A tale as old as time. First, the swipes. Then, the messages. I message first and tell him he has a beautiful smile. We discover in one another: a Sufjan Stevens mega-fan, passionate Spanish-speaker, and creative little soul.

Later, the first date. I had just moved to Colorado. I attend wearing cute but not fully broken-in ballet flats. Unintroduced to Colorado outdoors culture, I don't realize I'm in for what essentially felt to little SoCal me like a 12 mile hike around Sloan's Lake. To be fair, it was only 2.5 miles, a fact we know because we live a or so block away in our shared home.

My feet may have been bleeding by the end of that first date walk, but I barely noticed with the way the conversation flowed. I talked to my friend that night- I knew Daniel left a hell of an impression as a wonderful storyteller and soul, but I didn't know just how I felt. He didn't fit in any box I had ever constructed for understanding another person. I racked my brain to try to figure out what these big confusing feelings could be.

The next date, he picked me up in a baby blue mini-van after one of my first grad school classes. He smiled that beautiful smile. We giggled until our cheeks hurt. We talked about outer space and the nature of universal human connection.

"Oh boy", I remember thinking. "I'm in love."

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