Jose and I's story isn't one of those rom-com, meet-cutes where we run into each other at some coffee store and spur on a series of events where we send each other signals and sparks fly-- or anything of that nature. We were both two young fools with no real future plans at the time. We both worked together, but my sister, Ariah, was the one who introduced us. She had been going on and on for days about how she "just knew we'd be perfect together!" I still remember Jose sitting in the backseat of his friend Brandon's car in the middle of March.

Jose was playing Animal Crossing on his Nintendo Switch with another friend while Ariah and I stood outside of the car, talking through the window. It was about fifteen minutes before his shift started and, after Ariah introduced me to everyone, he barely said a "Hi" to me before hiding behind his Switch-- literally blocking his entire face from my view. Save to say, it was a little awkward! I remember giggling with Ariah over it as we walked away.

We slowly started to become friends over the course of the next few weeks. While Jose was amping up the charm and trying to woo me, apparently, I was sending him mixed signals! He'd do gentlemanly things and I-- being the independent young lady that I believed myself to be at eighteen-- kept turning the offers down! He thought that I wanted nothing to do with him, when in all actuality, I was charmed by his mannerisms and consideration.

Everything changed when I asked Jose for his number, though. After weeks of me turning down his courtesy and not approving his Facebook friend request, Jose was wholly convinced that I was not interested in him in any regard beyond work-friendship. As a result, he had fully resigned himself to the fact that it wouldn't go anywhere.

Luckily, for the both of us, I cleared that up when I came running up to him just before he went into work for the day. In my rose-tinted memory, this part has all the holdings of a young-adult romance, save the heavy downpour. It was a bright, sunny day in Surprise and it was much hotter outside than early April had any right to be. I yelled Jose's name across the sidewalk, with absolutely no regard for those around us. Jose's friends walked in without him, snickering and patting his back as he said something to them and turned around. When it was just the two of us standing outside the building, I asked him for his number. My heart was racing, but (thanks to Ariah's encouragement) I had no doubt in my mind that he would offer it.

It was as if some switch had flipped in the both of us. We were hanging out all the time, texting, and calling, and gravitating towards one another in the most natural way. The first time we carpooled together for work, we ended up sitting in the car for six hours-- talking the night away. I think that's when I realized that I could see a long-lasting relationship with this guy.

Jose and I don't remember who asked who out on our first date, but I think it was more of an agreement than a formal proposal. As most of our relationship has gone, every change in development primarily stemmed from the both of us feeling like the time was right and then discussing how we would make it happen. I picked out a food truck for us to visit, Jose picked out the time and date. Unfortunately for Jose, I chose a barbecue grill, not knowing that Jose HATES barbecue. In a truly Jose fashion, he didn't tell me that until I had already ordered my food. Luckily, they had some fish and chips that he enjoyed.

We talked and talked, learning as much as we could about the other as fast as possible. We told each other about our expectations in a relationship, wanting to ensure that we were on the same page in terms of life goals and relationship fulfillment. We talked about our childhoods, our interests, our parents, our family goals, our dreams, and everything in between. I was astonished at how similar our life-views were and how seamlessly his perception knit together with mine.

That first date went so smoothly and perfectly for the two of us... I think I realized that I was in love with him only two weeks later! (I cried that day, so overwhelmed at the idea. He laughed when I told him about it a few years later.)

I had never fallen so hard and so fast for someone before. And I just knew.

Jose told me a while ago that it was relatively the same for him. I came into his life full of energy and wild ideas, and he came into mine with a grounding sense of support and compassion that I craved. In his words, I was "a type of person he had never met before" and it enamored him. He knew that what we had was something special from the start.

Some people would probably end this type of story with a "little did we both know, it would be the beginning of our forever" or something else tacky like that. But Jose and I weren't surprised in the least.

We both could feel the natural pull that we had towards one another from the very start, and we could see a future together so clearly. For my chosen ending, I would say:

Over five years later, the honeymoon phase has never ended for us. Jose and I surprise each other with love, laughter, and compassion every single day. I have discovered that every time I see him, I find something new to fall in love with. I can't wait to keep growing with him; to keep finding new things to love in him.

And that's our story.