“So this is my co-worker, Angelica…and you are?”

If you’re confused by the meaning of this quote, or if you’re thinking about how awkward the quote is for an opening of an “Our Story” section, congratulations! You are experiencing first-hand the dynamic of the very first moment we met - that was back in 2013.

As much as we would love to say that the second we interacted with each other was filled with roses, fireworks, and sunrays, we felt that it’s funnier to be honest. We have been together for three years, with the fourth year coming around wedding time, but we had known about each other much longer than that. Even before our first date (which we can assure was much more pleasant than our first interaction), we had crossed paths numerous times. And each of those times were, as you may guess, as awkward as the last. Below are a couple of our top hilarious moments together. And no, our first interaction wouldn’t be on that list because believe it or not, our interaction ended a couple of sentences from that top quote! So here we go!

Ghost Encounter #1

Ironically, our next memorable encounter happened in a halloween party in 2014. It was Nathan (oldest brother of David) and Angelica's coworker's backyard party celebrating an annual epic halloween party consisting of all friends and colleagues. With everyone in costume and having a great time with fancy cocktails and good sized dance floor, you would think there would be plenty of opportunity to at least break the ice...right?

WRONG! Being the awkwardly mannered person David was at the time, once again, things didn't go as well as it should have. Being the kind girl that she is, in the cutest Mary Poppins costume, Angelica, through her own nervousness and pressure about trying to have a conversation with me, proceeded to ask David about his costume (David was wearing an armor-less samurai outfit with bright red contacts). Unfortunately, that also ended with a couple of sentences that muddled together along the lines of "I'm a samurai", "thanks", and "cool". (Quote from David in present-day: "Bro, are you not even gonna ask her about her costume?") Shortly after, under the pressure of the subsequent awkward silence, David walked away to find refuge with Nathan and his wife Narlet. In startlement, Nathan exclaimed "Wait what the hell are you doing here?! Weren't you talking to Angelica? What happened?!" Realizing the gaff that had just occurred, David decided to brood the rest of night at the bottom of whatever alcoholic drinks that were concocted by the bartender at the party. At this point, the prospect of pursuing the world's best relationship, had hilariously come to a grinding halt.

Ghost Encounter #2

Our second memorable but not-so-memorable interaction was at David's nieces', Jordan and Robin, baptisms. Ironically again, both Angelica and David were godparents to Jordan. You'd think such a set up would be a pretty much guaranteed perfect segway to get to know each other...right?

WRONG AGAIN SUCKER! Regardless of being the awkwardly mannered person David was at the time, David, this time, was determined to make amends and redeem himself. However, due to the last disastrous interaction, rightfully so, Angelica was not expecting much. Numerous times throughout the day, David was constantly obsessing how to break the ice but was unable to do so due to the sole fact that he was an idiot. However, the golden opportunity arose when the two had physically crossed paths while exiting and heading towards the restroom. David awkwardly and silently raised his hand, and with the biggest smile he could muster up without looking like a creep-o, he let out a, albeit quiet, "hEy...". But Angelica wasn't having it and did not even think to make the slightest eye contact with someone who was standing less than a foot away from the entrance of her destination. (Quote from present-day Angelica: "I just don't make eye contact with most people. LOL") Alas, David had given up for the day and came to the conclusion that no matter how obvious he could convey his interest, the prospect of pursuing the world's best relationship had sailed away.

So...How did we get our first date?

In all honesty, we decided to just go for it. We talked to Nathan and Narlet who helped set up the first date, and the plan was just to "meet at Cinco, 7:30pm". No questions asked, no caveats. It was set and agreed through Narlet. We were, are now, and will be forever grateful that we did. Regardless of all the awkward interactions (or non-interactions), regardless of all our insecurities and misconceptions of how things were or weren't, we decided to take a chance. And thankfully, it went great! We bonded on a lot of topics, including basketball and music. And as time went on, we gradually grew together into a lot of other things like Disneyland, attending concerts, reality TV shows(LOL), adorable pets, delicious food, etc. The silver lining of the awkward silences, inadvertent ghostings, and the unnecessary overall avoidance up to that first date is definitely the stories that we both now get to laugh about quite often. Love can often be elusive, but for us, it was right before our eyes, and thank goodness we had the courage to open them.