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leavesleaves

Drew Pendzinski

and

Nicholas Blades

September 19, 2026

Rockford, IL
166 days166 d6 hours6 h32 minutes32 min45 seconds45 s

How We Met

On October 27th, 2019, Drew was working her usual shift at the front desk of Planet Fitness, a job she had to help get by during college. That day, Nick walked in with a friend to check in for a workout, and as soon as he looked up, their eyes met. Nick, curious about the name on her tag, approached the scanner and asked, "Is Drew your real name?" Drew smiled and answered, “Yes,” leaving Nick speechless. He couldn’t help but think that Drew was the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen. As he worked out, he noticed her glancing at him through the mirrors, and every time he looked back, her head quickly dropped. It was clear there was an unspoken connection. After her shift, Drew picked up her phone to find a message from a stranger: "Nick Blades: I just wanted to let you know, you're really beautiful." That simple message sparked the beginning of something special, a love story that would grow from a single glance and a heartfelt compliment. And just like that, what started as an innocent encounter at the gym blossomed into a journey neither of them could have predicted.

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