It’s St. Patrick’s Day 2023. The kind of holiday when strangers become best friends, and everyone remembers that they’re a little bit Irish. For Bailey and David, it was when they met, which in hindsight was a very fitting holiday for their story. Some love stories begin with a big spark. This one took a few match strikes before the flame got going. That said, they wouldn’t have it any other way. Despite having lots of mutual friends between them, David and Bailey somehow had never ended up in the same room. It seems they just needed a little luck. David was in med school in Pennsylvania, and his idea of a productive break was driving three hours south to the DMV to see his old roommates. Bailey was living in Arlington and thriving in the vibrant DC social scene. Then came a St. Patrick’s Day house party. Bailey will say that she remembers seeing David walk in and thinking, I’ve never seen him before... David will say that he remembers feeling embarrassed that his only green shirt was really more of a seafoam color and featured a cat in sunglasses drinking coffee. Luck struck when Bailey jumped into a conversation between her roommate and David. It lasted maybe seven minutes. No love-at-first-sight. No green sparks–at least not yet. But David will admit that he really liked Bailey’s vibe during those few minutes. Fast-forward to exactly one month and one day later: David was still thinking about that conversation with Bailey, and how he wished it were longer. Like 3-5 hours longer. In a bold, but horribly unoriginal move, he sent her an Instagram DM to ask her out (modern love stories, am I right?). Bailey said yes, although she’ll tell you that a short text from David about an umbrella made her think twice (this is now one of their favorite running jokes). The first date? It lasted nine hours. A few drinks, a rainy walk, a spontaneous concert, and a late-night Whole Foods pizza later, David finally got the long conversation he had been waiting for. And, Bailey accidentally left her umbrella in his car (which she swears was not intentional. Sure.). Soon after, the phone chats started, as did the occasional texting conversation, and The Little Love Story that Could was leaving the station. The Long and Winding Friend Zone Three weeks later, Bailey and David were set to have a second date. Instead Bailey sent David a message that can only be described as a brutally honest Friend Zone text. David was surprised, but understood. Bailey would tell you that they were “just friends.” David would say that he was just trying to get a second date. What followed was ten months of an extended will-they-won’t they situation. They texted all the time. They talked on the phone late into the night. They became actual close friends, while sometimes frustrating themselves (and also several friends around them) with how the “friend zone” dance was playing out. During this process, they realized some very important things: they deeply shared the same values. The same way of communicating. And they just really, really liked being around each other. Somewhere along the way, the friend zone stopped feeling like the right place for them and the slow burn had turned into a full blaze. Slow Burn to Forever Nearly a year to the day after their first meeting, they ditched the “just friends” facade and made things official. They had plenty of adventures over the next 9 months to keep them busy: med school graduation, prom chaperoning, horse race shenanigans, summer beach walks (oh yeah forgot to mention, David moved to Charleston, SC), a cold trip to Ohio, an electric #gymterps meet, just to highlight a few. They both knew what was coming next. And on a foggy January day, David met Bailey on the Georgetown waterfront and popped the question. Safe to say, it was worth the wait. Moments before their fateful meeting, Bailey and David unknowingly took their first photo together!