Under Stoney Creek High School’s Friday Night Lights, a young Jacqueline flew high above her cheer squad, a smile plastered on her face. Deep within the mosh pit of the football stands, Jean-Luc gazed at her. “She’s cute,” he thought to himself, but she wasn’t for him, not yet at least. If we’re being honest, young Jean-Luc had a lot of maturing to do before he could be worthy of Jacqueline.

Under the dimmed lights of the Oakland University ballroom, a slightly-older Jacqueline stood in front of a slightly-older-but-still-not-mature-enough Jean-Luc. Jacqueline had been dragged to the ballroom orientation event by her childhood friend, Julia, and Jean-Luc had been aggressively encouraged to go by his older brother, Jean-Pierre, who was dating Julia (they’re married now).

When it came time to choose dance partners, Jean-Luc confidently walked up to Jacqueline.

“Caroline, right?” he asked.

“Jacqueline, actually,” she replied.

In high school, Jean-Luc did theater with Jacqueline’s sister, Caroline. A classic mistake. Nonetheless, that introduction led them to become dance partners. For the rest of the night, they stood close to each other as they learned the basics of ballroom dancing. “She’s beautiful,” Jean-Luc thought to himself. Beautiful Jacqueline.

By the time the first ballroom dance competition rolled around, Jean-Luc and Jacqueline were officially dance partners. They made it past the first round at their first ever competition, which was kind of a big deal. All of the pairs around them were hugging, so Jacqueline went in for a hug and was met by Jean-Luc’s hand – stretched out for a friendly high five.

Jacqueline had never been in a relationship before, yet her dancing with Jean-Luc had everyone on the ballroom dance team asking her if she was interested in him. She didn’t want to get her feelings hurt, so she decided that her and Jean-Luc would only ever be friends. After all, he opted for a high five in a hug-worthy moment.

A few months later on Halloween, Jean-Luc and Jacqueline found themselves at a party at Luis Carlos’ house. Adrian and Luis Diego, two of Jean-Luc’s friends, found Jean-Luc at the party and egged him on, saying he should make a move with Jacqueline.

At the same party, another friend came up to Jacqueline and told her she should make a move on Jean-Luc.

“We’re just good friends,” Jacqueline said.

Later that evening, the whole ballroom dance team lay on the basement floor of Luis Carlos’ house like a bunch of sardines.

In the basement, Jean-Luc and Jacqueline conveniently found themselves laying next to each other under the same blanket. Jean-Luc’s heart was beating so quickly he couldn’t sleep. He was tossing and turning, trying to be comfortable, but Jacqueline’s warm body next to him was all he could think about. He considered that Jacqueline might feel the same way because even after a considerable amount of time laying down, she was also awake and rolling around. Jean-Luc thought about the encouragement from his friends earlier and decided it was time to make a move. He lay there for a moment, plotting and preparing, while his heart rate ascended. With a deep breath, Jean-Luc rolled over to face Jacqueline, “sneakily” pretending to be asleep. He moved his hand so he would be touching her and somehow his hand landed on her stomach. Jacqueline, who had previously been rolling around nonstop, was now stiff as a board. They both lay there in the dark, eyes wide open, minds racing, surrounded by their sleeping friends, waiting for what was to follow. After his breathing had settled, Jean-Luc rolled back over, away from Jacqueline. The two faced away from each other and barely slept the remainder of the evening.

After hearing what had happened from Jean-Pierre, Julia stopped offering to drive Jacqueline to ballroom practice.

“Maybe you can ask Jean-Luc to drive you,” she suggested.

From then on, Jean-Luc pulled up to Jacqueline’s dorm four nights a week for ballroom practice, and proceeded to drop her off again after. For a time, they spend more time together than with anyone else in their lives. There was never an awkward moment – conversation between the two of them came naturally. One night in particular, Jean-Luc decided he wanted more than just car rides with Jacqueline.

“Would you want to grab coffee with me sometime?” he asked.

“Sure,” Jacqueline said as she slammed the car door and went into her dorm room, gleaming with excitement.

Jean-Luc and Jacqueline went on their first date to Dessert Oasis in downtown Rochester. They drank coffee and talked for hours. This became their thing – grabbing a coffee and walking around downtown Rochester. Their conversations shifted from ballroom dance techniques to their hopes and dreams. Under the street lights of downtown Rochester, Jean-Luc and Jacqueline were slowly starting to fall in love with each other without realizing it.

After they had been going on dates for a while, they still hadn’t hugged or held hands — they had just shared that awkward hand-on-stomach moment. So, one night at ballroom practice, Jean-Pierre, Julia, and their friend, Thomas, told Jean-Luc to call them after he dropped off Jacqueline. So, at 11:30 p.m., just a half hour before Jean-Luc’s curfew, he called his friends.

“Did you make a move?” Thomas immediately asked upon answering the phone.

“What? No, I don’t want to move too quickly.”

“Call her back, tell her she left something in your car, and then make a move and call us back,” Thomas suggested.

