Mark and Mindy follow the old path. They were hanging out with their own individual friends at a bar one night when they saw each other across the room. As the night grew longer and their glances became more frequent, with enough drinks on him to evoke the nerves to introduce himself, Mark walked over.

Mark was a successful contractor who occasionally hung out with his friends, coworkers, and family, but spent more time with them. Mindy was always in demand. She was one of the guys, easy to talk to, a huge sports fan, and of course, a former cheerleader. Mindy worked as a secretary at a major law firm, and if she didn’t know her title, she’d assume she ran the office herself and processed the cases.

There is nothing artificial about Mark. It is simple and direct. He introduced himself, told her she sparkled, and asked if he could buy her a drink. Mindy blushed, said she’d have a beer of any kind and the rest is history.

They talked that night about family, favorite teams, and racing. They made an appointment for the next week. After dating for four months, becoming very close and comfortable with each other, Mark, who wasn’t ready to move in together or propose, wanted to do something special.

Because their relationship was so genuine, there weren’t many fancy dates. Both Mark and Mindy are salt of the earth people and most of the time they spent together was in bars, games, with friends or something more relaxed and not overly romantic.

For Mindy’s birthday, Mark decided to do something big. He arranged for a limousine service to pick her up, carry flowers, chocolate and roses in the car, and drive her to her apartment. In her apartment, completely cleaned and decorated for her birthday, they drank a good bottle of wine. He gave her a gift, a beautiful new watch. He then returned the limo service and drove them to one of the best restaurants in the city.

They dined on crab cakes, a perfectly cooked steak, and the most delicious creme brulee either of them had ever tasted. The limo service returned after a long and fabulous meal and took them to the most beautiful sight in the city. There they talked, held hands and enjoyed the scenery, each other’s company and a bottle of champagne.

After the limo service dropped them off at Mark’s, they celebrated how lucky they were to have found each other. The beauty of it, from Mark’s perspective, was how perfect she was without even asking questions about rushing their relationship. For Mindy, having someone so caring and caring was divine. It was a very special night. They both agreed in the end that while wine and cheese was great once in a while, they hoped to get back to beer and peanuts while surrounded by friends the next time they were out.