About a year or so into our relationship, my first significant girlfriend made me a mix tape. It was then that I learned that she really, actually, genuinely LIKED the Steve Miller Band. I probably already knew this, but the reality of this fact didn’t hit me until I got that mix tape, popped it in the boombox, and heard the opening riff to “Space Cowboy.” Had I followed my gut reaction at this exact moment, I would have dumped her for good and never talked to her again. I F***ING HATE STEVE MILLER.

—Collin

Aftermath: This relationship dragged on and off tortuously for more than FOUR years.

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