Jean-Luc hung up the phone. Time was ticking, he only had a half hour to make his move. What should his move even be? It felt silly to make her come back outside only to be met by their first hug.

“Hello?”

“Hey, it’s Jean-Luc. You left something in my car.”

“What? What did I leave in your car?”

Jean-Luc looked around. Conveniently, Jacqueline had left her cat ears in his car following the Halloween party.

“Your cat ears,” he said.

“Can’t I just get them from you tomorrow? We see each other every day.”

“Can you just come outside?”

So, Jacqueline put on her coat and went outside to get her cat ears. She trudged toward the car, displeased that she had to come out in the blistering cold weather just for her cat ears. Jean-Luc stood awkwardly outside of the car, holding Jacqueline’s cat ears. He handed them to her and she started to walk away but Jean-Luc grabbed her by her coat and pulled her in for a kiss, only to open his eyes and see that Jacqueline had bent backwards at a 90-degree angle.

“What are you doing?” she asked, even though it was quite clear what he was doing, or at least, trying to do.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Jean-Luc said, releasing her coat.

They stood inches apart, staring blankly at one another. Jean-Luc leaned forward and lightly kissed the top of Jacqueline’s head. She smiled, took a few steps back and walked back into her dorm.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Jacqueline said.

Jean-Luc got in the car and called Thomas and told him what happened.

“You tried to kiss her? What’s wrong with you? I meant you should go in for a hug or something,” Thomas said.

Clearly, Jean-Luc misunderstood the assignment. He drove home, terrified he might have ruined things with Jacqueline by moving too quickly. Several hours later, Jean-Luc was still awake, contemplating his mistake when he picked up his phone and sent Jacqueline a long text, apologizing for his failed kiss attempt. The next morning, Jacqueline woke up, read the text, smiled, and said everything was going to be okay. The incident did not interfere with Jean-Luc and Jacqueline’s regularly scheduled dates – the next of which was going to be laser tag.

At their laser tag date, Jacqueline and Jean-Luc won a penguin sticker and a small Hulk figurine. After the date, they sat in the car, fighting over the little penguin sticker. They pulled it back and forth, giggling and snatching it out of each other’s hands. At some point, Jean-Luc went to grab the sticker book back and he grabbed Jacqueline’s hand along with it, and they stayed that way the whole ride home, facing forward with huge smiles on their faces.

At this point, Jean-Luc and Jacqueline were definitely in love and didn’t know it yet. They had held hands but never hugged or kissed. In Jean-Luc’s mind, his relationship with Jacqueline was on a ticking timer. Jean-Luc was going to Mexico with his family in just a few weeks for Christmas, and it would be the longest he and Jacqueline had gone without seeing each other. Jacqueline had been thinking similarly, even if only because everyone in their life was trying to get them to kiss before the Ortiz family’s Mexico trip. Luis Diego and Adrian made a bet with Jacqueline that she could kiss Jean-Luc before he left for his trip.

One day, Jean-Luc drove Jacqueline and her roommate, Jordan, home from the library. As soon as Jacqueline and Jordan stepped into their dorm room, Jordan told Jacqueline that she left her calculator in Jean-Luc’s car, so that Jacqueline would have an opportunity to go kiss him before Mexico. Jacqueline rolled her eyes and picked up her phone.

“Hello?”

“Hey, it’s Jacqueline. I’m so sorry, but Jordan left her calculator in your car and she needs it for her class first thing in the morning.”

“I’ll drop it off in the morning.”

“She really needs it though. She has a class at 8 a.m., I can just come out and get it now. She’s nervous about the exam and–”

“I will be there extra early in the morning then, see you tomorrow."

“Um … okay, sounds good. Thanks.”

Jacqueline’s attempt had failed. Jean-Luc stopped by the next morning to drop off Jordan’s calculator.

Aside from the cat ear’s and Jacqueline’s roommate’s calculator, the Hulk figurine from the laser tag date had also become a significant character in Jean-Luc and Jacqueline’s lives. They took turns hiding it in each other’s things at ballroom practice and on their drives home together. It was like a little game of hot potato; where whoever had the figurine was losing.

After the last ballroom rehearsal before Jean-Luc left for Mexico, he dropped Jacqueline off at her dorm. Then, he went and drove donuts in a snowy parking lot nearby. His mind was racing. He gave so many signals that he wanted to kiss her. Why hadn’t it happened yet?

Then, his phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Hey, I think I left something in your car.”

Jean-Luc looked at passenger seat door, reached over and felt around in the door compartment. There sat the mini Hulk figurine.

“I’ll be right there.”

Jacqueline bundled up in her coat and went outside. Jean-Luc stood outside of his car, smiling and holding the mini Hulk figurine. Jacqueline walked toward him, more nervous than she’d ever been. It felt like her heart was going to beat out of her chest. Jean-Luc reached out to hand her the figurine when they both moved in and kissed, surrounded by a blanket of falling snow.

