"Well, you said the first time we were together you weren't looking to fall in love..." cut the sappiness. Let me tell you how it really went down. I was a 22-year-old grinding away at work, living solo with no family within a thousand miles. I was all about doing my own thing when—bam—I get a DM from someone I kinda knew. That kicked off the usual routine: FaceTime, texting, blah, blah, blah. But let’s skip to the juicy part—me leaving her at the airport. That’s probably why you’re still here, right? February 12, 2021. Kim agreed to fly out to Georgia to see me. Now, here’s where I tried to be Mr. Big Shot and offer to pay for her flight. She straight-up laughed and said, ‘Nah, I got it.’ So now, instead of feeling like a baller, I’m the guy who couldn’t even cover a plane ticket. Yeah, this is going well. She was set to arrive on a Friday, and I figured I’d sneak out of work early, but of course, that’s when everyone decided they absolutely had to talk to me about everything on my way out. Meanwhile, Kim’s on the plane, probably wondering why she agreed to meet this random dude. (Seriously, who does that? Bold move, Kim, bold move.) Oh, did someone mention an Airbnb—yeah, I had to rent one because my moving truck was late by weeks, and my actual apartment? Completely empty. I’m talking serial-killer empty, not even a folding chair. So, I had no choice but to book a high-class Airbnb to keep up the 'I'm totally a grown-up' facade. Fast forward to me, already an hour late to pick her up because of work, and my nerves are so shot I had to stop twice just to pee. Oh, and the day before, I started feeling a little off. But, of course, I just brushed it off, thinking it was nothing. By the time I’m driving to pick her up, I feel like a dump truck hit me and then backed up for good measure. My throat? It’s like I’ve got a tiny goblin in there wielding a machete every time I swallow. I’m pretty sure I had COVID, but hey, let’s just roll with it. Kim stayed with me in Georgia for three days. The first night, I finally get her from the airport, and we go out for dinner. Awkward moments? Oh, they were in full force. I felt so bad I couldn’t even taste what we were eating, which is probably why I thought it was a good idea to play the HOT version of BeanBoozled afterward. You know, the game where you either get a nice, sweet jelly bean or one that feels like you’re chewing on a live grenade? Yeah, great idea, right? We’re sitting there, trying to have a cute moment, and suddenly it’s like we’re both auditioning for a hot sauce commercial gone wrong. My brilliant idea was an epic fail. The next day, I still feel like death warmed over, popping DayQuil like they’re Skittles and convincing myself it’s nothing. Did I tell Kim? Absolutely not. Gotta keep up that cool guy image. For Day 2, I thought I’d show off by having Kim try some preworkout I was working on. She’d never taken any before, so naturally, I suggested she dry scoop it. Huge mistake. She takes one look at that powder, chokes, and makes a face like she just licked the bottom of a public bathroom stall. No words, just pure disgust. So much for impressing her with my supplement wizardry. By Day 3, I’m barely holding it together. We spent the day at the Atlanta aquarium, trying to enjoy the aquatic animals while I was just trying not to keel over. Afterward, we grabbed supplies for chicken parm and cooked together that night—or rather, Kim cooked while I played sous-chef and tried not to mess anything up. But you know what? It was the best chicken parm I’d ever eaten. No contest. But somehow, despite all the craziness, here we are. And if that weekend taught me anything, it’s that sometimes love starts in the most unexpected ways—with a whole lot of awkward moments, a few disasters, and a ton of laughs. But honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way, because it led me to you, and now we’re about to spend the rest of our lives together.