Although we went to the same high school, we were not familiar with each other. We formally met in the spring of 2016 while working at the restaurant at Lone Star Park (LSP). Lone Star Park was mainly a summer weekend job that we had started at different times in high school with a group of friends. By 2016’s thoroughbred season, Malik was a server, and Crystal was starting her first season as a busser. At LSP, a server and a busser are paired together and given a section. Becky was our manager at the time, and for that season, she regularly paired us together. Becky knew Malik preferred a female busser for the flexibility. Malik thought some tables preferred dealing with a young man, while others preferred a young lady, so we adjusted as needed to maximize tips. At some point during the season, we became a permanent server/busser pairing, and we made a strong team. Our relationship was strictly professional during that season, but we had our thoughts about each other. Crystal found Malik attractive and was intrigued by how overly positive and friendly Malik was, which she saw as the opposite of her. Malik, on the other hand, saw similarities in Crystal, as we were both known to “flip a switch” when it came to working hard on the job. He also thought she had great manners, which helps build character (Malik's favorite characteristic). When the 2016 thoroughbred season ended, Crystal mentioned wanting to hang out with Malik and his friends. When the next event was planned, Malik reached out. Not only did he ask her to come bowling, but he also asked if she wanted to run some errands with him beforehand. To this day, Malik doesn’t know why he thought that was the move, but she said yes. Crystal took running errands as a way to get to know each other on a more chill level without any expectations. It clearly went well. A couple hangouts and a bit lip later (ask Crystal if you can get her to take a drink lol), we started dating. The first part of our relationship was long-distance as Malik was back in school at UT Austin & Crystal was working in Grand Prairie. It was rocky, and a couple of months into the next year, the relationship broke down. The relationship rekindled towards the end of the year, and we moved to Austin together as Malik finished his degree. We lived in Austin until Malik graduated in the spring semester of 2019. Life came at us fast as we found out we were expecting that summer. We moved back up to DFW and welcomed Amari in February 2020, right before COVID. Fast forward to 2024, we closed on our house in April, and Malik proposed in early December