It was a cold February day like any other - Isabel trudged to the Gold's Gym down the street from her apartment to engage in her usual after-work routine. Determined to get in and out as quickly as possible, she did not notice the tall, dark, and handsome figure (enter: Aryan) manning the promotional booth to the side of the main floor. Thankfully, fate had it that they would still meet! Mid-stride, Isabel soon found an animated hand waving in her face. Ready to greet the transgressor with one mighty glare, she looked up, only to have her annoyance quickly replaced by amusement upon realizing whose hand it was. Thanks to Aryan's persistence to have her attention, she had no choice but to listen to his well-rehearsed sales pitch - something about how the gym's state-of-the-art "3D body scan" technology would reveal insights so powerful that her fitness regimen was guaranteed to be to catapulted to the next level. To get started, he said, all that was required was 30 minutes of her time 1-on-1 - to which she coyly agreed. (Everything was going exactly according to Aryan's plans - wink, wink.) Fast forward to the following week: After said 3D scan, the joke was on Isabel because low and behold, she was convinced to buy personal training sessions on the spot! Little did she know, she was actually leaving with something much more. As it would turn out, this was the perfect excuse for Aryan to keep in touch with her - a check-in on progress here, turned into a "Hey, how are you?" there, which eventually led to a first date. Note: There is still much discussion as to why it took 2 lengthy weeks for Aryan to finally ask Isabel out, but to this day he remains staunch that his utmost professionalism was not to be tarnished - thus, he had to wait long enough to feel confident that his interest was reciprocated. That first date was as smooth as the tequila shots they took together at midnight - what began as a fun and flirty date with light-hearted banter quickly transitioned into an evening of deeper, meaningful conversation - ultimately capping off with dancing on the street and a kiss under the stars. Suffice it to say, not much has changed since then... even after 5 years together, there is no shortage of any of the above. ♥️ (...well, maybe the "tequila shots at midnight" part - we are nearing 30, after all 😅)