Gary and I met October 21, 2011 in Washington, DC. I lived in Atlanta at the time and was visiting DC for homecoming at my alma mater, the MECCA, Howard University. The friend that I was staying with planned for us to go to Park nightclub that night because some guys she knew had a VIP section. When we arrived, Gary met us outside to walk us in to his VIP section. I know it sounds cheesy, but as soon as we locked eyes, I felt a connection. Anyone who knows me knows that I am an introvert and can be pretty low-key in highly social environments. So, Gary approached me and offered to buy me a drink- probably to loosen me up and it worked! We danced and chatted the rest of the night. When it was time to leave, we took a picture together (check out the Photos page), and he announced to me and anyone in ear shot, “You are going to be my next girlfriend.” I did not think much of it at the time, but he was right. We were pretty much inseparable from that point on. We dated for about a year after that. The long distance eventually broke us up, but we maintained our friendship. Over the years, we ultimately became best friends and talked nearly every day. I always knew he would be there if I needed him and vice versa. Fast forward to 2016, I moved back to Washington, DC for a new job. Our friendship grew into us falling back in love and we realized that we could not live without each other. And now, I get to marry my soul mate and best friend almost 10 years to the date that we met. 10-21 is our magic number!