Our story started with a mutual friend who dragged me out one night. Little did I know this was a setup to get Elisa and myself to kick things off. After a good time at the first bar, the group quickly left to go to another leaving me without a car and Elisa. That night led to countless nights talking to 3 am in the parking lot behind the restaurant where she worked. Our relationship moved quickly as I did not want her to start occupational therapy school single, which also began our long-distance relationship. We spent the next two years taking turns driving back and forth to each other. We moved in together when she completed school and not soon after I went to nursing school. Through all this, we built a loving and supportive relationship, we took turns providing for and supporting each other while we went to school. Now that our degrees are earned and our lives are more settled, I look forward to the next step in our relationship.

Her Version Our story began in May 2017 when I met Eric at a bar after work. He first flooded me with pick-up lines which had me laughing until my cheeks hurt (thank you to Chewy, Troy, & Steven for helping him with lines). But by the end of the night, Eric showed me his gentlemen's side and asked to take me to dinner, which I naturally declined. After months of walking me to my car after work and having hours-long conversations, August came and Eric had the audacity to go to a mudding event which led me to not see him for an entire weekend. Of course, when he returned he resumed walking me to my car and asked me to date him (twice) that week, knowing that I was leaving for school. But it wasn't until the morning I had to leave that I realized that if I left without saying yes, I might not know when I would see him again. Fast-forward 6 years of long-distance dating, new schools, new careers, new experiences, and a new home, Eric *finally* popped the question, and this time, I said YES the first time.