#ReadingNoMore Our Story – From Then to Forever HIS SIDE: It all started with me flirting with Shala—just trying to get her attention. I finally got a moment alone with her, and after our first kiss at Rocky, I went for a bold move (yeah… I tried to grab her butt—don’t judge me). From there, we were inseparable. Hanging out almost every day, staying up all night on the phone. It took some time, but I eventually got the green light to start going over to her house. My mom made it her business to come with me and meet Shala’s mom, Angie.—which, looking back, was the start of something serious. I was over there almost daily. Her grandma spoiled us with home-cooked meals, as we spent our nights in her room playing games, laughing, and just being together. Somewhere in the middle of all that, she started stealing my heart—quietly, but for real. I stopped hanging out in the neighborhood so much. We started planning our futures—college visits, big dreams. Then came the moment that changed everything: we found out we were expecting. Life got real, fast. At just 20, we moved into our first apartment and had to learn a whole new version of each other. It wasn’t always easy, but we held on tight to our shared dream of building a loving, two-parent household. She made me better. Still does. That’s when I knew—this woman was always meant to be my forever. HER SIDE: When he started flirting with me, I wasn’t thinking it’d turn into anything serious. But there was something about him—he made me laugh, made me feel safe, and kept showing up. What started as fun turned into long conversations, late-night hangouts, and slowly falling for someone who felt like home. When he started coming over regularly, my grandma treated him like family from day one, and my mom quickly saw what I already knew: this man had a good heart. Through every season—young love, pregnancy, first apartment, and all the growing pains that came with it—we figured it out together. We made mistakes, we learned, and we always circled back to love. He’s been my best friend, my partner, my safe space, and the father of our handsome son. Our love wasn’t rushed—it was real, intentional, and built to last. So when he got down on one knee, it didn’t feel like a surprise—it felt like the next chapter in the story we’ve been writing together for 13 years.