Great first NYC dates

NaomiKeylo21

Naomi Baria, 30, Gramercy
Keylo E., 40, Gramercy
Time together: Eight years

Naomi says: "We went to small modern artsy bi-level furniture store on Crosby Street, as well as the usual suspects like Ligne Roset, Moss, B&B Italia, pretending to be a rich couple bed-hunting. This was all eight years ago, so I'm not even sure if a lot of them are still standing. Testing beds and checking out home furnishings was full of all the sexual innuendo you would expect. I recall commenting that a particular bedroom setup would be perfect if it only had mirrors around the bed itself---a feature Keylo obviously remembered, since that's exactly what's surrounding our bed today.

JimFrank1

Jim Colucci, 41, Chelsea
Frank DeCaro, 48, Chelsea
Time together: 14.5 years

Jim says: "Frank had written a memoir about growing up in Little Falls, New Jersey, and I grew up in the next town over. After reading the book, I met him at a signing and he gave me his AOL screen name. I wanted to go out with Frank during the day, because I didn't want it to be a date-date. I was just coming out, and also commuting from New Jersey. Buses were scarce at night. For a couple of weeks in a row, Frank wasn't available, but finally he was free one day, on his way back from the gym. We went to the Mayrose Diner at 21st and Broadway for lunch. It's now out of business."

Frank says: "The restaurant that replaced it also closed, so we're two restaurants away now."

Jim says: "And I remember thinking [I was eating] the worst grilled cheese I ever had and also that I was nervous because it was clear we were kind of on a date. In the book, Frank had come off so endearing and down-to-earth---"

Frank says: "Here we go. Waiting for the other shoe to drop."

Jim says: "Except when we had lunch, he was so New York pretentious! Frank was talking really highfalutin, like, 'My next book will be called blah blah blah,' and 'I know this person and that person.' He wasn't the person I fell in love with from reading the book. And just as we're getting up to say goodbye, he knocked over a huge glass of ice water right into the crotch of his little orange gym shorts. He made the most retarded face."

Frank says: "The Herman Munster face."

Jim says: "And at that moment I was like, That's the Frank I want to know."

Frank says: "I thought the pretentious guy was way more fun."

Jim says: "I wanted that simpleton."

KateMichael21

Kate Blumm, 27; Clinton Hill, Brooklyn
Michael de Zayas, 37; Clinton Hill, Brooklyn
Time together: Six-and-a-half years

Kate says: "My best friend Shonni brought me to a moving-out party at Michael's old waterfront apartment in Dumbo, overlooking the bridges. Later, we slipped out in a cab to an exclusive after-party for two at Michael's new Boerum Hill apartment; the two rentals overlapped. The next morning we had a marathon five-hour brunch at the Victory Caf, poring over a mutual passion---the Sunday New York Times. We sussed each other out over the crossword---together we finished it!---and thoroughly lampooned the marriage announcements before writing a hilarious fake announcement for ourselves. A slight waste of energy it was: We never submitted it because once we looked at the rules, we knew we'd never get past their rigorous fact-checking. Four years later, the Times fact-checked our real-life wedding announcement."

Michael says: "We have celebrated Sundays like that ever since. She was and is quite good at the puzzle, probably better than me---though I will never admit it. Did I just admit it? I did not."

AnthonyGabriela1

Anthony Jones, 41, Jersey City, New Jersey
Gabriela Rivera, 36, Jersey City, New Jersey
Time together: Seven-and-a-half years

Anthony says: "My wife and I both lived in Williamsburg at the time of the blackout in August 2003. It was the second morning and the power was still out. I was out of cash, and the ATM machines weren't working. I headed off to Bedford Avenue and North 7th Street, grabbed a free newspaper and sat on top of a traffic box. About half an hour later, my brother, who lived in the neighborhood, rolled up to say hi. He was riding bikes with a friend of his, Gabriela. The three of us got iced lattes, met up with more people we knew and as the party grew, we headed over to Relish, which had charcoal grills going. We then went to the restaurant that is now Hurricane Hopeful---it used to be an Italian place with a backyard. The group hung out in the yard, drinking cans of PBR, and Gabby kept buying me drinks. [The day was spent] hopping between restaurants that were giving away food and beer. We've been together every day since." 

Gabriela says: "I lived in this loft and there were no windows and no air-conditioning. It was the middle of the summer and it was a total scorcher. I had come home the night of the blackout and couldn't find the shower, so I was a filthy human being. Just disgusting. And then I woke up and it was so swampy in the apartment, so I threw on the loosest, most raggedy clothes I could find, and went out for a bike ride with Anthony's brother. And right away I was like, Who's that? The second thought, of course, was, What the hell am I wearing? I was like a vagrant. In the back of my head, I just wanted to get away so I could go home and take a shower. But apparently, he was still interested."

KelsyLauren1

Lauren LoGiudice, 27; Fort Greene, Brooklyn
Kelsy Chauvin, 36; Fort Greene, Brooklyn
Time together: Almost three years

Lauren says: "I was house-sitting in the Meatpacking District for an actress with two very obnoxious cats. I had to give them intravenous fluid, and one of them started to take a downturn during my stay. She would crawl into the bathtub and stare at the wall. I thought she might not make it, and it was in the midst of all of this that Kelsy came over for pasta. We went to [the now-closed] Florent afterwards, where I used to work as the overnight host. I definitely impressed Kelsy, because we got the royal treatment...until the cats attacked her in the middle of the night."

Kelsy says: "I'm allergic to cats. The bed was a futon on the floor, and I woke up two or three times with them literally wrapped around my head. They totally ignored Lauren. There was cat hair everywhere. I tried to overlook it, because there I was on this hot date with Lauren. But then, the date was arguably more about sex than sleep."