It was Fall 2021, and I had a work trip to Denver for Goosehead! I reached out to Cory’s office to plan a Happy Hour that he mentioned he would set up the next time I was in town. We went out to HH and everyone wanted to go home, but of course, I had FOMO and it was a Friday! Cory ended up taking me all around Denver. Smart man took me to his house first to let Olive out since it had been a while (a man taking care of his dog ✅). Then he took me to a vodka distillery with a DJ and we danced all night. We talked about the first time we started falling for each other and we both had this special moment when we looked at each other on the dance floor and shared our first kiss. Just two random coworkers out in the wild, kissing like no one is watching!!!

After all of this, I headed back to Dallas and for three months straight we texted back and forth. I knew I was already moving to Denver, which I was calling Menver.. and wasn’t ready to date. Cory came home for Christmas break to see his parents and took me on our first date to a Khrunghbin concert! I was so nervous that when he went to that bathroom I ordered us 2 double-fire ball shots, each, and when he came back I made him take them! One of our songs is Texas Sun which is by Leon Bridges. Khrungbin curated the music for that song and you’ll never believe it, Leon bridges comes on stage and sings Texas Sun!! Needless to say, it was a perfect first date. After that, I knew I had a major crush on him, but Menver was waiting for me. I soon realized Cory was not going to take no for an answer, and well.. here we are! After Christmas, he came back to Dallas to pick up a new truck. We ended up going out to a dueling piano bar that weekend with some of my friends and he asked me to be his girlfriend!!!! And of course, I said yes!!!

Ally and I worked for the same company, Goosehead Insurance, and her role was to help agencies, like the one I worked at, to grow and expand their network. Having a few sales guys underneath me, I thought I was being slick by saying she should take our agency out to help them get more leads, when really I just wanted to get in front of her myself!

The second time she took my agency out for happy hour is when our story really starts. After most of the others began to get tired and were ready to go home, I asked Ally if she would want to continue the fun and go to a different bar just her and I. Knowing she loved vodka and live music, I had the perfect spot to take us - Mile High Spirits: a part vodka distillery, part dive bar, part music venue. We drank and danced our butts off till the bar closed that night. This is going to sound so corny, but I'll never forget staring into her eyes on the dancefloor that night and immediately catching feelings.

Ally was still living in Texas at the time but coincidentally had just been asked by Goosehead if she could relocate to Denver. I knew she didn't want to get into a relationship before even moving to a new city across the country, but I kept texting and calling her every day in hopes she would change her mind. Any good salesman will tell you how crucial follow-up is to getting the sale!

A few months later in December 2022, I took Ally on our first official date to see a band called Khruangbin. A little back story, one of Ally and I's favorite songs that year was Texas Sun by Leon Bridges and Khruangbin was behind the guitar, bass, and drums of that song. After getting there, Ally took me to the bar and ordered 2 beers and 4 fireball shots that we had to take - I knew I wasn't dealing with an amateur! For the last song of the night, the band brought out Leon Bridges to sing our favorite song! It was a perfect night.

The next night is the true beginning to our story. Ally and I went to Pete's Dueling Piano Bar in Carrollton with friends and that was the night I asked her to be my girlfriend. I'm not always a smart man, but that was the smartest decision I've ever made.