Rewinding to Tuesday, April 2, 2018. I stumble upon a picture on a dating app of a cute, wide-smiled, confident in demeanor, 23-year-old brunette, from North Caldwell, NJ. With a golden doodle puppy in her lap and University of Maryland in her bio, I knew she had a bright future – I just did not know at that moment I would be lucky enough to be a part of it. As I scroll through her pictures, it becomes apparent she’s my type, so I go for it, “how’s it going jessie?”. As I anxiously wait for a response, I scroll back through the pictures and find myself becoming more and more invested. 8:31pm, my screen lights up, “Hey! Good, chilling with my dog, you?” It was at that moment, that I knew – whether or not I would end up in the picture – that puppy was a package deal. I am convinced our relationship took off with the next three texts exchanged. “What kind of dog? I’m intrigued", to which Jessie responds, “Mini Golden doodle!”. Without hesitation, I send my boldest message yet, “that’s what I want!”. Fast forward nearly four years, and it's safe to say it worked to perfection - Finn and I happily call apartment 713 home! A few days pass and we pick Bar Deco to meet for our first date. We lock eyes on the sidewalk before walking through the front door, and I remember Jessie in that moment as if it was yesterday – white tank top and light blue jeans. It was not immediately clear after we said our goodbyes, whether the singular glass of white wine she ordered was due to disinterest or just a cheap date. Finally, on the third date, we took it to the next step – dinner. It remains a mystery whether it was the bottle of wine we shared or something I said that led to what happened shortly after that dinner, but it was in fact, our first kiss. That set the stage for an amazing summer split between 1621 S St and The Shay. Through some challenging conversations, we committed to one another – and after she overheard she was just ‘a friend’ upon meeting my parents for the first time, I knew deep down it was so much more than that. As we plan the next chapter of our lives, I am so grateful we are doing it together.

After a few questionable experiences on dating apps, I was ready to delete them – but I had a date set up for the following Tuesday that April, so I figured “why not?”. If nothing else it would be a good story, a free drink, or a long shot of a future husband – I was lucky enough to get all three. So that Tuesday evening, a friend walked me to Bar Deco where I met Brett outside and our adventure began. I didn't know how to start the conversation, so I just complimented his incredibly white shoes - wondering how he kept them so clean. Given my low alcohol tolerance, my limit was one glass of the white wine (even though the bartender accidentally handed me the whole bottle). I found out he went to Maryland too and naturally afterwards my vetting process had to begin. Since he past my (very thorough) background check, the dates continued. Talking to him was natural, effortless, and it felt as though we had known each other forever. After our third date, he finally kissed me outside of Unconventional Diner before I scootered away, and I felt ok enough about him to introduce him to Finn. The two have been inseparable since. That fall, I attended my very first Friends of Lombardi Concert to End Cancer, where we now joke about the fact that I was introduced to his parents and their friends as “Brett’s Friend”. It was six months after our first date, yet it seemed I hadn’t earned the coveted title of Girlfriend quite yet. So, the next day at a Maryland football game, I had enough White Claws (two) in my system to take it upon myself and get up the courage to tell him that he was now my boyfriend. Since that football game there have been more adventures, laughs, and celebrations than I can count, and I can't wait for the lifetime of them to come. I feel eternally blessed that the guy holding the bottle of Belvedere in his League picture turned out to be a man who has shown me more kindness, love, patience, and grace than I could have ever imagined, and has become my absolute best friend.