It was 48 hours before Jas had his Medical Board exam when he decided to go on a first date with Alia. They met for a drink after work on a Thursday at Good Lion, a cocktail bar. Jas was animated, direct and hilarious, prompting continuous questions around deep life topics throughout the evening. One drink turned into two, one hour turned into five. Alia remembers laughing and having this feeling of "wow, you don't meet someone like this very often." She was excited life could still surprise her in such unexpected, sweet ways. Alia and Jas went separate ways that evening, Alia had a wedding she was a bridesmaid in, and Jas had his medical board exam. Throughout the weekend they texted back and forth with an intent to meet up again after having such a good time. One date turned into three quickly. On the third date, Jas shared he may be relocating for a job. Alia's heart dropped to hear this news. Alia was in the midst of a remodel that kept her tied to Santa Barbara, in addition to family, friends and her business. Alia ended things with Jas, being encouraging and enthusiastic for his new opportunities and secretly very disappointed and sad. Over the week apart Alia started to notice that she was thinking about Jas constantly. His words replayed in her thoughts. Come Friday, and the end of a sad week, Alia saw Jas texted her “Hey! I know you don’t want to date because of location, but I was thinking we could hang out as friends. What are you doing tonight?” Alia smiled; he was thinking about her too. The next day Alia invited Jas to a pool party. Despite Jas’ night schedule shift, he woke up early and came to the party. Jas was Mr. Social chatting up all of Alia’s friends. When Jas had to leave to go to work for his shift, Alia walked Jas to his car. Jas, despite prior communications around friendship, confidently leaned in and kissed Alia goodbye. He then said with a huge grin, “Let’s do breakfast” and left. Alia stayed on the street for about five minutes feeling a whirlwind and sudden turn of events. Her heart was fluttering with butterflies. The magnetic connection between them could not be dulled. Alia and Jas continued to lean into their love, navigating life accordingly and making each other a priority. One year later she said Yes! The love is to stay.