It all started back in 2011, in AP math class at Horizon High School in Arizona. Ashley was the outgoing pom and show choir girl. Ryan was the quiet, smart golf guy with a quick sense of humor and a talent for sneaky sarcasm (which Ashley later realized was his way of flirting). Though we were never in the same friend group, we shared laughs and playful banter between class and test prep. After graduation, life took us in different directions—Ashley to TCU, Ryan to Alabama. Instagram had just launched, so while our lives didn’t cross paths in person, we quietly kept up with each other from afar. The likes, story views, and the occasional DM became our modern version of staying in touch. Fast forward to 2020. Ashley moved back to Arizona to escape the Chicago winters, and Ryan suddenly started appearing more in her DMs (he still claims it wasn’t intentional). Ashley, ever the social butterfly, appreciated the friendly messages but didn’t think much of them. While bar hopping with her girlfriends in Old Town Scottsdale, Ashley spotted someone who looked very familiar standing in line outside the nextdoor bar. “Is that Ryan? He looks so grown up... and cuter than I remember,” she thought. Stylish and put together, too. A few messages later, plans to meet never quite lined up—until one September evening. Ashley was at happy hour with her coworkers, heading to a little karaoke dive bar she figured no one else knew about. Then came a message from Ryan: “Going out tonight?” Hesitant (and a few margaritas in), she embarrassingly mentioned she was at a dive bar in North Scottsdale that nobody probably knew about. Ryan replied, “Ernie’s? I'm on my way there now. We go every weekend.” And just like that, fate (and a little tequila) stepped in. That night, under neon lights and karaoke tunes, the spark was undeniable. Ashley owned the mic and the dance floor; Ryan brought his quick wit, blue eyes, and that signature giggle. It wasn’t just a night out—it was the beginning of something real. Ashley has always known what she wants—and when she saw it in Ryan, she didn’t look back. From AP math to Ernie’s Inn, this love story began just like one of our favorite country songs… “At the end of a bar.”