On a chilly evening in late October of 2021, Stephanie arrived for a friend’s party at The Baylander, a Vietnam-era warship docked off 125th Street that also happens to serve food and drinks. Now, Stephanie was feeling out-of-character confident that night. Her hair was smooth, her outfit was excellent, and she wasn’t NOT looking for someone to maybe kiss. For a while, no one was piquing her interest, until a cute boy in a vest showed up. Stephanie went over to introduce herself and was pleased to learn his name was Jacob.


Meanwhile, Jacob couldn’t believe his luck! A cute girl? Not just any cute girl, but a cute girl he hadn’t already swiped right on and never spoken to, or seen a million times around the Upper West Side? What a coup.


As the night progressed, Stephanie made sure she and Jacob spent as much time together as possible. When another pair suggested a game of cornhole, Stephanie had point five seconds to figure out how to keep Jacob on her side of the configuration. “Let’s do boys versus girls!” she exclaimed. “Jacob, you’re going to stay over here with me,” Stephanie said, as she lightly guided Jacob to the spot next to her while encouraging the other two players to make their way across the playing field.


Next on the agenda was an after party at Jacob’s apartment. As all the attendees made their way onto the subway platform, Stephanie decided to initiate a small test. She would wander away from the group and look at her phone. If Jacob was as interested as she was, he would see she was standing alone and take it as an opportunity to talk to her. Lo and behold! It worked! The two chatted a bit more, hopping on the downtown 1 train. Unbeknownst to Jacob, Stephanie was not planning on attending the after party as she needed her sleep. When they came to Jacob’s subway stop at 86th street, he exited confidently, only to look back and see Stephanie still standing on the train! “You’re not coming?” he said. “Nope!” she replied. And the subway doors closed in his face!


And that’s the end of the story.


Just kidding.


Neither Stephanie nor Jacob was worried. They somehow both knew they’d see each other again.