend and I sit on my porch on a warm summer night.We are drinking cold beer and eating warm tortillas full of beans and spicy rice.It is a perfect night.But I need to leave.A promise to go to a barbecue fulfilled.The barbecue, hosted by a dear college friend, Leslee, could not be blown off.At the barbecue after a bit I sat in the kitchen and had a long, comfortable and intelligent talk with a super woman named Robin. I'd never met her before; at the end of the night I figured I'd never see her again. And it's not what you think.
Bastille Day, July 14, 1991:

Saturday, July 7, 2012

And The Rest Is History

I was still nursing my wounds from a previous relationship's break up after six months. I told me friends I was planning a "wedding-not-marriage" because I wanted the fun of having a wedding, but not the risk of opening my heart to hurt again. I went to a student mission conference with some friends (including my former boyfriend), dead set against meeting anyone. I was there for the conference, NOT to pick up a guy. The second day of the conference, I attended a workshop session on a country I had visited two years prior. I put my booklet down before lunch to save a seat for myself, then went to eat. When I came back to the room after lunch, my booklet had been moved and the room was completely full except for one seat in the back, which was two seats away from my good friend Rusty. I figured the guy sitting next to Rusty could move down and I could sit next to him (Rusty). Unbeknown to me, Rusty had met Elias the night before playing basketball and thought "he's going to be Ali's next boyfriend."

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

From a Little Spark Bursts a Mighty Flame

I met Sammuel online. In retrospect, I suppose that we were attracted to one another because we had a lot in common, particularly our love for the arts. He was a sound artist, and at the time, I was writing and illustrating children’s stories. Our emails to one another were incredibly sweet, and I liked him very much. I suspected he felt the same about me.


After several weeks of cyber flirting, and a few warmhearted phone calls, it was time to meet. We chose a seafood restaurant on the water that had great outdoor seating (the perfect summer spot). The restaurant was near to his studio, and in an up-and-coming artist’s neighborhood. Our first encounter was picture perfect. Conversation flowed beautifully between us, and we had a great time together, but we lacked something. I guess you could say we just didn’t have that particular spark that triggers flames of love. I told myself that perhaps the sparks would come later, and I agreed to meet him again.


Our second date wasn’t exactly a date. He, and a group of other emerging artists, had an opening show at an art gallery/bar/restaurant, and invited me to attend. I brought a girlfriend with me, and when we entered the gallery the ambiance reminded me of a small, dark, sultry jazz club. Sammuel was in a corner of the room spinning an eclectic mix of base beats. Modern works of art covered the walls, and opposite of Sammuel was a small bar.

My friend and I roamed the gallery, checking out the art and then we grabbed the only open seats at one of the few tables near the bar. The venue was so crowded that sharing tables with strangers was the only option, so when a small group of guys joined us I thought nothing of it. We started talking, and it turned out that one of the guys was a friend of Sammuel’s. Needless to say, after the music stopped, and the venue was preparing to close, Sammuel joined us at our table. Eventually, he invited everyone back to his studio for a nightcap and an encore.

While Sammuel packed his turntables in preparation to leave, and the group finished their drinks, my friend and I meandered outside. We loitered around the entrance of the gallery, lit a cigarette and sat down on a bench next to another smoker. What I didn’t know was that the guy I sat next to was part of the group who had been sharing a table with us inside. We got to talking, and I could feel the chemistry flowing between our words. Imagine my surprise when the group trickled out to walk to Sammuel’s studio, and the smoking man joined us. We walked together, chatting, laughing, and of course, flirting.

Shortly after arriving at the studio, the smoking man quickly introduced himself, and we immediately hit it off. I enjoyed talking to him so much that I could’ve chatted with him all night. He was incredibly handsome with golden locks and big ‘ol baby blues. Our conversation simply screamed, “Hello sparks”! It wasn’t before long that my friend and I had to leave to catch the last subway train home. The smoking man escorted us out of the building (we had to take a rickety warehouse elevator to the ground level from Sammuel’s 3rd floor studio), and as we said our good-byes I gave him my phone number.

Soon thereafter we went out on our first date… that was 4 years ago. Now we’re married and just had our first baby. And you know what? I have no idea whatever happened to Sammuel!