“Wow,” I said, as we entered the bar. “I didn’t think this place would be so big.”

“Me neither,” Marlie agreed. “And with so many people.” The atmosphere was more like a club than the intimate lounge setting we’d been expecting. Dance music pumped through the speakers and the dim concrete and dark wood space seemed incongruous with the early evening sun that still blazed outside.

After we got our drinks, we looked over the ‘Ice Breaker’ cards we’d been given when we checked in. These were a list of questions we were supposed to ask the Firemen in order to get them talking. But I just couldn’t imagine myself actually starting a conversation with:

“What is the best type of protection for a Firefighter?

1) Fireproof Suit
2) Oxygen Mask
3) A Condom”

We were instructed to have the guys answer the questions, and once they did, they would put their initials down next to the correct answer. You were encouraged to have each question signed off with a different initial so you could meet more people. Then at the end of the night, we were to turn in the cards and we’d be entered into a raffle to win a day at a spa.

After looking around at the sea of men available to us, Marlie and I decided we were both most excited about a potential spa-day.

 

Yep. That’ll do.

It’s not that the guys weren’t good looking, some of them were, and many of them were very nice. It’s just that after talking to a number of them, we realized they were just too young. Like way too young. Marlie is around my age and neither of us are interested in going down that path. And to be honest, we just didn’t have anything in common with them.

About an hour and a half into the night, we both started to feel we’d had enough. We moved to the bar, planning to settle our tab and head out.

And that’s when he appeared.

Image

Image

Image