What started out as a simple "Hey let's meet for a cocktail or two because we're friends" turned out to be something much bigger and better. Pepsi and I met back in 2004 as co-workers tasking in separate environments and started dating almost 20 years later. How did this love journey unfold?

 

THAT TEXT MESSAGE THAT STARTED IT ALL
I hated online dating. I was always jumping on and off of those grimy sites trying to find that special person. I went through profile after profile after profile and found nothing but booger bears. Whew! It was too much work. I came across Pepsi's profile on POF one day and I started to swipe left. I instead swiped right because I was curious as to why she was on this raunchy site and I also knew she was newly single again (wink wink). I jumped in her DM that same day and after several low grade flirty exchanges she decided to send me her phone number. I guess she sent it because she either got tired of logging on and off of POF or she thought I was a handsome guy and she wanted to give it to me anyway :-)

I sent her a simple text a day or two later letting her know that I was going to be hangng out later and to join me if she had absolutely nothing else to do (I was kinda low key shooting my shot). She said ok but she couldn't stay long because she had to be at work at 2 in the morning. When she arrived we ran into a couple of friends and sat with them. I drank. She ate. We both had so many conversations and laughter that went back 20 years. Do y'all know that as we were talking this woman put her hand on my knee? I got kinda happy. I said to myself that she better stop playing with me. That night both of our minds were blown with the WHAT IF?     

Fast forward many hours later  ...our night ended around 4am. Needless to say she didn't make it work.   We knew then that something amazing and special was brewing and I was ready to sip from that little hot cup of tea.

BATTLES AND CHALLENGES
Our first night out lead to many dates and even us chasing waterfalls in Sweetwater, Tennessee a month later. We were having so much fun until three months later. Pepsi was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma cancer. It was a hard blow for us both, but never once in my mind I thought about leaving her side. This woman gonna tell me, "You didn't sign up for this. I understand if you would just like to be friends as before." I then said, "So you just gonna throw me back in the streets with them scalawags, huh? Nope! Not happening". She saw the love in my eyes that day and I saw it in hers. We are battling this cancer together! We've had so many rough days, but we remain strong.

SHE SAID YES
I knew what I wanted and I decided that I wanted to take our relationship a step further. I purchased a ring late summer of 2021 and I proposed to her on her birthday on December 15th of that year. She said yes. She was so surprised. We got dressed, slid through at Ruth Chris steakhouse and she had her left hand in the sky the entire night.

JOIN US ON MAY 6TH
Please join us on May 6, 2023 at the Carousel Pavilion and Antique Dentzel Carousel, 2529 Central Avenue, Memphis, TN 38104 as we celebrate our union with friends, family and loved ones for this joyous and momentous occasion. Please click here to RSVP before March 1, 2023.