I met Alex in early November of 2018 at UAB's Campus Recreation Center (the gym). At this point in time, I had recently stepped away from running cross country & track in college, so I found myself in the gym almost every day. I had become pretty familiar with most of the faces in the gym... but the day I met Alex was the first time I had ever seen him. I noticed him (cute with the best smile) but carried on with my workout -- just as I was about to finish my workout, Alex came up to me and asked me how many sets I had left. The gym was pretty busy that day, so I figured he just wanted the bench that I was using. I told him he could have the bench after I was done, to which he smiled and turned to walk away... but then he did a full 180 and turned back towards me! He asked me if I wanted to grab a post-workout meal afterwards, and I had to briefly think about it. I knew I was free for the evening, but he was a stranger whom I'd just met at the gym! I ended up agreeing to the post-workout meal, and we went to Starbucks and talked for 4 hours.

It was later in the evening at UAB's rec center. I had recently gone through some big life changes - given my life to Christ - and the last thing I was looking for at the time was a relationship. However, that evening, as I was working out with a group of friends, I noticed Jenna working out by the dumbbells. She was wearing a blue cutoff hoodie with grey leggings, and her hair was in 2 French braids. She looked stunning! One of my friends told me to go talk to her. I was like “Heck no man, she’s out of my league. Plus, we’re in the gym, the last place to make a move.” So, we made a bet... and I lost, so I had to go talk to her. There I was – sweaty, nervous, trying to collect myself. I waited until she had finished a couple sets on the bench, and I walked up to her and asked if she was on her last set. She replied asking if I wanted the bench. I was like “Yeah, yeah, the bench,” and she told me she was about to finish and I could have it. I started walking back towards my group when I thought “C’mon Alex, you can do better than that,” and I swiftly turned around and asked if she was doing anything afterwards. She thought about it, said she wasn't busy, and I asked if she wanted to grab a post-workout. We went to Starbucks and 4 hours later, we could officially say we had met.