Natasha and Brandon met on a snowy evening in NoHo in December of 2019 after matching on Bumble a few days prior. Evidently Natasha impressed Brandon enough via text that he chose dinner over drinks for their first date, an atypical choice for him that may or may not have been because she'd told him she liked "old Kanye." They had a lovely time, downing a bottle of red wine while discussing Brandon's aversion to cheese and Natasha's aversion to people who don't like cheese. There was no first kiss in the snow that night, though there was a second date the following night: yet another of Brandon's dating rules broken, perhaps suggesting that this was something special. If it was, Natasha was not yet convinced, as she suggested/told him that they should just be friends later that month, discouraging Brandon but not defeating him. They hung out as friends several more times, and they both started to notice how close they were getting...and then the world shutdown. Brandon headed to his parents' house in Yardley, PA to escape the NYC shutdown, and he, naturally, asked Natasha if she wanted to come escape the city herself for the weekend, since he was headed to Long Beach Island to isolate with his family. Though it took some persistence, Natasha agreed, put on her plastic gloves, and hopped on a train to Trenton, NJ with a weekend bag packed. If the story seems strange to the reader, know that it was strange to Natasha and Brandon as well. But something about the apocalyptic nature of March 2020 coupled with a certain "je ne c'est quoi" about each other compelled them to lean into the situation, & it was the best decision they ever made. Natasha's weekend bag evolved into a month-long bag, just as their "4th date" evolved into 6 months quarantining with Brandon and his parents. Those 6 months would prove to be the most important in both of their lives, as they quickly realized that this wasn't some ordinary pandemic romance...this was love.