This is the recounting of two people not looking for a relationship, who found each other and fell in love instantly. Continue scrolling to read our stories :)

It was a hot summer day; June 12, 2017 to be exact. I was roasting like a pig in the muggy heat so I went to my happy place to escape it. As I entered the SFA pool area through an exit (in my usual man-child-like fashion), a pretty girl with an amazing smile checked me in, complimented my tattoos and struck up a conversation. Before the awkward silence could set in, I went to the locker room and changed into my purple speedo... you're darn right! I jumped in the water and was secretly hoping she was watching and saw how fast I could swim. ;) After about an hour, I ended my session and rode away on my longboard. Halfway to my duct tape mobile (broken car), a feeling that I couldn’t shake flooded me. I had to go back and tell her something, anything... So I turned around, skated back to the pool, and waved her down. I said the first thing that came to mind before skating away, “You have a lovely smile!” Well, it could have been worse. At least I was genuine. I went to the library the following day to get caught up on some math homework with my study group and told them about the pretty girl I had met and how I wouldn't rest until I got her to say yes to a date. So as a man of my word, for the the next two days, I visited the pool hoping to see her. Unfortunately, she wasn’t there. I hadn't lost hope. I decided to skip the third day and check back on the fourth. As usual, my gut was spot on. As I was walking towards the iron gates of the pool, she walked out right in front of me and turned around. "Chad, right?" I smiled and knew it was on. We walked into the rec center and talked for about an hour at the check-in counter. I asked if I could see her again; she said she’d be at the gym tomorrow sometime between 10 and 2. I thought to myself, well that’s a big gap of time…

I showed up at 10am the next day to find her stretching on a mat. I sat down next to her and showed her how the pros stretch! I'm pretty sure she was impressed. We decided to meet up at the pool after we finished killing it in the gym. We met up at the pool, talked for a little bit, and jumped in. As a competitive swimmer, I had to ensure she was a decent swimmer too, so I grabbed her legs, giving a tug. She smiled ear to ear as she tried to stay afloat. I thought to myself, good enough... We swam around and played like kids, having a blast! I was getting hungry, so we decided to go grab some lunch. There's no way I wanted her to see my car yet, so I convinced her to drive. After grabbing lunch, we went back to her apartment and played GameCube for hours. Once again, she proved her worthiness! At around 11 o'clock, she kicked me out and invited me to church the following day. I was a little nervous because I hadn't attended church in quite a while, but it was another chance for us to hang out so I jumped at the opportunity. Little did she know, I’m absolutely terrible with directions. As usual, my phone was dead, so I couldn't get her number. We decided to not write it down with a pen and leave it to fate. I woke up the next morning, got ready, and drove to her apartment complex. The gate was locked and I didn't have a clicker, so I decided to park down the road and jump over the gate. I wandered around the parking lot for a while, trying to remember where her place was. I finally found it. We hung out all day and I went home that night. The following day after classes ended, we went to Fuzzy's taco shop. We’ve literally been at each other's side ever since that moment (with the exception of a few holidays and family vacations).

My work shifts at the SFA rec center were only 4 hours, but they always seemed to drag, especially when I was assigned to pool check-in. The crystal cool water of the lazy river teased me while the sweltering East Tx summer heat covered me like a wet blanket. I sat there in my purple staff shirt and olive green shorts, waiting for the next family to come through the iron gate to show me their pass. But this time it was a tall, super cute guy rolling in on a longboard. “Can I check in here or do I have to go inside?” he asked, holding his student ID out and searching for my eyes under my aviators. “Eh, I’ll let it slide,” I smiled, glancing at the card and noticing some tattoos on his arms. “I like your tattoos,” I added, watching him flex as he heard my compliment. After a brief conversation about tattoos and living in other countries, he headed off to jump in the pool. Not knowing yet that he was a competitive swimmer, I thought to myself “Oh, wow, wearing a speedo, okay. Odd, but gotta admire his confidence...” When he left I remember wishing I could talk to him more, and to my surprise he came back about 5 minutes later peering through the iron gate. “Hey! You have a really pretty smile,” he said with the cheekiest grin on his face. I laughed, “You came back just to tell me that?” He yelled a gleeful “Yup!” as he boarded away again. I immediately texted my bestfriend and roomie, Melissa, to tell her about this cute tall boy with tats.

