We met the way so many people do these days — on a dating website.We spent a few weeks exchanging messages, each one a little longer than the last, until it became clear that we had to meet in person. Our first date was at Sir Walter Coffee, a place we both claimed as our favorite coffee shop. It was beautiful out, so we stood outside for a few minutes, awkwardly chatting before heading inside. When Matthew reached for his wallet to pay for our coffee, his card declined. Chloe couldn’t help but laugh, and Matthew’s face turned beet red. To this day, Matthew swears it was because Wendy’s had stolen his debit card information for the third time. Chloe’s not sure if she believes him, but it made for a great story. Despite Matthew’s card declining for $10, we sat in that shop for hours, lost in conversation. We talked about everything — books, dreams, childhoods, future plans. It felt like we were the only two people in the room, everyone and everything else faded into the background. From that day forward, we were inseparable — but not for the usual reasons. Just a few days after our first date, Matthew, in what he swears was a playful moment, leaned in close and blew air directly into Chloe’s nose. It was supposed to be funny. Instead, it gave Chloe a severe case of COVID-19 that knocked her flat on her ass. She was so sick that her dad had to carry her from her apartment to urgent care because she couldn’t even walk. (Thank God her dad loves Matthew now.) So, for the next three months, we were inseparable. We spent those days marathoning bad TV shows, eating takeout, and fishing. Then, just as Chloe finally started to feel like herself again, life pulled us apart. Matthew asked Chloe to be his girlfriend on a warm Sunday afternoon, and by Monday, he was driving across the country to Nebraska. Chloe was confused but couldn’t shake the feeling that she was supposed to stay with him. So, despite every rational voice in her head screaming otherwise, she said yes. Nine months. Nine months of video calls, plane tickets, and countdowns. Until one day, Chloe decided she couldn’t take the distance anymore. She quit her job. She broke her lease. And she moved to Nebraska. Everyone thought she was crazy — her friends, her family, even herself. But love doesn’t always make sense, and neither did we. Four years later, we’re back in North Carolina. We found our way to the coast, where Matthew can fish to his heart’s content and Chloe can spend her days reading by the sea. Our story is anything but conventional. But that’s what makes it ours. That’s what makes it perfect. And we wouldn’t have it any other way.