Allie moved to Baton Rouge in 2017 to join Teach for America (TFA) and Jake joined the following year. TFA is a two-year commitment so this meant that they overlapped for a year – attending the same professional developments, whole corps events, etc., but never thought too much about each other (Jake recalls thinking Allie was a homie from Day 1 and Allie recalls thinking Jake's camp t-shirt probably meant he was one too). In 2019, Allie started working for The Baton Rouge Youth Coalition (BRYC) where Jake began mentoring in 2020. Allie saw his name weekly on spreadsheets, on Zoom when she subbed into his class during COVID, and then regularly at BRYC on Mondays when the building re-opened for in-person programming. But it wasn't until 2022 that the time was right! Allie and Jake both ended up at the same event, "Why Louisiana Ain't Mississippi," on October 20th (the day before Jake's birthday). The Yankees also happened to be playing the Astros in the ALCS and Allie happened to be feeling brave. After the event, she asked Jake if he'd like to go to The Bengal to watch the game and he said yes. They watched a few innings until they were both ready to head home for bed (only to discover a few months later that they both love a pre-9pm bedtime). Before parting ways, Jake walked Allie to her car and offered a fist-bump (something they'd joke about in the coming months). A few weeks later, after a trip to Superior Grill, Allie let Johnny, her co-worker and Jake's former roommate, know she thought Jake was cute. Like how any good middle school relationship starts, Johnny let Jake know in front of all of their friends, and about a week later Jake picked Allie up for their first date at Elsie's Plate and Pie. They've been in love and the best of friends every day since.