Yeah... We know. It's about damn time...

For most of my life, I've always been into playing video games. One of my most precious memories as a young child is my grandmother sitting me down, turning on the Nintendo SNES, and handing me the controller to play "Zelda: A Link To The Past" with her. The rest was history from there. So I guess, it's only fate that gaming would also be the way that I found the one I was "DESTINED" to be with. Speaking of destiny, would you have guessed that it would be a game that is literally called "Destiny" that would bring us together? I actually began playing Destiny on the Xbox. However, when I went to start working for a company called Wolters Kluwer, I had a co-worker (CrossCloud/Matt) who kept begging me to switch to playing Destiny on Playstation so I could play with him. At the time, gaming systems were not yet cross compatible (meaning Playstation players could not play with Xbox players and vice versa). So while Destiny existed on both playing platforms, there was no way for me to play with my friend unless I switched systems. I had put a lot of work into Destiny on the Xbox, so it wasn't an easy decision to switch to the Playstation. However, my friend was relentless and after about a year, I finally caved. One day, Matt and I had been playing with some of our other friends when a mutual friend (Mike...lovingly known then as "Fly"), joined our group too. Mike was one of the main people in our gaming group (or clan as we call it in Destiny). He brought another player along with him named Godstopper121 and the first thing I remember thinking about this new person was that I really liked his voice. My connection with Godstopper121 was instant. He was funny and had the same inappropriate humor that I had. It was only natural that we became fast friends and found lots of things in common. It got to a point where "God" became my best friend. At the end of a long day, I would rush home to jump on Destiny just because I knew he would be there waiting for me. It stayed that way for about 8 months. The funny thing is that as much as I played with Godstopper121, it wasn't until after those 8 months that I finally got to learn his name and face. I finally said to him one night that we should do facetime and meet officially. He agreed and we set up a time to video chat. The intentions when I initially met him were innocent. I hadn't had any plans to become anything more than friends. However, the attraction when we finally saw each other's faces was instant as well. I knew I was in trouble. He got me in that moment. Hook, line, sinker. And that's when I finally got to know him as Daniel. Destiny literally brought us together.

My first date with Daniel was an all day event. I remember when he first pulled up to my place of residence in his GMC Truck and I got to meet him in person for the first time. His oldest daughter, Peighton, was true to her word and as she told me many times over Destiny, was the first one to jump out of the car and hug me. Devyn, his second oldest, wasn't far behind. At the time, the girls were only 7 and 9. The day took us first to the zoo in DC with Daniel's friend and old bandmate, Carl. Carl's wife and newborn child were also there. It was a great day. We weren't exactly in a position yet though to openly show our affections towards one another. So I remember little moments where we would sneak a handhold under a picnic table or a little coded flirtation here and there. After the zoo, Carl departed our group and the girls, Daniel, and I went to the Cheesecake Factory. The girls had never had cheesecake before. To say the least, it's still a family favorite to this day. The girls will also tell you how I had an embarrassing moment where I somehow got cream cheese on my nose. After dinner, we then stayed in DC to attend a Nationals baseball game. When we parked the car and got ready to head into the stadium, we tried warning the girls that it would be cold in the stand and to bring their jackets. You know how kids are though... After refusing to bring and put on their jackets, by the time we got into the stands, they were already shivering. So Daniel and I did the noble thing. We both took off our hoodies/jackets and gave them to the girls to keep them warm while we suffered instead. To boot, if that wasn't enough, there was a point in the night where Devyn had decided to roughhouse with me a little and I accidentally elbowed her in the face. I was so horrified, but this girl being the tank she is just laughed and shook it off. It didn't keep the lady behind us in the stands from laughing and making a scene about us though. I was so embarrassed. It's one of Devyn's favorite moments to remind me about still to this day. Gotta make that good first impression...you know? Anyway, at some point, the girls had to go to the bathroom. Daniel got up and took them down to the bathroom. After a few minutes, I decided to follow him. Sure enough, I found the poor guy absolutely shivering and shaking outside the women's bathroom while he waited bravely for his daughters. I'll still never forget how cute he looked in that moment. I went up to him and gave him a big hug, rubbing his back trying to keep him warm... And that's when he looked down at me and we kissed for the first time. So thank you girls for refusing to bring your jackets... It gave me the excuse to get close and share that moment with him. It's funny how things work out like that sometimes.

