September 2021.

Love was in the air and so was covid. It was a cool Fall night. Perfect weather to be at VUE Rooftop in Washington DC, offering a great view of the Washington Monument which further charged the air with its strangely suggestive nature.

Dayan was seated at one of the window tables with a friend. She was wearing a colorful, floral-print dress and had just arrived from the Miss Colombia DC pageant. Resting on top of her head - a shining crown. Was she there to celebrate her win? Unlikely. She doesn't drink and was pretty tired from the days events. But her friend was on the prowl for sugar daddies and she needed an interpreter.

Arlind was on the dance floor with a group of friends. He had just come back from a summer trip in Albania. A musk of Euro-air and a tan (read: slightly burned skin) instilled him with newfound confidence. His friend group started with 2 men and 4 women, but later found himself alone with 3 women. Was he a playa? It sure looked like it.

As his feet began to tire from the side-to-side shuffle, he decided to take a trip around the bar - otherwise known as a putivuelta - to see if someone would catch his eye. He walked through the double doors of the dance floor - chest out, arms swinging - and was instantly met with Dayan's gaze.

There she was - truly stunning and standing out in a sea of mediocrity.

Her gleaming smile beamed at him and he was attracted to her like a ship to a lighthouse.
She giggled and blushed as he made his way to her. She hoped he wasn't deterred by the walking corpses surrounding her.
He wasn't. His mind was racing to find an opening line.

Now face-to-face with her, he blurted out:

"Hey beautiful."

Nailed it.

Ok, that's not even a pickup line. But when the chemistry is like lightning, you don't need a good pickup line.

Their conversation was natural and flowing, like they had known each other for years.
He impressed her by correctly guessing where she was from (editor's note: thank you, Sofia Vergara) and showing off his Spanish skills.
She could tell he was not your average white - he was S P I C Y white.

They didn't talk for long before Dayan's friend was glaring at them for scaring away the moneybags and Arlind said he had to return to his friends (Was this a tactic? Mmmmyes). They exchanged numbers and parted ways.
Arlind was met with anticipation and excitement as his friends had seen the whole thing. Yet, Arlind doubted that anything would come of this. He had gotten numbers before that ultimately amounted to nothing.
Those doubts were quashed when Dayan strolled onto the dance floor to give Arlind one last (for the night) goodbye. Totally not marking her territory, nope.

They talked every day after that. Dinner dates, Bruno Mars concerts, soccer games, clubbing, salsa, bachata - with every date, their connection and love for each other grew stronger. His calm nature complimented her fiery soul. They've traveled parts of the world together, introduced each other to new foods, and continue to teach each other new things. But one thing they will never learn is how to stop loving each other. And Arlind will never learn how to dance salsa like Dayan.

In a world of online dating, two strangers not looking for love found it in person one September night.