Happy birthday, Athina. I know it’s a bit late, so forgive me, but I couldn’t miss an opportunity to remind you how special you are.

It’s fitting that you were named for a literal goddess. That’s certainly how I felt when I first matched with you. I’m sure I’ve said much of this to you before, but I thought I’d retell the story of our night together, through my eyes.

Sometimes the part that makes me smile the most is how hard I had to fight to get you to meet me in the first place. Here was this beautiful woman, with eyes full of fire, refusing to spend time with me but continuing to respond regardless. Something in those early messages let me know that you had something in you ready to come out and share the world with me, but that needed to be convinced. For both of our sakes, I’m glad I didn’t give up.

The moment I saw you in person I knew it was worth the effort. Standing in front of me was the personified image of that same guarded beauty, waiting to be released. A short walk, cold conversation, but the smile never left my face as you walked beside me. The tenderness in you was so clearly just under the surface and I was dying to unchain it.

Over dinner your first reaction to my gentle advances was to throw up the shield, higher, higher. But then, a change. The small talk turned to genuine sharing. Small things at first, where we came from, then deeper, where we wanted to go. There is very little in life as vulnerable as sharing your dreams with another, and by the second drink we designed coffee shops and named our visions of the future. Perhaps, there was room in them for each other.

On the walk home I teased out that little adventurer inside of you, skipping across crosswalks against stoplights and reminding you of the joy of the unexpected.

When we got to my place I shaved my beard for you! Here was the first sign of an assertive Athina, realizing the goddess could make demands of me, and that I would worshipfully respond.

The details of the next several hours will have to wait for the next video, but in reality, the specifics of each kiss and caress are not what made the evening magical to us both. Instead, it’s the final release, the complete openness and surrender of us both to each other. The reminder that when we allow others to scale our walls we find true bliss.

I carry that bliss with me still, as a beautiful reminder of your courage and openness, and the wonder of what can be shared in a single evening. It’s been years since that night we shared, but it’s place in my memory hasn’t diminished in the slightest. I hope that you continue to seek the beauty in life, and occasionally, let it surprise you. Happy birthday, Athina.