A month after I moved to Fresno, I swiped right, thinking he probably wouldn’t message me and me knowing I’d never message him. Blaze surprised me by sending me a message that followed one of my prompts, “send me your best pick up line”, because I love a good cheesy pick up line. He sent me something using the song “1, 2 step” by Ciara and Missy Elliot. He used my spelling of "Cierra" rather than "Ciara", not realizing our names are not spelt the same. I thought it was clever still and loved it, so I messaged back. For our first date, Blaze bought tickets and asked me to go to PBR with him in Fresno on April 6. The day after he bought the tickets I ended up sleeping in later than usual, leaving him thinking I ghosted him. Within 24 hours of each other, we had our first and second date. The morning following PBR, we went to breakfast and Clovis Hat Days. According to Blaze, he knew the deal was sealed after that date. I left for rodeo back home that Tuesday and text him clarifying if we were exclusive or not, in which he thought I was telling him we were, so he went along with it. I came back fighting the connection we were building, but Blaze knew better than I did and stayed persistent in pursuit. Any time I tried to self sabotage or run away, he wouldn’t let me. He was sure of what he wanted and ensured he would get it. Blaze told me “I love you” knowing I was not quite there yet, and he respected that. Seeing how patient he was with me and accepting of my feelings not matching yet, is what ultimately solidified our connection for me. On May 18th, in a parking lot for a Bruno Mars cover show, we became official. Even then he knew we would get married and was not afraid to share that. Six short months later, Blaze got down on his knee during a family cabin trip during “family pictures”. Blaze made that the easiest "yes" of my life. Little did either of us know how one little swipe would lead us to where we are now. We are beyond excited to continue our journey together and excited to bring all of you along with us.