I don't even know where to begin. Our story is unique. I will say this though, I never believed in fate until now. I first met Jared at Erika's house. I had heard about him from numerous people but had never met the "legendary" Jared Frederick. As soon as Jared walked in from working on his Jeep- my heart skipped a beat. I still remember that moment like it was yesterday. He had on old blue jeans a team hoodie and was mad as hell (he wasn't able to fix something on his jeep). He stood in the kitchen with his arms crossed the majority of the night. I turned the charm on and tried to get his attention. By the end of the night we were sitting on the couch together and I fell asleep on his lap (classy, right?). Nothing happened that night- he didn't ask for my number, he didn't seem interested at all. The morning after I remember thinking to myself- I have to see him again. Something is different about him. I had never experienced butterflies like that. Over the course of the next few months- Jared and I saw each other at family dinners and numerous get together's. I had told my girlfriends that I thought he was cute and wouldn't mind getting to know him. They constantly asked "Hey, Jared- what do you think about Katie?" right in front of me (talk about embarassing). He always had a generic reply and from his reply I took it that he wasn't interested. Even though my feelings for him only got stronger. Months went by..more get together's, tough times happened, happy times happened and we were always right beside each other during those moments. I knew him well. I knew his strong opinions about many different things (politics or The South). He was one of my best friends. In December of 2015 at Erika's house- Jared and I finally decided to take it to the next level. Jared had been drinking heavily and...well we won't get into that. But-that night was the beginning of forever. I love him more each day. I'm the luckiest.

I guess this whole rollercoaster started one night at Marcus's. I had been working on my car and had just received information about work that had me in a very pouty mood. I remember not even wanting to be at Marcus's house, but I needed his tools and garage and begrudgingly went inside once I was finished. To my total surprise, there inside was this bombshell blonde whom I'd never seen before. I remember thinking how much it figured, I was looking awful wearing a grungy old team hoodie, ratty jeans and an old beanie I scalped from a box in Afghanistan. Great look. Katie was playing beer pong with the girls, and I knew I had to do something that would set a hook in her memory. I called her Cindy-Lou Who. She was blonde and had her hair up in a way that was strikingly similar to that iconic Cindy-Lou hairdo. I proceeded to call her Cindy-Lou Who until she could at least now reference me as "the guy who kept calling her Cindy-Lou". Turned out the hooks may have already been set, she fell asleep on my lap that night. Perhaps I could have...taken advantage of the situation...but I had a feeling this girl was worth a little more prowess. I left, didn't get her number and didn't know when I'd see her again. But I knew at some point, I would. I started working out much more intensely, and casually asking the girls "if that blonde girl, what's her name?" was going to be at our next get together. I guess I wasn't fooling them, every time she and I would be at the same party, they'd ask me what I thought of her. "I think very highly of Katie, she's a wonderful girl!" I'd reply. It was actually how I felt, but benign enough that I wouldn't tip my hand until I wanted to. Well, that timeline wasn't working for our friends. December 5th 2015 the girls...persuaded....me into drinking a little bit more than I normally do. It turns out I get rather loud and honest when this happens. Katie didn't miss the opportunity. That next morning, we all knew it wouldn't ever be the same.