It was a cool February evening when Sam met Olivia for the first time. He had attended a Candlelight Mass at St. Cecilia’s in Oakley. There was a social event afterwards for people to mingle, so Sam went to the Oakley Kitchen and found Olivia talking to his brother, Matt, and a mutual friend. Sam sat down, and after being introduced to Olivia, they engaged in polite conversation.

It was near Valentine's Day and Sam was primarily at this event to make a romantic connection. He thought Olivia was very beautiful, but he was under the false impression that she was a little too young for him. Sam began to look around the room to see if there was anyone else he was interested in meeting, but Olivia began talking about her job. Sam soon realized that Olivia was about his age and he started to focus his attention on her.

After a while, the topic at the table shifted to dating. Olivia turned to Sam and said, “Have you ever been in a relationship before?”. Sam knew that this seemingly innocent question was likely an attempt to find out if he was single. He was pleasantly surprised by this sign of interest and their conversation continued.

They eventually bonded over shared music, especially oldies like Dean Martin, and Sam started to become more interested in her. Sam's brother Matt noticed the connection, began distracting their friends so that Sam and Olivia could talk privately.

At one point, a friend of Sam’s began talking about his new girlfriend, mentioning that she thought he was a "15 out of 10" in attractiveness. He was being goofy and then asked Olivia to rate him. She playfully said, “A 7.” The group laughed, and the friend walked away, feigning disappointment, leaving Sam and Olivia alone. She turned to Sam and said, “By the way, you’re definitely higher than a 7.”

Sam was taken aback by her comment, realizing she was flirting with him—a rare experience for him. Nervously, he asked for her number, and they exchanged contact information. They parted ways a little while later.

As Sam drove home, he felt a sense of excitement and confidence about their first meeting. He felt that they had a lot of potential.