Our Story She was a freshman, I was a junior, and we were both on the swim team. We knew each other, had a few conversations, but never dated. Looking back, it turns out timing really is everything. More than thirty years later, in October 2023, our paths crossed again while honoring Coach Clyde James at Martin Luther King High School. Without knowing the other would be there, fate brought us back together. Our first date was anything but short: the Detroit Institute of Art, dinner, arcade games, and late-night dessert with her cousin Simone. Over ten hours later, we knew this wasn’t just a date—it was the beginning. The following week, I drove from Charlotte to Atlanta for date number two (just to confirm what I already knew). Since then, we’ve been traveling, laughing, and building a life together—one adventure at a time from Alaska to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Despite long distance, we never missed a moment. On January 2, 2025, I proposed. Turns out, the best love stories are worth the wait.