Tori and Ross met on a cold day in December by chance. Tori was traveling through DC on her way back from a work trip in Germany. Ross was in DC for Serbian language training before his foreign service assignment in Belgrade. Tori grabbed brunch with their mutual friend Elissa on Sunday morning (during which she insisted on taking a "gap year" from dating). After brunch, Tori stopped by Elissa's apartment to pick up her bag and head to the train station. Then Ross walked in with a few beers. Ross and Tori quickly bonded over their shared love of Afrobeats music, travel, and the importance they both place on effective communication in relationships. Fun Fact: Tori and Ross fought over control of what music to listen to the day they met. Ross eventually relented and Tori picked an Afrobeats playlist on Spotify that Ross and several friends had curated together. It was the same playlist Ross had planned to play. As it turns out, Tori had been listening to the very same playlist for years - and so Tori knew Ross through music long before ever meeting him.