Free Drinks! (And a Wedding)

We had known of each other through mutual friends but officially met on the stairs at Crux Climbing Center in Austin in April of 2019. Denzel shook my hand as if we were in a business meeting, and I left shortly after because I was hangry and needed tacos. We got to know each other in those first few months over climbing trips, coast fishing, and the food trucks at Cosmic Coffee.

Our first date had been at the Texas Capitol building. We walked around the gardens, parked ourselves in front of the fountains, and talked for hours. On the night of our engagement we had dinner at our favorite steakhouse, Perry's, and raced to the Capitol to take a picture before the sun set. Denzel had asked a stranger to take a photo of us (the man wanted nothing to do with the proposal). Denzel got down on one knee and I cried profusely but felt I had finally made up for exiting Crux too early the night we first met.