We know, we know. This has been a long time coming. And we’re thrilled so many of you have expressed such kind words as we’ve gotten to know each other over the last few years. But there are probably parts of the story of us you didn’t know.
Well, here’s the story…
Stephanie & Kelsey met in December of 2013. Gas was $3.80 a gallon, Apple released the iPhone 5c and 5s (Stephanie still uses her 5s, amazingly), and some of the more popular songs of the year were Daft Punk – “Get Lucky”, Robin Thicke – “Blurred Lines”, and Macklemore – “Thrift Shop.”
They were introduced by mutual friend and classmate Kristen Geyer with the help of her husband, Brandon Geyer, at Rock City Eatery in Hamtramck.
What Kelsey Remembers:
The whole thing was a set up. Everyone sitting around the table knew it but me. Kristen had suggested nearly a year prior that I would be perfect for one of her friends from dental school. But, I was living up north in Cheboygan and she was in Detroit. I politely declined putting any energy into the pursuit. When Brandon was coming to Michigan from California around the holidays, he suggested I come to Detroit so he and I could hang out and explore the “D.” And we did.
It didn’t occur to me when Kristen suggested a group of people were getting together for dinner that it might completely change the next few years, and ultimately, rest of my life.
Stephanie arrived a bit late, as I would find out after was not out of character for her. The rest of the group had ordered but the server quickly swooped in to take Stephanie’s order and we commenced with a somewhat awkward introduction. (She was holding a wet umbrella, we sort of had to reach over a person, I extended my hand prematurely and just had to leave it there for a minute until she was able to shake it.) But, she had these fantastic green jeans on — my favorite color!
The server brought out our food, as it was a big group, he opted to call out the names of the items on the plate and let the order-er raise his or her hand. “Lamb burger with fries?” he said and I quickly raised my hand. But, so did Stephanie. We had ordered the same thing! What a perfect opportunity for me to be a gentleman. I could graciously pass this along to her, ladies first and all! She would think I was chivalrous and polite and probably fall in love with me on the spot.
But, the server informed Stephanie hers would be out in a minute… and I just kept the plate for myself. (This would later pave the way for Ether-Kelsey, a figment of my imagination who, in Gilbert Gottfried’s voice, would shout at me when I came dangerously close to doing something awkward, embarrassing or stupid.)
Her order arrived soon after and the group ate and barely a word was spoken between us. But the night went on, we went to Jacoby’s for a beer with the group.
I was enamored. She was gorgeous, and from the 30 seconds of conversation we shared I quickly tried to impress her with my knowledge of dentistry.
“You know, I actually have dens en dente on both my laterals.” This would have been a good time for Ether-Kelsey to step in, but this actually worked. She was impressed I knew what that was, and what laterals were, and I opened my mouth wide to show her, not knowing there is really no way to see dens en dente on the surface, because it means “tooth inside a tooth.”
Still incapable of just talking with her, when Stephanie stepped away to join some other friends in a different section of the bar. I grabbed Kristen’s phone and began texting her, as if I were Kristen, to let her know I was really interested in learning more about her and that I thought she was beautiful.
I tried to work up a second opportunity to strike up conversation, unsuccessfully, and eventually departed with Stephanie and I sharing a hopeful, but poorly executed hug.
We hadn’t exchanged numbers but a Facebook friend request came across my phone within the hour and so began a courtship a-la AOL Instant Messenger into the early morning hours, during which time she told me she really liked my blue sport coat and that I wore it with a pocket square.
We had our first date less than a week later. And made things “official” on February 2nd. (Actually, that’s a whole other story but we’ll spare you that for now.)
But that’s the story, as I recall, of how the gal in the green jeans and the guy in the blue blazer met for the first time.
What Stephanie Remembers:
Kristen and I were friends in dental school instantly. After quickly and easily getting to know each other over the first year, I remember her telling me that one of her guy friends thought I was really cute from seeing pictures of me and her together. She would also add in that she thought the two of us would be a cute couple, however he lived up north. I immediately said, “That’s nice, but I don’t want to be up north.”