Destiny was not the only game that Daniel and I would play together. Many a night, you could also find us playing Grand Theft Auto 5 as well. In fact, there were many times because we couldn't see each other in person (we lived 2 hours apart at the time), that we would have virtual "date nights" in the game. For example, there would be a night in the game where we would quite literally go to the movie theater together. I'd dress my character up in something cute and we would pretend like it was real. Don't judge. I know it's dorky. But it was the cutest thing in the world to me. Anyway, there was one particular night where I had been having a couple drinks while we played together. For our date of the evening, we had decided to hike up the tallest mountain in the game. We still talk about that date to this day and use it as a metaphor in our relationship... We will always make it up the mountain together no matter how hard the climb. If you know Daniel, he's not a drinker. However, if by chance he does decided to drink though, it's going to be Jamison. This particular night, he decided to partake with me and by the time we finished climbing the mountain, he was a little tipsy too. We had just finished sliding down the lift in the game and were running around the lift house being silly. However, over a little bit of time, our conversation started to become a little deeper and I remember him saying "I love you.". I caught him in the moment though and he of course tried to cover it up by saying he said "Olive Juice" instead. I'd never heard of the "Olive Juice" joke before so of course I found this hilarious. So from then on, that became another little inside joke of ours. Daniel Montee, olive juice forever.

Daniel and I have always know we were meant for each other. It was literally written in the stars. In fact, for our wedding, you are going to also notice a theme of stars littered around the Destiny vibe we are trying to create. From the moment Daniel and I met, we always found ourselves running into weird little signs that we were meant to be together. 1) Destiny: This one is the obvious one. Destiny is a space themed MMO (Mass Multiplayer Online) game. With its space theme, this was the first star sign that brought us together. Something funny that would happen to us in Destiny would always happen in PVP (Player Vrs. Player) mode. Often times, Daniel and I would have to be put on the same team together. It was found that if our friends tried to put us on separate teams to fight each other, it was pointless. We couldn't defeat the other and have our character survive. For some reason, if one of us tried to beat the other, we would just end up exchanging bullets and both die. We still can't explain this one to this day... 2) GTA: So as I mentioned in a previous story, GTA (Grand Theft Auto), is another game that Daniel and I would regularly play together. If you are familiar with this game, than you know that a large part of it has to do with you essentially committing crimes and running from the cops. The worse the crime (or the more crimes committed), the more trouble you get in. The rating of how much trouble you are in is rated by stars with 1 star being "You're in a little trouble," and 5 stars being "Yeah, you are probably going to get gunned down by a helicopter or a tank". For Daniel's and my first date, we had planned to go to the zoo and to a National's baseball game. He had sent me some money through Walmart to pay for his side of the date. I remember having to walk into Walmart to get the money. In one of the very first spaces closest to the building, I passed a red car. On the back windshield? 3 GTA stars just waiting for me to notice. 3) GTA (x2): The stars on the car weren't the only weird sign that happened to us in relation to this game. There are actions called emotes in the game. These are basically little actions your characters can be made to do in order to express an emotion or thought. One day at random, Daniel and I decided to have a test together which was similar to rock, paper, scissors. We agreed to pick a random emote (out of about 25 or more) and perform it in front of the other just to see what would happen. Would you know that 4/5 times we picked the same emote? 4) Vega: So... Back to stars. Daniel's parents have one of the most beautiful night skies I have ever seen at their home. They live out in the sticks, so there is not much interference from the city lights and the stars are super bright. Daniel has always had a soft spot for taking his phone out and using it to identify constellations and planets. This particular night was one of those nights. Now, for all of you who know Daniel, you may know that he has a tattoo that says "Vega" on him. While he was holding his phone out and pointing it at stars, he at random came across the constellation of Vega...all while pointing the phone directly at my heart. There have been so many other strange little happenings and signs over the years that we are each other's one... But, for us, the stars and these little signs are some of the most crazy and special.