It was a warm sunny day in June 2018. The bustle of cars and pedestrians was barely audible over the sound of music floating on the air in Virginia Beach’s ViBe Park. Artists could be seen in the park practicing flow arts. Jake floated around with a spirited energy as the music ushered the sun over the horizon. He was grateful to see his friends participating in the small event he had put together. As the artists danced, a group of women approached the event. Among them was Taylor, and though neither of them knew it, this day would be a fated meeting for the two. As Taylor approached, Jake took notice of her, and immediately moved to engage her in conversation. After an introduction, Jake asked if she spun props, to which she responded that she did - she spun poi, Jake’s favorite prop. Jake handed her the poi, and asked her to show him some moves; she obliged. “You’re pretty good,” Jake remarked, as he tried to both flatter Taylor, but also maintain a cool air of superiority. “You want to learn some moves?” he asked. “Sure,” she replied with little interest. Jake proceeded to attempt to show off, and to give Taylor some up-close and personal instruction, but Taylor moved on to talk with her friends. As she moved away, Jake turned to his friend Jack. “What’s her deal man? She’s pretty cute!” Jack responded, “Sorry man, she’s got a boyfriend.” Despite the let down, Jake felt in his heart he would see her again someday . . . . . Fast forward to June 2020. It was the first weekend that restaurants opened since the lock-downs. Unbeknownst to Jake and Taylor, their paths were about to cross again, only a few blocks away from ViBe Park, when a mutual friend invited them both out to celebrate the end of lock-downs. At first the two didn’t take much notice of each other besides peripheral glances, and the passing thoughts of “haven’t I met her/him somewhere?” Eventually, the group moved on to a friend’s house. This time Taylor decided to engage Jake in conversation. At that point, Jake remembered where he had met Taylor, and they got lost in conversation together. To them, it was like nobody else was there. Eventually, Jake ended up pulling an “Irish Goodbye” on the group, but not before he and Taylor exchanged phone numbers. His sudden disappearance made Taylor question where he went. Concerned, she decided to message him - “Did you leave without saying goodbye?” Waking up to that message brought a huge smile to Jake’s face. To make it up to her, he invited her out for brunch at the local music venue, Elevation 27. The two bonded over their love of music, and fruity pebble drinks. Taylor had also brought her dog Rusty to the venue’s patio, which gave Jake an idea. “My roommates are moving out soon, and my dog Apollo won’t have any animal friends around anymore. Maybe Rusty and him could be pals?” Taylor thought it was a good idea, and so the two left to introduce the dogs. After the dogs met, the two continued on a day-long journey around VB, visiting their favorite park, the bayside beach, and a few more bars. They spent the entire day together in a frenzy of excitement over their newfound fondness for one another. Eventually Jake started to get fatigued, despite his excitement over all the fun he was having with Taylor, and asked their friends to drop him back at his house. The group continued on to another bar, but soon after, Taylor texted him to ask if he was still up. Jake was elated to see the text notification pop up on his screen as he sat DJ-ing in his bedroom. The two ended up staying up until 5 AM watching TV and talking about their lives. They essentially spent almost 36 hours straight together, entranced by one another. And the rest was history. Taylor (and Rusty) ended up moving in with Jake (and Apollo) about a month later. Even at that point, having only really known each other for a month, Jake was bragging to all Taylor's friends about how he was going to marry her one day. Now that day is fast approaching. <3