Zennon and The Black Russians

Did you ever have one of those first encounters with someone where the attraction is so strong it seems as though you and he are the only two people in the room?

I was about 20 years old and his name was Zennon.
He was tall, dark and yes very handsome.

It was Zennon's first day.  My boss was taking him around and introducing him.  When he got to my desk, I could literally feel the electricity between us.

And so it began.

He told me that he had a girlfriend.  I was kind of involved too, so I thought okay, wrong time wrong place, whatever.

Then one day he told me about this "friend" of his.  He thought that his "friend" and I were perfect for each other.  

So Zennon set up this double date.  It would be Zennon  and his girlfriend, Zennon's friend and me.

The day of the date, Zennon informed me that his girlfriend was no longer his girlfriend and his "friend" would not be able to make the date.
So Zennon asked me if I would be interested in going for a drink after work.
I said oh, okay YES!


You know when you have one of those first encounters, the kind where you and he are the only two in the room,  but your gut is telling you "watch out"?   You know those red flags that are raised, but you decide you are being silly and anyway, he is so gorgeous.  And that slight accent, yes he even had a foreign accent of some kind.   And besides his name was Zennon.

Okay, red flag number one:
 He couldn't drive, I think he mumbled something about no car, or no license, I don't remember.  I was too busy looking into those blue eyes.  Yes, he had dark hair and blue eyes.   Of course I said I would be happy to drive.

Red flag number two:
  We had to stop at his house for a minute.  Would that be okay?  Uh, okay.

Red flag number three:
  When we got to his house, he introduced me to his older brother.   The brother who was blond and had no accent.  The brother who asked Zennon where he was taking me and when Zennon told him, his brother said, "are you kidding me?"

Red flag number four:
   First he took me to a strip joint, then we went bar hopping.  At each stop he would order a couple of Black Russians.  

Red flag number five:
  All of these places we went to were within walking distance of his home.  After I had had enough, he told me that he was going to stop at one more place and that he would find his own way home.

That was a Friday night.  Zennon and I had to go into work the next day, Saturday.  We were the only ones in the office.

We went out for lunch, Zennon had a Black Russian and I have to admit I was still smitten.

That Monday, I did not go into work.  The next day, when I came into work, Zennon wasn't there.   My boss took me into his office and told me that Zennon had lied on his employment application and they fired him the day before.

Many months later Zennon had a mutual friend of ours deliver a note to me.
I will not reveal what the note said.  I will say, though,  it was the sixth and final red flag for me.

I have participated in Charlotte's ABC meme for 26 weeks, patiently waiting for the letter Z so I could tell the story of my encounter with the mysterious Zennon, whom I shall never forget.

True story by the way, and I did not change any names to protect the not so innocent.