Omar and Leslie first met at church, where they were part of the same group of friends. They hung out together often, but she never saw him in any romantic way. To her, he was just another friend in the group. As time passed, their friendship grew stronger, and the group of five friends became closer. However, things took a turn when some tension arose between Omar and the others, causing a brief period of resentment. Even after the conflict was resolved, she still found Omar a bit annoying and couldn’t quite shake off the negative feelings. Despite this, many of their friends began to jokingly ship them, and she would always respond with a firm denial, insisting that she would never be interested in someone like him. That is, until the fall of 2021, when a friend casually mentioned that Omar had a crush on her. Her immediate reaction was one of disbelief and denial—“Oh, heck no,” she thought to herself. This new information made her start avoiding him, feeling awkward now that she knew how he felt. After New Year’s, Omar reached out, asking if they could grab coffee to talk about the rumors. When they met, he confessed his feelings and told her that he wanted to pursue a relationship with her. She was taken aback but, after some thought, agreed to give it a chance. She figured she owed it to him—and to herself—to at least see where things could go. However, just a month into their talking stage, she realized that she wasn’t feeling the same level of attraction he seemed to have for her. By March, she knew she needed to talk to him about it. She asked him to meet up, intending to gently let him know that she didn’t think it was going to work out. But as she started to say, "I think it’s better if—", Omar stopped her mid-sentence. He already knew what she was going to say and told her that his feelings for her weren’t going to just disappear. He wasn’t giving up that easily and was determined to keep pursuing her, regardless of how she felt at the moment. By April, they were texting more and hanging out, and something began to shift. She couldn’t help but notice how attentive and caring he was, and slowly, she found herself developing feelings for him. By June, their birthday month, she knew she felt the same way he did. The connection was undeniable. In July, they went on a youth trip to El Paso. On the last night, they visited a mountain with a stunning city view, and there, Omar asked her to be his girlfriend. The moment felt right, and she happily agreed. Fast forward two years, and they were now engaged, preparing to marry, grateful for how far they had come since those early, awkward days.