Meeting in Heaven

I was 22 years old when I first met Charlie. It sounds funny to say, but every time someone asks "How did you guys meet?" our answer was "We met in Heaven." You see, there is a club in Adams Morgan (a neighborhood in D.C.) called 'Heaven and Hell.' The upstairs is named Heaven, and downstairs is, of course, Hell. I always thought it to be quite ironic, being that we were so in love and having the ability to say we met in Heaven - and yet, Heaven was a seedy club.

When I first rolled up at the club, I noticed a really hot guy standing in line, wearing all black. He had dark hair and great features. I took a mental snapshot of him , and then made my way into the club. Once inside, my friends and I congregated on the rooftop, drinks in hand. I scanned the area for this handsome stranger, voila, a guy dressed all in black was across the rooftop. I can still remember the moment I laid eyes on him: it was hot inside, and he was coming out for a respite from dancing. His head was tilted down at a 60 degree angle, and he was running his hand through his hair. His side profile was beautiful, but as my eyes traveled up, I realized he had blond hair.

Fuck. That's not the hot guy from outside.

Disappointment washed over me. Oh well, I was sure my hot guy was still around somewhere. As I began to turn back to my friends, he looked up and his eyes met mine. They twinkled impishly as he caught me looking at him. He smiled at me. Wow. He's cute, I thought. I smiled back. Once he realized he had my attention, his confidence grew and his smile broadened. I waggled my fingers at him to say hello, but did not want to show too much interest. I averted my eyes back to my friends, but found myself looking back at him quite often. We played this little ocular game for a while, and he eventually walked to the door and stood there with his hands in his pockets. He smiled that gorgeous smile at me for about 10 seconds as our eyes connected yet again, and then he disappeared inside. That was my cue to follow him and continue the flirty dance between us. Since then, we fell deeply in love for years to come.

Charlie was the first real mature love of my life, but he will not be the last. I will someday meet my last….when I am ready.

Cheers, to the many loves I will encounter on the way.