Adam and I “met” in high school & by “met” I mean, we knew each other but never spoke. As fate would have it, one night I was at Cherokee Grill for dinner with my now-ex-boyfriend. Adam was seated at the bar with his best friend, and now groomsman, Noah. Noah and I knew each other well from school. While we were waiting on our table I opted to sit at the bar and catch up with Noah, much to my ex’s dismay. Noah and I played catch up while Adam listened quietly and interjected with a question or funny comment ever so often. Fast forward to a few months later when I was single again, I looked Adam up on Facebook and saw he was in a relationship. Bummer. A few weeks later I noticed he changed his relationship status to “single” so I messaged him. We made plans to hang out and get to know each other since I had moved home after graduating. Adam and I went back to Cherokee Grill for our “first date.” We sat, ate, drank, and talked until the restaurant closed and they had to politely ask us to finish up and pay our tab. We made plans to hang out again but I had no intention of entering another relationship any time soon. Little did I know… On our “second date,” Adam, my cousin Mani, my uncle, and I went to a bar to see a cover band. Prior to the bar, Adam, Mani, and I had dinner at Cherokee Grill (one of the only places to eat in Kings Mountain at that time). Before dinner I briefed Mani on my vow to be single and enjoy my independence. At dinner, I excused myself to go to the restroom and heard her ask “so do you like my cousin?!” Adam said he liked me, thought I was very beautiful, enjoyed hanging out with me, and wanted to see where “this goes.” I was mortified. At the bar after dinner, Adam kept inching closer and closer, eventually with his arm around me and then graduating to holding my hand. I knew that night that I liked him too. That night we shared our first kiss. After hanging out and going on more dates, I knew that I wanted to be Adam’s girlfriend. I thought I needed to wait because I had just gotten out of a relationship a few months ago and we hadn’t been seeing each other more than a month. Mani asked me “what does it matter? If you like him and he likes you then do it!” The rest is history. Adam and I made it official on January 29, 2020. On March 20, 2021 while on a trip in Gatlinburg, TN he got down on one knee on a scenic overlook and asked me to spend forever with him. By this time, he had been with me through the passing of my sister, adopting my sister’s dog, moving into a home together, changing careers, catching COVID, etc. etc. etc. We have celebrated holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries together, attended friends weddings and family members funerals, lost friends, made friends, and grew more in love with each passing day. I don’t have a doubt in my mind that Adam and I are meant to spend the rest of our lives together. We found each other when we both needed it the most. We have supported and cherished one another through every achievement, every short-coming, every up, and every down. We have loved one another, helped one another, and grew with each other. We can’t wait to see where life takes us next and we are so excited to share the continuation of our love story with all our family and friends! Let’s get married!