I (Kaili) was working as a waitress at a winery in Southeast Florida. One night, as I walked by a table, a very attractive young man caught my eye. But I saw him sitting with someone else and thought to myself, "Oh, what a shame — he’s taken."

After passing the table a few more times, I finally realized the person he was with was actually a coworker of mine. So I stopped by to say hello. As I walked up, I noticed they both had drinks in front of them that looked like they hadn’t been touched in a while. In true Kaili fashion, I made a sarcastic remark about it. Nico — who I now know as the cute guy at the table — quickly turned up the drink in response and immediately cringed. (Let’s just say it wasn’t the freshest.)

A little while later, Nico and my coworker invited me out for a casual drink after our shift. I agreed, but warned them I couldn’t stay out late — I had to be back at work early the next morning. We went out with a small group of coworkers, had one drink, chatted a bit, and as I got up to leave, I told Nico, “This was fun.” He agreed.

Then came a slightly awkward pause…

And I blurted out, “Do you want my number?”

Flustered, Nico said yes, and I put my number into his phone.

A few days went by, and nothing much came of it — until a late night when some of us planned to go out to a different after-work spot. I texted Nico, not knowing he was already on his way there. That night, we hung out again, talked more, and ended up going to the beach around midnight. We ran around, looked at the stars, and — well — the rest is history.