They say, “Good things come to those who wait.” I wasn’t trying to hear it, because I wanted Stephanie as soon as I saw her. I remember getting Stephanie’s phone number, and the rest was history. After I got her number, I know for a fact I stopped getting eight hours of sleep. I knew I had class in the morning, but in my head, class could wait. Texting all day turned into calls that lasted all night. What really got me was when she would talk trash to me on the phone while we played iPhone games—and she would win. I was definitely a sore loser, because you’re not going to beat me at 3 a.m. and talk trash at the same time. Long conversations kept us entertained, but the aura of each other’s presence kept us tied together. I remember always asking Stephanie, “When are you going to let me make you happy?” She would always just laugh. I never knew if those laughs meant “Boy, shut up” or “We’ll see.” But now I know they meant, “We will be together forever.”

I remember adding Darius on Snapchat and always watching his stories, making sure he was watching mine too. We spent a lot of time messaging each other, and I told my friend, “I think this guy on Snapchat likes me.” Eventually, I gave him my phone number, and he became my best friend overnight. I knew he was the one for me because he understood my jokes, and we could go back and forth referencing TV shows or movies, laughing for hours. On our first date, I was so nervous, but his energy, laughter, and smile were too contagious not to calm me down. He was always asking me when I would let him make me happy, but I couldn’t have imagined just how happy I would be now.