we're getting married!

Some of you may have heard this story before, but you might have only heard one side. Here is the story of the night we met from both of our perspectives. So let's set the scene... It was August 2016...

A coworker reaally wanted to hang out. I was mostly freaking out about restarting college, while working and dealing with an elevated op-tempo for my National Guard unit. Coworker dude decided to use Sarah as bait. He said that he and his girlfriend were havinging a few friends over and wanted me to join. He told me all about Sarah and even showed me a picture(it was very cute). He even got others on our team to offer testimonials and add some peer pressure. Finally, I relented. On the way over I picked up a couple of bottles of wine, choosing solely based on the labels, obviously. Apparently I did good. We all hung out for a bit, then headed into town. The bar was loud, so Sarah and I went for a walk. We put in a couple of miles and sat for awhile at the riverfront. I have no idea how long we were gone. We just talked. It was so easy. We were(are) clearly very different. We didn't share many interests, nor did we really think alike. But it all fit together, complements instead of compromises. We were each a missing puzzle piece, found at last.

One of my best friends from high school convinced me to make plans with him & a handful of friends to go out to a bar in my hometown. I was reluctant at first because I recently had come out of a rocky relationship. Ultimately, I gave in. I thought, it would be nice to hang out & reconnect with friends. Not too long after he asks me if his coworker Jack could come with. I immediately said no & that I didn't want to be set up on a date. He claimed it wasn't a set up & he has REALLY been wanting to hang out with Jack and this would be a great opportunity to finally hang out. He shows me Jack's picture & I thought he was SO cute...TOO cute even. I had decided Jack was out of my league & there was no way he would even be interested in me. So I agreed that Jack could join us. We all met up at my friend's house first & had dinner, then headed out to the bar after. At some point I asked Jack if he wanted to go for a walk. He agreed. On this walk we talked about everything & nothing all at the same time. Ultimately, my friend did not in fact spend that much time hanging out with Jack that evening & continues to deny to this day that it was not a set up (even though all of his coworkers tell a different story). Either way, I'm marrying up & can't wait to spend the rest of my life with my best friend.