When I first heard about dating services, I thought they were a joke.

When I first heard about dating services, I thought they were a joke. There is nothing romantic or intimate about them, all you can do is type words on a screen. You don't have any of the real feelings involved, you can't look into each others eyes, you can't even hear the tone of voice the other is using. So, it came as no surprise when I discarded the idea of ever resorting to online dating services, and stuck to the old fashioned way of meeting people.

That is, until I met Karen. Karen was essentially everything a guy could ask for. She had long strawberry blonde hair, big turquoise eyes, flawless skin, a body to die for. She had a sense of humor, and had a big happy smile she was never ashamed to flash at anyone. It was a brief encounter we shared, but a intense one I could not find myself ever forgetting. We shared one sweet embrace as we parted ways, and I felt her soft cheek against mine. Then she whispered in my ear she was on a couple dating services online and if I liked I could message her.

As soon as I got home I jumped on the computer. There was no more shame as I aimlessly signed up for an assortment of dating services trying to find her. After two weeks of finding no sign of her on any of the sites, I gave up in disappointment. She would always be in my mind, but I had lost hope we would ever truly get the chance to be together and experience our chemistry together again. Then I got a message.

Quickly following the first message came another, one from a girl named Rachel, and another from a nickname Karebear. I quickly scrolled my mouse down to read the one from Karebear who I instinctively knew was Karen, but then my mouse jolted and it opened the one from Rachel.

Rachel was cute, medium length brown hair with glowing honey eyes. She had taken the time to look at my profile, it was evident in her long message expressing her interest in me. I quickly exited and clicked on Karen's message.

"Hey, want to hook up on Saturday?", that was all the message said. I felt the excitement drain from my body, I was looking for a real relationship, and realized I had fallen for a girl who wasn't into that. However, although Karen didn't turn out to be my girlfriend, she did lead me to my wife. Me and Rachel met up and although it was awkward at first we got close fast. If it weren't for Karen, I would have never signed up for the site that introduced me to the love of my life.