A few days later, after grabbing a free burger at the community grill-out the rec did every Friday, I headed back to my shift at the indoor check-in desk. Cute tall boy with tats was walking to the entrance too! “Chad, right?” I called, pleased to see his face light up as he nodded. There was still an hour til the gym closed, but Chad only got a 10min workout because he stood talking with me at the desk for so long! He asked me for a date with him by the end of it. I only had one semester left before graduation, so I really wasn’t trying to tie myself down with anyone, but there was something about this guy… I decided to just tell him I'd be at the gym the next day sometime from 10-2, and he was welcome to see me there (I hadn't decided if I was going to sleep in or not, plus I may or may not have been trying to get fate involved...) The next morning I was delighted when he found me stretching on the mat. We agreed to meet out at the pool after our respective work outs. It felt so freakishly familiar, hanging out with this guy. We had conversations about deep things and played in the pool together like we’d known each other for years. We went out for lunch, played video games at my apartment, then went out for dinner, then came back to my apartment again to watch a movie. I didn’t want to stop hanging out, but it was getting late. I brought him back to the rec center parking lot where his car was. I saw now why he'd wanted me to drive all day. His Ford Taurus was held together by duct tape. “Yeah, I uh, hit two deer on Hwy 79 my first time here…” he sheepishly explained. I later found out his passenger door didn’t open either. Before getting into his car, he asked what I was doing tomorrow. I told him about church the next morning, and he asked to tag along. He showed up to my place right on time. Afterwards, we ate lunch together, hung out until dinner, ate dinner together... You get the picture. We were pretty much inseparable ever since our first date.

It was Saturday morning, and Chad and McKenzie were looking forward to exploring a new hiking trail. Upon waking up, Chad told McKenzie he had to “go to the bank”. After playing it out in his head for the past week, he didn’t think she would so easily choose to stay behind because they rarely separated, but this morning she wanted to get some chores done before heading out for the hike. This was good, because Chad hadn't come up with a believable excuse to go alone. Little did McKenzie know he actually was going to Michael’s to get some string, 4 of her favorite colors to be exact. In the parking lot, he braided a ring out of the 4 strings before heading home. He replayed the time she told him, “Chad, you could propose to me with a string ring and I’d still say yes.” He hoped that was true. They hadn’t designed her ring yet, but he didn’t want to wait for the next leap year.

Though the weather forecasted rain, the couple didn’t care. Geared up in their Gortex rain jackets and pants, they started on Twin Falls trail. The trail supposedly had views of waterfalls along the path, and as a water-lover, Chad was determined to have a special proposal somewhere near the water. As they climbed, Chad carefully observed his surroundings looking for a cool spot to propose, but every time they came across one, fellow hikers would come lingering and he’d lose his moment of solitude. He knew McKenzie agreed that the perfect moment should be private. Eventually reaching the end and turning around, Chad was nervous they might finish the hike before he got a chance alone with her! Another mile down the way back, McKenzie noticed a sign labeled “Lower Lookout” and suggested they check it out. The side path turned out to lead to a small wooden deck overlooking a beautiful waterfall. And the best part? No one was there. Chad took her hands in his and began saying all the things he wanted to tell her before popping the question. McKenzie, feeling one of his hands slowly lower to his pocket, realized something was up. He had paused - for a really long time - so she prompted, “Well, are you going to take that thing out of your pocket or what!?” As always, she had caught on… Chad dropped down to one knee and told her once again she was his absolute bestest friend and didn’t want to live life without her by his side. The moments after that must have been flooded with emotions because neither of them can remember if Chad actually asked that magic line, “Will you marry me?” McKenzie thinks it must have just been implied because all she remembers is that she couldn’t contain her smile as he tied the braided string ring to her finger. After big hugs and kisses, they finished the hike and called friends and family to share the news.