Every time I went to karaoke, there was always this beautiful girl at the table. I must admit I was smitten right away. She had this smile that could light up the room. Although I would occasionally wander up the group in hopes of striking up a conversation, it just hadn’t been the right time. Looking back now we were both crushing on each other pretty hard. I guess we were both feeling something pretty significant but were unable to speak about. If I couldn’t speak to her directly I figured maybe if I sing to her, that would be easier. I had no idea our DJ Walter would be the catalyst for us. He asked me, ‘Who do you find attractive here tonight?” There was no doubt in my mind. I pointed right to Alex. Well he didn’t waste any time outing me. He announced on the microphone to Alex that someone had a massive crush on her. I’m pretty sure I turned three shades of red. My nerves had got the best of me so I retreated that night. I did message her a few times after that asking her if she would go out to dinner with me. But two times she did not respond. I thought she was just simply not interested. After some time I realized I would have to try a more direct approach. So that night at karaoke I decided it was time to go all in. I walked up to the table and said,” You’re going to have to let me take you out sometime.” She responded with,” How bout Friday?” I was elated. She asked me if I would do Need you now by Lady Antebellum with her to which I happily said yes. During the whole song we were absolutely beaming at each other. As soon as the song ended she grabbed me and we kissed for the first time in front of everybody!! I knew she had me after that. Three and a half years later here we are. I’m so happy and excited to share my life with this amazing woman. No matter what we’ve been through together I know we will always rise above it, stronger together.

I was in my last year at the University of North Texas and had just started working at a restaurant in Addison, Texas. After work, all of my coworkers would head over to a local karaoke bar. I slowly became addicted to karaoke nights. Hunter was a regular and all my friends knew him or knew of him. I heard his voice before I saw his face. At first, I thought it was the radio, but whirled around to see a cute boy on stage singing. I was immediately attracted to him. This wasn’t just an “oh, he’s cute,” there was something else there. For months I would see him from across the room. I wanted to talk to him, but man was I nervous. One karaoke night, as I was hanging out with my friends I heard over the speakers as the DJ announced “Alex, there’s someone that has a crush on you.” I immediately asked the DJ who it was and to my surprise it was Hunter. I was giddy! I quickly went from nervous to excited. I couldn’t stop thinking about him after that. Could it be that the boy I had had a massive crush on for months and months actually liked me too? No way… It felt too good to be true. Over the next couple of months, Hunter would message me and attempt to ask me out. As badly as I wanted to say yes, I knew that if I went out with him it had the potential to be something more, so I ignored him. I guess my nerves got the best of me. One day as I was headed into work, I started thinking about it and made the decision that if he was to ask me out that night, I would say yes. Sure enough, that night he asked me in person “you have to let me take you out some time.” I had already prepared my answer and proposed a Friday afternoon date. He asked that we sing together, and that night we sang Need You Now by Lady Antebellum. We couldn’t stop staring at each other as we sang The electricity between the two of us was unlike anything I had ever felt before. I ended up working up enough nerves to kiss him that night and the rest is history. It's crazy to think back on all we've experienced together over the years, but one things for sure; that cute boy who I had crushed on for months and months ended up being my person. Through thick and thin, ups and downs I am so grateful that what started out as a fun routine out with friends, brought me my best friend.