Our story begins in sunny Southern California, where we grew up just a few freeway exits apart—Abbey in Diamond Bar, Mark in Ontario. Despite living so close, our lives never quite intersected. Did we unknowingly stand behind each other at In-N-Out? Sit on opposite bleachers during a high school game? Get cut off by each other in traffic? Entirely possible. But the universe clearly decided: “Not yet.” Fast forward to October 2016. Mark was producing a work event in East LA involving free food, drinks, and music. The event was so well attended that a line wrapped around the entire building! Abbey's good friend Sammy had invited her, but when they saw the line, they thought there was noo way they'd get in. Cue Mark's dramatic entrance. He met them at the front door and being the cool guy that he is, let them through the doors in front of all those people. In his usual "cool guy" attire, he was wearing sunglasses... indoors. Abbey on the other hand, was sporting her taco hat which caught Mark's attention. Naturally, Mark delivered the smoothest line he could think of: “Cool hat.” Abbey, not missing a beat, replied, “Thanks, bro,” ...and walked away, not interested. And just like that, she vanished—leaving Mark with nothing but a bruised ego. Thanks to Sammy, Mark tracked her down and orchestrated a more official introduction. Somehow, Abbey agreed to go on a hike in Griffith Park. Romantic, right? Except... Mark picked the hardest trail imaginable. Abbey could hardly keep a steady voice while trying to keep up on this trail. Mark's way of trying to weed out the weak ones. Despite almost dying on the side of a mountain, Abbey discovered that Mark wasn’t completely terrible. They bonded over records, food, spontaneous adventures, and their shared love for LA. And from that moment on, it wasn’t just a taco hat—it was the beginning of their lives together with their dog, Mishka.