Our next big adventure

In the fall of 2021, Bella was 26 and thriving in New York City with her chihuahua, Daisy, and her three amazing roommates: Sundara, Addie, and Jason. Their apartment buzzed with laughter, late-night convos, and frequent group hangs. Life was good. As October came to a close, Sundara took a month off between jobs to travel solo through Mexico. During her trip, she texted the group chat asking if she could invite someone to their upcoming Friendsgiving. Everyone said yes—then Addie joked, “Is it that guy you’re always next to in those group pics?” Bella chimed in: “Wait… are you bringing some rando from Mexico?” Sundara replied, “Yes—but it’s okay, he’s from California!” Somehow, that made it okay. (California guys? Less random, apparently.) A week before Friendsgiving, Sundara returned—followed shortly by David, the now-infamous “rando from Mexico.” If you’ve met David, you know how effortlessly lovable he is. He instantly clicked with the whole group, thanks to his big personality and kind heart. Friendsgiving was a hit: 20+ people crammed into a classic NYC apartment, with mountains of food, even more wine, and that special kind of pre-holiday magic. At one point, David turned to Bella and said, “Oh! You’d like my friend Trevor,” and showed her a photo. Bella took one look and said, “Nope. Not my type.” (Also, she happened to be dating someone else—who was at the party. Classic NYC.) Fast forward to a couple of days before New Year’s Eve. David flew back to NYC to celebrate the holiday with Sundara before heading to Colorado, where he and Trevor had planned a month-long snowboarding trip. Trevor was already out there, and David and Sundara were flying out after David’s birthday on January 9th. One night, while drinking wine in the apartment, David FaceTimed someone. Bella, a few glasses in and feeling bold, leaned over and asked, “Who’s that cutie?” David grinned—“That’s Trevor! The guy I told you about!” Bella and Trevor exchanged some flirty banter via FaceTime while David tried (unsuccessfully) to convince him to fly out for his birthday. Over the next day or two, Bella and Trevor started texting and DMing—neither remembers how it began, just that it felt easy. And fun. And maybe a little electric. Meanwhile, David kept trying to convince Bella to come to Colorado. But every time, she sweetly shut it down. She wasn’t quite sold on flying across the country to meet a guy she’d only FaceTimed once—and besides, she already had a birthday trip to Florida booked. Last-minute adventures just weren’t her thing… or so she thought. Then came New Year’s Eve. The party was in full swing—music bumping, drinks flowing. Bella, a little buzzed and a lot more open to the idea, listened one last time as David made his pitch: “Come to Colorado. Just meet him. What’s the worst that could happen?” Fueled by champagne and chaos, Bella opened the JetBlue app, canceled her Florida flight, and booked a one-way ticket to Colorado—on the same flight as David and Sundara. Her roommates, Addie and Jason, were absolute saints and agreed to watch Daisy on short notice. In the days before the trip, Bella and Trevor kept talking, getting to know each other. She was nervous—what if it was a total flop? David teased that if things got weird, she’d be sleeping on the couch. (Also, he and Sundara had a romantic cabin getaway planned mid-trip but promised she could crash it if needed.) Spoiler alert: it wasn’t needed. From the moment they met in Colorado, Bella and Trevor clicked. They spent a magical week and a half together in a snowy mountain town. Trevor even planned Bella’s birthday—an entire day of adventures for someone he barely knew. It was perfect. When it was time for Bella to leave, Trevor drove her to the airport shuttle in Silverthorne. She sat quietly, wiping away tears. He pretended not to notice, but she already knew—he was something special. Now, they’re writing this story together. 💛