A casual night out with friends quickly turned into fast exchanges of sarcasm, harassment, and a hangover for the both of us. We hit it off right away, but the timing wasn’t ideal, as Rebecca was already packed ready to move to Dallas. Gio smoothly made sure to get Rebecca’s number before the move because who doesn’t want long distance friendship. Rebecca had zero intentions of ever moving back to KC, but had plenty of events to come back for. Every time she came back, she somehow always made sure Gio was a part of the plans…and every time he showed up. One facetime call, with the help of a glass of wine, Gio was booking his first trip to Dallas. One trip led to many return visits-concerts, Halloween, BBQ, NBA, NHL, stadium glizzies, and just because. Gio racked up more miles on his car than he’d like to admit…just for a friend. With no surprise to her friends and plenty of I told you so’s, Rebecca finally admitted KC is home, and started planning her return. Gio remained neutral as to not influence her decision, but was excited for the chance to see where things could go for them. December 3rd will always be remembered for 2 things in our house: the day we made it official and the day Gio never went back to Dallas. The long distance gave us a stronger foundation than the Waldo House, iykyk. A few short months later, Rebecca was back in KC fulltime. Dating in the same city looks a little like: Mexican restaurants? Weekly. Traveling for family trips? Absolutely. Celebrating friends’ milestones? Professional plus-ones. Inside jokes and questionable life choices? Thriving. Life kept leveling up: Gio got promoted, Rebecca changed jobs, and at one point Gio became Rebecca’s full-time caregiver after surgery—proving he’s in it for the long haul, even when the only adventure was “Can you hand me that?” every five minutes. Our D.C. weekend was supposed to be pure tourist fun—Rebecca had no idea Gio was secretly planning a cherry-blossom-dream proposal. Then the weather killed the blossoms before we even landed. Quick thinking on Gio’s part led to a more private proposal and Rebecca said yes almost before he finished asking. The rest of the weekend was spent celebrating, laughing, and soaking in the start of our forever. Since being engaged, we said goodbye to the Waldo House (good riddance), bought a home together, and truly never looked back. And now… here we are. Still laughing, still showing up, and still choosing each other—preferably over chips and queso.