It was September 2014 and I was working at Johns Hopkins. My co-worker, Sarah, kept mentioning that she had a single roommate whom she thought would be a great match. There was a great deal of Facebook stalking at the end of each work day. Once I found out Jake was 10 years older, I wasn't sure we would have a lot in common, and I remember saying "he doesn't look THAT old". Eventually, I allowed Sarah to give Jake my phone number. Apparently, Jake was hearing a lot about me as well, and was reassured that I didn't look "that young" in person. That surely didn't upset Jake because he texted me the same night. Once we met, we became instant friends. Although a romantic relationship did not work out in the beginning, we remained close. Many nights were spent together drinking entire Bota Boxes and watching scary movies. After I bought my house in Towson, I was looking for a roommate and instantly thought of Jake. Unbeknownst to us both, this is where our "love story" begins.... Fast forward to February 2017; a cold, wintery night. We decided to stock up on alcohol and spend the night in. We played Scrabble and drank wine... heavily. The rest of the night was blurry. In the morning we woke up in the same bed with serious hangovers. WHAT THE HECK DID WE DO?! Over the next two months we talked a little softer, complimented each other a little more, and realized how much we appreciate the other. On April 20, 2017 we agreed to give this relationship a second try. We both knew how dangerous this could be if it didn't work out, but we were willing to risk it all. Just look at us now...!

We shared a lovely meal at The Melting Pot with some friends and everything was seemingly normal. We were leaving the restaurant and Jake announced that he needed to tie his shoe. This is NOT an uncommon statement, so nothing was thought of it. I turned to our friends who then had their cell phones pointing at me, so weird. Of course it prompted me to turn around, where Jake was on one knee! I really did not expect him to propose this day, but was so happy he did. (He even wrapped the ring in a tissue so I wouldn't notice the ring box in his pocket during dinner!)