On a random winter Sunday morning, Valeria and Brandon were each invited by friends to a champagne brunch at Edna Vees in Covina, California. Neither of them were actually in the mood for it, as Valeria had gone out the night before, and Brandon actually had to coach a football clinic the same day. Despite these reservations, with a little shove from fate, Valeria decided to make the best of her Sunday anyway, while Brandon figured he’d stop by brunch before heading to the clinic. Brandon arrived first, sitting with his group inside and taking a seat at the end of the table, facing the entrance. While NFL Sunday had just kicked off, the air in the room shifted when a girl walked in alone, looking for her friend to meet up with. Under the table, Brandon kicked a friend and let out a 'Whoa'. It was Valeria, and once she spoke to the hostess, she and her friend were escorted to their table, which just so happened to be directly next to Brandon and his group. Despite being completely distracted by the girl who had walked in, Brandon left for the coaching clinic at Damien High School. Since it lasted for only 90 minutes, he figured, "Ahh, what the hell." and decided to head back to brunch and finally partake in some champagne. Brandon’s group was still there, as were Valeria and her friend, still enjoying champagne at the next table over. As twenty-somethings do, someone suggested heading across the street to the local dive bar, Rude Dog, for pool and drinks. Coincidentally, both groups ended up heading there. Now, one important thing to know about Valeria that Brandon would soon find out: she LOVES billiards. She walked in, placed an order for a vodka cranberry, and headed straight to the tables. With a little Irish liquid courage in his system now, Brandon walked over and asked her if she'd like a playing partner. The terms of the game were simple: If Brandon wins, he gets the chance to take Valeria out for dinner sometime. If Valeria wins, he can kick rocks. As they started to play, with some back and forth on who was stripes and who was solids, Brandon lost almost immediately when he hit the 8 ball in within a couple of shots. Luckily for him, Valeria decided to give him another chance anyway. This time, Brandon won the game — along with her phone number. What followed was game after game, plenty of laughs, and the next eight hours spent together. They’ve been playing together ever since.