James Coleman Burden was the star of the show, and Caleb Mansel Dicke didn’t even take notice.
Mr. Burden was playing Sky Masterson in “Guys and Dolls” at the Asolo Repertory Theater in Sarasota, Fla. Mr. Dicke’s best friend, Elliott Mattox, was also in the show, playing Benny Southstreet. So in December 2016, Mr. Dicke traveled from New York City to see his friend perform there, and the three men had brunch together the next day.
“I asked Caleb what he thought of me in the show, and he told me he didn’t remember me,” Mr. Burden said. “I was the lead. It felt like an immediate challenge.”
Still, they exchanged numbers, and, two months after they met, in February 2017, they went on their first date in New York City, where both lived. “We had coffee, and we went to all the fantastic galleries between 10th and 11th Avenue,” Mr. Burden said.
“I wasn’t looking for a fairy tale. I wasn’t looking for a trust fund baby to take me away. We met and we connected,” said Mr. Burden, who goes by Cole. “He looked at me differently than the way most people looked at me.”
That day at the galleries, Mr. Dicke was taken by Mr. Burden’s “handsome” smile: “How could you not want to see more of that?” he said. He also loved his creativity. “I knew I wanted to learn more about him.”
The two soon began texting daily and seeing one another several days a week to catch dinner or a show.
