The Great Ball of Fire

Alison was a busy woman, “too busy to be out mingling at bars.” So she looked into online dating and “gave it a shot.” She wasn’t very confident at the time, but now laughs, “I was just kinda like, why not?” She had nothing to lose.

Mike just wanted “to find someone who was looking for the same things I was.” This was his first time on a dating site, and he kept his expectations low. “I figured if I meet someone, great…it not, no big deal.”

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The casual, no-pressure approach seemed to work for them. After about a year, Alison came across Mike’s profile, and really liked “his smile and nice physique.” She liked him so much, in fact, that she reached out to him. “With a teddy bear Flirt,” she says coyly.

Mike took a look at Alison’s profile and was floored. “She was absolutely stunning. I couldn’t believe she wanted ME!”

Alison says they got to know each other over the phone very quickly. “We talked like we’d known each other forever,” she says. Mike was eager to take the next step. “I couldn’t wait to see her in person,” he says.

They agreed to meet at Delmonico’s Italian Restaurant for their first date, and they both told us that “it was nerve wracking.” Their first impressions of each other didn’t go all that smoothly, either. Alison was a little surprised at Mike’s appearance and found herself thinking, “He’s not dressed up for dinner. He’s really wearing shorts and a T-shirt!” However, she was pleased that he didn’t “pressure her for a kiss” and that “he was a complete gentleman.”

Mike’s first thought was, “She’s more beautiful than her pictures.” Then he noticed something else. “She’s drinking a lot of wine!”

Alison got past his dinner outfit pretty quickly, adding, “I enjoyed his company so much!” And Mike found it very easy to interact with her. “She was so happy and smiling the whole time, it was really nice,” he says.

Was Mike her type? Alison doesn’t hesitate. “He’s what I was looking for.” But for Mike, it was something completely different. “She’s nothing like the girls I used to date. She’s wild.” How wild? “She’s a ball of fire!”

They’re both honest about the obstacles they’ve faced in the process of becoming a couple. “I had to make sure my kids liked him,” Alison points out. “And there’s quite a drive between us.” Mike acknowledges that the distance has been challenging, but it won’t stop him. He’s also blunt with his own contribution to the obstacles list: “She’s spoiled!”

Alison doesn’t deny it, and Mike goes on to add, “That was an issue.” But it was one they had to deal with, even if was painful sometimes. “We broke up for a week,” says Alison, “and it was the worst week of my life.”

But they worked things out. Mike can pinpoint the moment he knew this was special. “When her kids embraced me as a figure in their lives,” he says, getting a bit emotional for a second. Mike embraced them back, too. “Planning things is so much different now…because it’s family time.”

When asked to share some advice, Alison offers this: “Think outside the box. Stay open-minded.”

Mike nods, telling singles on our site to “Take a chance.”

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