Talia and Brian met during covid times of 2021. At that time, both of them were seeking companionship and using what everyone was using during that time...tinder. The first date was pretty standard get to know you stuff. Questions like, "Have you had coughing symptoms in the last 24 hours? Have you been around anyone who has the virus? Where you from? Wanna hang out again?" Each wanted to know more after the first date so the two of them continued to make little dates happen. They would go bowling, play cards, go to the climbing gym, and chat about how excited they were to get vaccinated. Brian thought they were hitting it off well and starting to take off until Talia shared with him that she was feeling the pressure of medical school weighing down heavily upon her. She couldn't afford to put the time into a relationship with Brian and thought that they should just stay friends. Brian was bummed about being stuck in the friend zone but liked hanging out with Talia so that's what they did. A few months passed by, Talia and Brian kept their hangouts platonic even though the eye gazing was awkward from time to time. One evening Talia came over to Brian's place to share a vegetarian pizza and play some cards. The two chatted throughout the evening into the early hours of the morning. So early into the morning that Brian thought he might escape the friend zone because there's no way she would want to drive home at such a late hour. He also remembered her request to stay friends and didn't push it. So she left at 2:00 in the morning with just a wave goodbye. THAT'S IT! Definitely stuck in the friend zone, thought Brian. He thought for sure that she was feeling some stronger connections for him. He was wrong. So as usual, Brian called his friends Sam and Nikki to talk about it. They expressed their sorrow to him for being stuck in the friend zone but reminded him that there is still a chance for romance. Little did he know that Talia was feeling a little more than friendsy too. The next day Talia called Brian per usual but had a nervous sound to her voice. She said, "Hey Brian, I've got something to ask you but I'm too chicken to ask." Brian replied, "Go on, maybe it's mutual." Talia took a calming breath and asked him "Do you wanna...play cribbage?" Finally! He thought. "Yeah, see you in about an hour?" he replied. The rest was history. The two of them have mastered the game and have had a 24 point hand at the same time. You could say that the cards were falling their way.