Sigma Alpha Mu. If you are familiar with the Greek Alphabet, it adds a level of appropriateness to our, well, inappropriate story. It begins on Thursday, February 21st, 2013. Temple basketball beat La Salle by a score of 82-74 that night to win the Big 5 (I'm writing this, so yes, that needs to be in here). Celebration was a necessity, and it continued through to the weekend. So, on Saturday, Feb. 23rd, the guys and I, with faded cherry and white paint still visible on our chests, wandered out to a fraternity party. This was not our usual weekend activity yet, but we were still in a celebratory mood. It was actually one of the first times we all went out together. It was special already. While this was not our scene, it *was* Mere's. Her and Tara (a bridesmaid!) paired up and went out for another fun night out together. It probably wasn't special for them. They probably didn't even know Temple won the Big 5. They certainly didn't need to pay 5 bucks to get into the party like we did. But there they were, also at Sigma Alpha Mu. Sure, there's some blurry details. But clear as day, I remember asking Alex (a groomsman!) if he wanted to play beer pong with me on the surprisingly open table. Despite the hour, and the drinks, he asked a very important question: "who with?" Me, perhaps emboldened with liquid courage, replied "I'll just ask the first girl I can find," and turned around. There was Mere, facing away from me, so I had to tap her on the shoulder. She went out that night to Sigma Alpha Mu expecting to have a night out at S.A.M. Now she stood face-to-face with another Sam, and she said yes. Luckily for me, it wouldn't be the last time she did.

It was a normal Saturday. Well, it was actually a little more exciting than that, because my parents were coming to visit later that day. I got up for an early spin class before going to our neighborhood farm stand, made kale chips fresh from our garden and began my usual pre-company cleaning spree. That productive morning was also necessitated by our expected attendance at an event for the Temple University Young Alumni Association. Sam is on his 4th year on the board, so I'm used to not having to question when he tells me there's something going on. I usually don't even register, he does it for me. Once Sam got me to stop cleaning so I'd be ready on time, I gave my parents instructions on how to get into the house while we were gone, told them I left fresh kale chips on the counter for them to snack on and told them to have fun playing with Mookie. Sam called a Lyft to take us to campus. I followed his lead for his event, just like a trusting girlfriend would. As we pulled up, we saw our friend Carli, who had recently told me that she would be photographing this event, so it seemed pretty normal. She told us she was taking everyone's picture outside before going inside. So, we stood at one of the most photographed areas on Temple's campus, smiling for a picture that Sam would normally object to. I should have known. What I didn't know about was the three months of secret planning or the fact that our families were hiding about 50 feet behind us. Sam seemingly told everyone *but* me about what was really happening that day. So when Carli counted down from 3, I just smiled. When she got to 1, Sam turned. I saw him take something out of his pocket and I realized what was really going on. I was shocked! I said yes! It was the easiest yes I've ever said, besides maybe when that same cute boy tapped me on the shoulder and asked me to play beer pong with him six and a half years earlier.