The story is that Monique tried to kill Ghiles on the first date. No, it's not what you think…

The couple actually share a birthday..well, almost. Their birthdays are 2 days apart in March.

For their first date, they went to dinner at a Brazilian restaurant in the city. Monique, a lover of all things seafood, ordered a shrimp dish. Ghiles, allergic to all things seafood, ordered salmon. After ordering drinks, the meals were brought to the table and they smelled delicious. After digging in, Monique was in deep conversation while Ghiles was intently listening. Ghiles began to have a slight cough and kept clearing his throat. Then there was noticeable sweat on Ghiles forehead. It took only a few seconds after that for them both to realize that Ghiles was having an allergic reaction. The chef had cooked Ghiles' salmon in the sauce from Monique's seafood dinner. In an effort to try and save the day, Monique proceeded to dump out the contents of her purse on the table in search of a Benedryl pill, she knew was somewhere in that bag. After finding the Benedryl, Monique came up with the genius idea for Ghiles to wash it down with a shot of vodka…because " alcohol kills everything- it will help", she said. And there you have it, according to Ghiles, Monique tried to kill him on their first date. Thinking back on it, Monique still laughs likening the moment to a scene from the movie Hitch.

Ghiles and I met at Thomas Jefferson High School in East New York…

He was a Dean of the school. I was a Psychologist contracted by an outside company to work in the school. The first year we both worked there was pretty uneventful, in my mind at least. He was the popular guy at work, clearly into fashion, and often the "talk around town" kind of charmer that many of my female colleagues chatted about. That clearly was not my type, so I didn't give him much thought.

It wasn't until after the first year working at Jeff, that I began to see beyond the flashy clothes and collegiate athlete swag. I began to notice his love for the kids we worked by the effortless way he guided and mentored our young men without even realizing it. I started noticing that he was often the first to show up to work and welcome kids in the building and the last to leave at night after coaching the girls basketball team, making sure they all got home safely. His corny jokes and failed attempts at catching my attention by saying something "less than funny", suddenly started to peak my attention and made me genuinely smile. Well maybe not smile, but he at least started to get a smirk out of me. I found out that he was a Pisces and in true Pisces fashion, loved the water and traveling anywhere and everywhere in the Caribbean.

During our second year of working together, we became friends. I think I knew he was interested in being more than just a friend, but I had a rule. I didn't date anyone I worked with .. because well, it could just get messy. And I don't do messy. So I blew the idea off. Little did I know, he was just patiently waiting. In November 2012, I got a promotion which took me out of Jeff and onto 34^th Street in Manhattan. And that was his in, his "lay-up" to try and take our friendship to the next step.

When I was getting ready to start working in the city and would no longer be at Jeff, he asked me to join him at his gym one night to work out together…and our relationship has been working out ever since….

Monique, MoMo, or Squashy, as I know her, was born and raised in Queens.

Mo and I met at Thomas Jefferson High School in my hometown of East New York. Mo was a Psychologist at the school and I was a Dean for one of the school's on the campus. If my memory serves me correctly, the first time Mo caught my eye was at an after work gathering. She was so beautiful, but I thought she was out of my league. Her confidence, sweet voice, beautiful eyes, big hair and amazing personality was very attractive to me. I found myself on the third floor of the school on a daily basis just to get a glimpse of her or to say "hi". While visiting her office on the third floor, I got to know her better and we became friends. Some people may say I became her guinea pig for her practice as she often gave me advice to get through certain situations.

Mo's passion for helping the children in East New York sparked a different type of love within me as I began to desire a "more than friends" type of relationship. However, Mo played hard to get and was often heard saying to other people "I don't date people at my job". But deep down, I knew she liked me.

With the help of amazing friends, we would set up gym time after work so that way, I could be closer to her and show her that I was more than just the flashy guy from East New York that she thought I was. During those times in the gym, Mo and I got closer and I learned that Mo was more than just a sophisticated pretty girl , she was goofy, funny, had a really nice physique and she was really, really clumsy. I knew that was the perfect time for me to make my move, so I invited her to a private session at my gym. From that day forward we have been inseparable.

Squashy became my best friend. It was hard keeping it a secret while at work because my colleagues noticed something different about me. I was so happy and proud that she was all mine. I couldn't hide my smile. I knew from the beginning that she was the one, she was the one I was going to marry. A real woman, always about her business, kind-hearted, with a "put everyone first" attitude and a love for children that completely melted my heart. I wanted to be the person that put HER first.

As Mo and my relationship blossomed, I learned that we had so much in common. We were both Pisces, had a love for traveling, and had grown up in single parent homes. We found what we were missing in each other. My craziness and her calm, cool demeanor made us the perfect match.

That's my Squashy.