We were 14 & 15 when we first met passing thru the halls of sandy high. Zain would come in & visit me when I worked at Ace Hardware thru high school. I never realized until years later how shy he was around me & how his friends would always try to encourage him to talk to me. Years went on and we would occasionally hang out with our mutual friend group at bonfires before he left for basic. Fast-forwarding a few years ahead, We stumbled across each others social medias and we started reconnecting as friends. Weeks went on and Zain asked me if he could take me on a date. He had just got home to Texas from Europe. He drove 3 days on block leave and the first thing he did was take me out on a romantic date. The sparks flew instantly. We went on many dates for those 2 weeks. He asked me to be his girlfriend the day he was leaving Oregon & the rest is history. We have seen each other every few months when we can since then. We both gained a new best friend & a lover all-in-one.