I first met Mike in the Summer of 2011 when I was in Pittsburg visiting my brother Shawn. Our meeting was brief, but all that I can remember was Mike was dressed head to toe in preppy clothes and would NOT stop talking... At the time I was in a relationship with someone else and never would have guessed "Mike is my person". Shortly after we became friends on social media but only exchanged words a few times. Although Mike and I barely spoke during this time, Shawn and Mike had become the best of friends. In early 2015, Shawn inherited my old Grand Prix and I received text messages from a random number critiquing my music tastes based on mixed CDs found in that car. Turns out it was Mike. That same year, I had convinced Shawn and Bethany (now Shawn's wife) to move out to Seattle and in efforts to keep costs down, they also convinced Mike to move post college. Mike came out in September for a visit and had a great time. So great, that he almost missed his flight (his choices, not mine) but it was enough to convince him that Seattle was the next chapter in his journey, and the true beginnings to ours. Over the next few months we would text here or there, and I would text him after going out with my friends. He says it was 4 AM, my phone said 2. In February 2016, Mike moved in right across the locks from me. He would go and pick Max up each day to hang out with him and Shawn, and we planned to all go out one night. Shawn and Bethany bailed on us, but Mike was still willing to go. We went to Kings in Ballard and the next four hours went by in a flash. The next thing we knew, it was 6 in the morning and we had stayed up all night talking. A few weeks later he asked me out, then promptly broke up with me the next day fearing it would hurt his relationship with Shawn. While I should have said no when he went back on it, I knew that something was really there. 4+ long and at the same time, incredibly short, years later here we are in a new state stronger than ever.