Thirteen years ago today, Drew walked into my life when he walked into the restaurant that I was waiting tables at. I knew from the minute I saw him, that he would be the type of guy that I would fall hopelessly in love with and then would just as quickly have my heart broken.
He was my perfect man, at least from a physical standpoint. He was tall and being an ex-college football player, he was a large man with lots of muscles. The kind of big guy that when you are a struggling New York City actress or as many like to call it, a waitress, you would want a man like this to hold you and not let anything bad happen to you. The type of guy that would make you feel safe no matter where you were or what was happening around you.
On top of it all, he had long hair. Not the Bo Bice American Idol long hair, but long hair that girls in their early twenties who love bad boys, could not possibly resist. For me I would say it was love at first sight, or perhaps more accurately, lust at first sight, yes definitely lust and it didn't help any that he was also the muscle at the place. Drew was the bouncer and his job was to control the chaos, and we are talking about the chaos that comes in a very crowded Upper East Side post collegiate bar where every guy in there thinks they are the shit.
He threw people out that needed to go and man did he look cool doing it. Drew is the type of guy that won't use his physical strength if he doesn't have to. He is more comfortable using his wit and sensibilities than his physical strength, but it was just so sexy knowing that he could do both if there was a situation that called for it. One look at the offender and they would pretty much just get up and walk out.
That first night, the hostess introduced us and as the weeks wore on and our conversations deepened, I realized that Drew was so much more than just a hot piece of ass. He was multi-dimensional and more than just an ex-jock who would break my heart. I was always so impressed and amazed at the fact that he didn't play games. EVER. He was such a man from the moment we met which was an experience that was so alien to me as a twenty-four year old girl.
My parents came to see my that first weekend we met and as they were driving me to my morning brunch shift at the restaurant, I told them that I had met the man that I was going to marry. For some reason, I just knew that after all the heartache that I had experienced throughout the years, that possibly Drew was the end of the road for me.
All of the other waitresses would constantly approach me and say, "are you guys together, are you dating now?" or "wow, what did you do to get him to like you?, Drew never really likes anyone around here." I would always answer by just simply shaking my head and saying something along the lines of "I am not sure." On the inside I would just thank God that this was actually happening to ME and not somebody else.
Here we are thirteen years to the day that we met, one third of my life spent with this man, and I am still as in love with him as ever.