"A True Love Story..."

It was my third date that day in December 2012. Just hours earlier I had begun investigating medication for cat allergies because I was giving up on love. I disliked every available man I came into contact with. My morning coffee date was a bore and my lunch date was so bad that I left cash on the table and walked out. Then Daniel reached out to me on Facebook. He was in Seattle for a few days on mid-deployment leave from Afghanistan. We had a handful of mutual friends in common from attending the same college so I agreed to meet. I told him I'd pick him up at his hotel for dinner since he was staying just a few blocks away from my apartment. I made two reservations. One at a place known for its speedy service just in case my lousy dating track record continued, and another one at my favorite restaurant, Purple.

The second he walked out of the elevator I knew we were going to Purple. He was ridiculously handsome. He felt like an old friend I had known for years instead of just a stranger. On our short walk from the hotel to the restaurant, he was responding to all of my awkward first date questions with one word answers. As the meal progressed from our baked brie appetizer to steak, I realized I'd been talking almost non-stop the entire evening and was sweating. The tables had turned. I was now the one trying to make my date interested in me and failing miserably. He was bored out of his mind. I swear if I knew how to juggle in that moment, I would have done it. I excused myself to the restroom where I made a frantic call to the same friend who helped me with cat adoptions earlier in the day. She urged me to calm down and be myself. I took some deep breaths and went back to the table. As soon as I sat down, I noticed Daniel had already paid. My heart fell right out of my chest and onto the floor. He was so over this date, that he paid the bill just to end it.

I took the hint that Daniel just wasn't that into me and laid off on the attempts to impress him. As I walked him back to his hotel, I purposely took a longer route. I sort of kidnapped him for a few blocks because I just wasn't ready to let him go. When he realized we walked too far, he pointed out that we passed the hotel. I came clean and told him I did it on purpose because I wasn't ready for the night to end. To my great surprise, he admitted he didn't want the date to be over either. He explained that he'd been so nervous all evening that he couldn't come up with anything interesting to say. When I asked about the bill, he said he paid it to treat me, not to rush out. So we agreed to give it another go.

We continued our night at a pub nearby and had a few drinks. We then moved on to my favorite speakeasy where we bonded over gin and John Legend. We both stopped trying to be who we thought the other person was looking for and started being ourselves. That evening turned into a four-day marathon date before Daniel returned to Afghanistan to finish his third and final deployment. We Skyped every single day for the next four months. When he returned to America, I didn't waste too much time putting a ring on it.

We were married in a small ceremony at our alma mater in November 2013. We actually made headlines a few years ago when a homophobe attacked us in Manhattan. A man in his 40's screamed out anti-gay remarks at us before lunging forward and punching Daniel in the face. Unfortunately for the attacker, he was messing with two West Point graduates. He was left covered in his own blood and his tail between his legs after I handled the situation. We are thankful we can defend ourselves, but are saddened by the fact that idiots like that guy might not pick two guys who went through Plebe Boxing next time.

We hope our story will inspire others to be more accepting of one another. And also as proof that sometimes a bad date can turn into the best date if you give it another chance.