Our love story didn’t start with a swipe or a DM… it started with fluorescent hospital lighting and a snack bar. Brian was the security guard. I was the cashier. We worked in the main lobby of the hospital, which meant we spent our shifts pretending not to stare at each other across the room like it was a rom-com with scrubs. From the very beginning I laid down the law: “I am not dating anyone from work. Especially not someone younger than me.” Brian said he was totally fine with that… which clearly meant he was not fine with that. A few days later, he casually plucked a flower from outside, left it on my workstation, and told me, “Don’t think anything of it.” Sir… you do not drop off a flower and then tell someone not to think about it. Of course I thought about it. For the rest of my life. We started hanging out just as friends and instantly felt like we had known each other forever. We talked about our pasts, our dreams, what we wanted for the future… the deep stuff. The kind of conversations that sneak up on you and make you realize, uh oh… this is something. Then came Valentine’s Day. I worked that morning. He worked graveyard. Before leaving he told me, “Wait for me after your shift. I have a surprise for you.” So I waited. And waited. Then Brian walked me to the roof of the building to show me all of Anaheim and into an abandoned office floor… where he had somehow — while still on the clock — set up a table with candles, flowers, and wine. In a hospital. On Valentine’s Day. By a man who was supposed to be patrolling. And that’s when I knew: I wasn’t just breaking my “don’t date coworkers” rule — I was breaking it for the love of my life. And we’ve been inseparable ever since 🤍