Her Version
New Year's Eve was approaching and since my friend and I were both new to the city, we were excited to party in Chicago. I was not particularly enthusiastic about the bar we chose, Duffy's, but it was within walking distance to my apartment in Lakeview. The day before, I went to the salon and explained to my stylist that I was not a fan of the bar but that I wanted my newly single friend to have the best night ever. Her response was that I would probably meet a new boyfriend since I hated the place and had no intentions of meeting anyone for myself. I brushed off the thought because clearly she did not know what Duffy's boys were like.
Once my friend and I were all dolled up we headed to the bar ready to party and mingle. A few hours and drinks later I was happy to find my friend hitting it off with a guy, but unhappy to see someone capturing the moment on his phone. I approached the amateur photographer and after a few minutes of chatting I found myself talking to Jason. We soon discovered that we both traveled for work; however, my immediate impression was that he was a liar based on how many frequent flier miles he told me he had. Nonetheless, his dance moves were adequate enough to spend the rest of the night dancing and laughing together. At the end of the night I gave him my Google Voice number instead of my actual phone number in case he turned out to be a creep. Then I texted my best guy friend that "I gave a guy my number but hopes he doesn't call."
The next morning I woke up to a back ache and a text from Jason. Since my philosophy has always been to accept a first date if asked, I agreed to meet Jason two weeks later. One date led to another and after spending countless hours together I knew that Jason and I could have a solid future together. I was a little nervous when he moved to Europe, but all of that anxiety melted away during our adventures in Italy and Germany. It was there that I realized you really could find true love at 1am at a dirty bar.
His Version
On one fateful New Year's Eve while I was temporarily living in Chicago I went to a dive bar with a cheap drink package with some friends in an attempt to hit on girls and celebrate the new decade. Even though I got a couple numbers, I had been fairly unsuccessful with the ladies all night as usual. As the party picked up after midnight, I noticed my buddy, JP, was in the middle of a solid kiss with a young attractive lady. I thought it would be a great idea to take a picture of the two making out on my phone when I was abruptly interrupted by another young attractive lady poking my shoulder asking if I knew the two love birds. The young lady with the strong pokes was Joni.
As we got to talking we discovered we both traveled for work and shared several other interests, then we decided to hit the dance floor. I must have impressed her with my moves because I got her phone number as we were leaving the bar. Later that night I sent texts to all of the girls I had met but Joni was the only one who responded. Her response was favorable but given our busy travel schedules we had to wait two weeks set up a date at a local sports bar. That date, as well as the second and third, lasted over ten hours because we kept finding more and more about each other that we liked. Then, after only a few weeks of dating, I found out my company was relocating me to Europe. I wasn't sure what this meant for our young relationship since I wasn't even sure what city I would live in when I returned. Luckily we had Skype to keep in touch with each other for three months and Joni even came to visit me in Italy and Germany during my last week overseas. We shared the best vacation of each of our lives and I returned to the US knowing that she was girl I would eventually marry.