June 29th, 2019 was my 22nd birthday. The plan was simple - celebrate the last summer before the real world, grad school, and whatever else came next. A day on the beach, dinner with friends and family, a night out turned into much more. Though it wasn’t her birthday, Isabel’s plan was much the same. Plans don’t mean much though. She saw a “beautiful man” across Jimmy’s in the front corner. Her friends knew my friends. And then we met. We didn’t talk much that night but the next day we texted while I left Wrightsville for Chapel Hill and my last first day of school. The more we talked, the more we had in common and the more smitten we became.

Three days later on July 3rd, I ditched plans and slipped back down for our first date at Tower 7. The fireworks started early that year as our date lasted longer than either of us expected. To Jimmy’s, Laggerheads, Palm Room, and Trolley Stop. Thursday turned into Friday, into Saturday, and into Sunday. We found any reason to meet up at every opportunity.

The real world called again and we couldn’t see each other every day. So we settled for every week instead. Laughing, singing, dancing between Greensboro, Chapel Hill, Wrightsville Beach and Charlotte. I met a very special dog named Oliver and because he got bored in my apartment, we took him to He’s Not Here. Several drinks later, Iz thought it would be funny to put a handful of He’s Not pebbles in my front pocket. That night, two months in, we said, “I love you.” The next morning Iz and Oliver left but the pebbles stayed exactly as she had secretly neatly placed them around my room. For the record, I still have the pebbles, she still has the beautiful man, and we still say “I love you.”

We’re so excited to write our next chapter together. We can’t wait to celebrate with you in Greensboro, July 25, 2026.