We're getting married!

Moving 2,300 miles from your hometown is not easy, especially when you're trying to make friends. In the attempt to meet people and build a friendship, I stumbled across Dakota's profile on Tinder. I knew he would be fun and easygoing by his profile picture; which was him making a silly face and photoshopped that same face on either side of him. We met at my local coffee shop and made an instant connection. When the night ended, we couldn't shake off the feeling that there was something special between us. About a week later, we're in his car at a stoplight on a rainy day in downtown Seattle, when I gathered the courage to ask him to be my boyfriend. He accepted, followed by, "Isn't that what we're doing?" It's been almost 8 years since then and I can't imagine what my life would be like if I didn't take that chance. <3

Confidence was a new feeling for me, and I was willing to take a chance. I remember thinking, "How can someone as pretty as her be interested in me?". Texting was never my strong suit, so I knew that if I wanted this to work out, we had to meet in person. I was more than happy to just be friends if it came to that. She looked surprised when we first locked eyes with the faintest hint of a blush. I was so nervous, though I played it cool. We talked for hours, stealing glances and laughing. At the end of the night, I brought her home. We stood on the porch and stared at one another, plotting our next move. There was something there, a magnetism, drawing us closer. I stopped. I told her that I looked forward to seeing her again, and I walked away grinning ear to ear. I like to think that tipped it over the edge. Later, I learned that she was annoyed that I didn't kiss her. I think the phrase was "Why the hell didn't you kiss me damn it!". From that point on, there was hardly a day we didn't spend together. I thought it was over the first time I said "I love you". We couldn't have been dating more than a month or so, and it slipped out so naturally. "Oh my god I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me". The look on her face was surprise, although not in a bad way. She smiled and said it back.