She said "Yes", now we say "I Do"

By September, we had been dating just shy of a year. While I had a feeling he would propose soon, I had no idea how or when. September 4 was the day after I arrived in NC for a week-long trip. With a week full of activities for his sister's wedding, along with plans with friends, it was one of two days we had set aside for a date. We had plans to go out to lunch at a restaurant called Printworks Bistro. He invited both of our moms, his sister Andrea, a friend named Emily, and one of my close friends, Jali. After lunch, Andrea and Emily left for wedding errands while the five of us went out to ice cream. Last-minute, Drew told me we were going to Bicentennial Garden. I was a little suspicious however once both of our moms left to go home and it was down to three of us, I didn't really think he would propose. We walked around the gardens for a bit, Jali and I talking about the legality of picking some of the flowers. We finally got towards the back of the garden trail when Drew started recounting different points from the last 11 months. From the first time he visited, the first time he told me he loved me, when we first kissed, and our trip to Michigan and Canada... We rounded a corner and he directed me towards a section of the garden with a swing bench where Andrea and Emily had gone ahead of us and set up a dozen photos of us from the various trips. I was looking at all the different photos when Drew came up from behind saying he had a question for me. "Would you like to marry me and be my wife and mine for the rest of our lives?" He slipped the ring on my finger and Andrea and Emily and both of our moms came out of hiding to congratulate us. I was so shocked, with my heart pounding and a grin that wouldn't go away for days. I'm so happy I get to say "I Do" to the love of my life soon ...

Picture this: The year is 2015 and I’m hanging out with my good friend, Mitch, in North Carolina. On the other side of the ocean sits a girl with one of my other friends. I get a text from her introducing me to this girl that she’s known since she was little, who she just happens to be with in the Dominican Republic. This small introduction turns into a conversation that lasted the rest of that day, draining me of what little energy I already had. Of course, the time difference wasn’t quite in her favor that night. After that night we didn’t really talk much unless my friend sent a photo or even just mentioned her name or wanted to get us to talk. Someone was definitely playing matchmaker, and it wasn’t Bella or myself. So every once in a while I would get these little updates about Bella and just ask how she’s doing out of pure interest, but I wasn’t really ready to pursue anything at the time. Cut to January of 2017, our friend is getting married in Florida. So I drive down with a couple of friends and she flies over to Florida to visit. We both knew each other was attending, and at the time still had an interest in each other. The first time we met in person was at the rehearsal, which happened to spark a few more feelings for each other followed by a genuine interest in dating. But we both knew we had a portion of our lives to live and accomplish a few personal goals before we could actually commit to a long-distance serious relationship. So this leads to another long period of time of general interest and an email or text sent every once in a while without leading into a whole relationship. That is, until October of 2018, when we officially started dating. A few more days from when this was written will mark one full year of dating a wonderful girl, and I’m incredibly happy.