It was May 13th, 2001, my 26th birthday, when my girlfriend gave me the greatest birthday present I had ever received.
We went to dinner the night before, with my best friend, Alex. After dinner, we came back to our apartment for a while, then suddenly, Missy and Alex were leaving. They said they had to go out for a last minute gift for me. I didn't think anything of it, because there is a 24 hour department store a few miles from our house.
I also didn't think anything of it when she wasn't home by 3 am, since the three of us are usually awake until 5 or 6 every morning. I went to bed, figuring she'd be next to me when I woke up.
When I got out of bed the next morning, my birthday, I was rather disappointed that she wasn't yet home. After all, it was 11 am, and very unlike her to not call when she wasn't coming home. I paged her, then waited for her to call back.
About 20 minutes later, Missy called back, apologizing like crazy, and said she fell asleep at Alex's house after putting my presents together, and that I should come over there to get them.
I walked the few blocks from our apartment to his house, and Missy was already waiting at the door for me. She took me upstairs, and gave me my first round of gifts, about $200.00 worth of Star Wars memorabilia.
The rest of the day passed rather slowly, with visits to my parents and another nice dinner with Missy and Alex.
We decided the three of us would go to a strip club before going out drinking, and went back to our apartment to get ready. I got dressed first, and when I came out, Missy and Alex were engaged in a deep kiss on the couch, his hand up her shirt, her hands clenched tightly in his hair. I sat in the chair across from them, enjoying the show.