Forever & Always

Their story didn’t begin in the most traditional way—because in many ways, they had always known each other. Growing up in the same small town, their families were connected. Dakota was close friends with Ryan, her older brother, and she was always trying to convince Ryan to let her tag along with him and his friends. Partly because she was bored, but mostly because she had a major crush on Dakota—though he still doesn’t know that. As the years went on, the boys grew older, developed different interests, and eventually fell into different friend groups. Naturally, that meant she stopped seeing Dakota on a regular basis. About 15 years later, her mom moved into a house on Cedar Street. During a visit, she noticed a sign on the neighbor’s garage that read “Colburn.” When she asked about it, her mom casually replied, “Oh yeah, Dakota Colburn lives across the street. Do you remember him?” That was all the excuse she needed to add him on Facebook. They started chatting, but nothing really came of it at first. For a couple of years, they occasionally interacted on Facebook and exchanged a few flirty messages here and there. But on September 12, 2021, while she happened to be back in town, Dakota asked if she wanted to hang out for a bit. They spent hours talking and catching up, and before the night was over, they had already made plans to see each other again the very next day. From that point on, everything came easily. For weeks, they spent as much time together as they could. Then she was offered an opportunity to travel to California for work—something she had applied for before they started reconnecting. She was nervous to tell Dakota, worried it might mean the end of whatever they were building. But when she finally worked up the courage to tell him she would be moving in just a couple of weeks, he surprised her completely. His response was simple: “Can I come with you?” And the rest is history.