How the Rucksacks Came to be a We

I was on a date the night I met Mr. Rucksack and it wasn't going well. It was going so not well, in fact, that when I got a text message from a coworker asking me to go join him for karaoke, it didn't take too much convincing before I agreed. And so the not-so-great-date and I headed down the street and joined some of our mutual friends at a local bar that happened to be hosting karaoke for the first time.

Meanwhile, Mr. Rucksack was coming home from the gym when his coworker sent him a text message asking him to come out for karaoke. Luckily, Mr. Rucksack also didn't need too much convincing.

By the time I arrived Mr. Rucksack was already there with his coworker - who happened to be my not-so-great-date's neighbor. AND somebody had already called dibs on Mr. Rucksack - my coworker. Did I mention that the particular coworker that I had joined that night is a handsome gay man? That's right. While Mr. Rucksack claims that he saw me and immediately began plotting a way to talk to me, I thought he was gay because my friend had called dibs on him!

How's that for a confusing meet cute?

Mr. Rucksack and I did end up chatting that night - he stole a chance when my not-so-great date went to the bathroom. It probably worked to my advantage that I thought he was gay because I usually get really nervous around hot straight men! The fact that I thought he would never be interested in me anyway meant that I was completely myself and we had a great conversation.

The following week we both ended up at karaoke again. He had even gone by himself in hopes that my friends and I would be there! Lucky for him, we were. That night, much to my surprise, he asked for my number.

He texted me just as I was getting home: "Just so you know, I'm taking you out. I don't know when, but it's happening."

"Do I have a say in this?" I responded.

"Nope."

"Well," I typed back "I would have said yes anyway."

He took me out the very next night and the rest, as they say, is history.

One of our very first dates to a Connecticut vineyard

*Before you start worrying about my not-so-great date from the beginning of the story, I'm happy to report that he also had a happy ending. We remained friends and he met the woman who is now his wife just a month after our not-so-great date!