A year or two went by and Kristen spent some time visiting Kelsey in Cheboygan and Mackinac during one of our school breaks. She said, “I think you should really meet my friend Kelsey. He’s so nice, a good dresser, has a nice house in Cheboygan, and works on Mackinac.” I said, “Oh, that’s interesting, my aunt and uncle just bought a dock slip in Cheboygan, but I still don’t care for up north. I’m a city girl.” A few months later, Kristen posted a picture on Instagram. Both Kelsey and I commented on the same photo, and from there I checked out (stalked) his whole Instagram. Then, I texted Kristen, saying “Wow, Kristen! Your friend Kelsey is really cute! I think I should meet him!” And that is where the whole plan started…
We were starting Christmas break during our last year of dental school. Kristen and another friend had planned a group dinner since Kristen’s fiancé (and now husband), Brandon, would be in town. Now it just so happens that Kelsey happens to be good childhood friends with both Kristen and Brandon. So Kelsey was easily lured to come and have a fun time in Detroit. While Kristen and another friend were getting the dinner plans set, they let me know the date, but not the time.
I spent that day around the house doing some winter cleaning and organizing, and started getting ready (well, partially ready) and waiting to hear on the time. I eventually get two texts that everyone was meeting at Rock City Eatery in Hamtramck in 30 minutes. I said, “What?! That’s just barely enough time for me to drive there! I still need to finish getting ready!” So I tried to get ready as quickly as possible, while also trying to look nice and impressive.
Once I had arrived, everyone was already seated and talking and there was one chair left. Kelsey rose to introduce himself and we both sat down, but not next to each other. I immediately thought he was very attractive and a gentleman! The waiter came to take my order, since everyone else had already ordered. When the dinners came both Kelsey, Brandon, and I rose our hands for the lamb burger and the waiter gave the dinners to the guys, saying mine would be out shortly. I thought, “Hmmm, I’m kind of surprised he didn’t let me have his meal. That’s the gentlemanly thing to do.”
Anyway, my meal came and the rest of the dinner was great, however Kelsey and I hadn’t really talked. But, one of my good college friends was throwing a party for her boyfriend at Jacoby’s in Greektown, and she told me to invite the group along, so we headed there. In the beginning, my dental group didn’t want to join the party, so they stayed downstairs in the bar. I went upstairs and talked to my college friends for a while. That’s when I started texting Kristen to bring everyone upstairs so I could try and talk to Kelsey more. Little did I know that it was actually Kelsey on Kristen’s phone. They weren’t coming up, so I went back downstairs, and that’s when Kelsey tried to impress me with his dental knowledge (dens in dente -“tooth within a tooth”), but besides that we really didn’t talk much. I eventually convinced everyone to come upstairs and join the party, but there wasn’t much one-on-one conversation between Kelsey and me, just a lot of group talking. The dental group decided to leave, and I was going to stay a bit longer with my college friends, so we parted ways.
He didn’t ask for my number.
He didn’t give me his number.
I was a bit disappointed. I texted Kristen and I think she encouraged Kelsey to connect with me, which happened to be via social media. We chatted via Messenger a bit that night, but nothing significant, just that we hoped to see each other again. I started worrying that maybe he wasn’t interested.
The next day, my mom and I went shopping at Somerset and stopped for a delicious mac’n’cheese from the Sweet Lorraine’s food court stand. I thought this was a perfect way to continue to “break the ice” with Kelsey, since we did bond over the lamb burgers at Rock City and one of the group member’s mac’n’cheese dishes. So I messaged him later that evening and we spent the rest of the night messaging for hours and have talked every day since! I eventually gave him my phone number, and we went on our first date about a week after we first met. And that’s the story of our very beginning, and the rest is history!