Two days later, the Ortiz family was just hours before their leave for Mexico. Jean-Pierre had left to see Julia, so Jean-Luc decided to go out too. He told his parents he was going to grab a coffee with some friends downtown before they left, and then asked Jacqueline to meet him in downtown Rochester. They walked around the snowy, light-covered buildings, just as they had several times before, but this time was different. They shared a passionate goodbye kiss before departing for what would be a long time away from one another. It was the perfect end to the night – for Jacqueline, at least.

Jean-Luc returned to his family’s house and sat in the jam-packed car, squished between two of his brothers. Jean-Pierre talked about saying goodbye to Julia and his parents asked Jean-Luc which of his friends he hung out with downtown.

“Oh, you know, I saw Alec and Domenic, Gray couldn’t come–”

“How about you stop lying out of your big, fat mouth?” Mrs. Ortiz snapped at him.

Then, the Ortiz family set off for what was to be a very eventful 36-hour car ride.

A week after Christmas, Jean-Luc shattered his collarbone while playing soccer. While disappointing, it provided ample opportunity to spend more time with Jacqueline. Jean-Luc and Jacqueline were at yet another one of Luis Carlos’ parties, this time just a few days into the new year. Again, at the party, all of their friends were telling Jean-Luc to take his situationship with Jacqueline to the next level. Julia suggested a similar strategy that had worked for him before.

“Hey guys, I forgot something in my car, I’m going to go grab it real quick,” Jean-Luc announced in front of a group of friends, which included Jacqueline. Julia looked at Jacqueline and told her she should go with him to help him carry what he forgot, because of his injury, obviously. So, Jacqueline went with Jean-Luc to his car. On the walk to the car, Jean-Luc pondered how to make it official with Jacqueline — and yes, this is really what he said.

“I couldn’t deal with this pain without you in my life, will you be my girlfriend?”

Jacqueline agreed, and January 12, 2019 became the last day that Jean-Luc and Jacqueline would be single for the rest of their lives. They returned to the party as boyfriend and girlfriend.

Over the five years since Jean-Luc and Jacqueline first danced together, they’ve shared many moments together. Whether it be camping trips with friends, romantic dinners, or their classic coffee walks around downtown Rochester, Jean-Luc and Jacqueline have continued to grow individually and together.

In September 2023, Jean-Luc and Jacqueline attended a wedding together where Jacqueline caught the bouquet. Upon her catching it, countless people asked Jean-Luc when he was going to pop the question. Little did they know, the ring was sitting in his bedroom at home.

A month later, Jean-Luc and Jacqueline had scheduled a day to go up north and look at the fall colors together, just like they do every year. However, when Jean-Luc woke up late that day, the plans had to change a bit. Instead, they went to paint pottery and get coffee. The day started out sunny, so Jacqueline wore her sandals and did her hair up all nice. By the time they got to the coffee shop, though, the weather had changed its mind and it was now pouring rain. When Jean-Luc originally pitched the events for the day to Jacqueline, it included a walk outside, where Jean-Luc was going to propose. Once the rain started, though, Jean-Luc was panicking. Jacqueline expressed that she would not be going for a walk in the pouring rain.

They drove all around Rochester, hoping that the rain would stop. When the rain didn’t stop, Jean-Luc pulled into the parking lot of the Rochester Hills Public Library, because there are trails behind the library. Jacqueline was confused and frustrated. Jean-Luc was someone who had a glass of water in his hand for her before she even announced she’s thirsty, why was he trying to force her outside into the rain?

They sat in the car in silence for five minutes before Jacqueline again declared she would not be going outside in the rain for a walk. So, Jean-Luc kept driving. He had to propose that day. After all, both of their families were at the Ortiz’ house ready to celebrate when they got back.

“We always do what Jacqueline wants to do. Always Jacqueline. Jacqueline this, Jacqueline that,” he teased.

Jacqueline, nearly on the verge of tears, finally agreed to a walk. Jean-Luc hadn’t called Jacqueline by her name in years. She had always been “Behbs,” so him using her name must have meant he was really mad.

So, Jean-Luc pulled into the Dillman & Upton lot adjacent to the Paint Creek trail in Rochester. Jacqueline got out of the car and slammed the car door. They started walking and she wouldn’t even hold his hand. They walked quietly through the mud puddles in the pouring rain.

“It’s cold,” she said.

Jean-Luc started brainstorming how he could turn the day around. He started to tell Jacqueline how much she meant to him and explained what their love represented to him. As he was talking, his heartbeat accelerated and his hands got sweaty. Jean-Luc pulled Jacqueline in for a hug, and Jacqueline’s head landed right next to Jean-Luc’s heart. She heard his heartbeat and started to catch on.

“So, I wanted to–,” Jean-Luc started to pull away as he reached into his sock to grab the ring.

“No way, no way,” Jacqueline said, tears starting to well up in her eyes.

Jean-Luc pulled out the ring and asked Jacqueline to marry him. There he saw his sweet, beautiful Jacqueline whom he’d danced with all those years ago in the Oakland University ballroom, along with his entire future. Surrounded by a blanket of rain, Jacqueline said yes to a forever with the boy who drove her to ballroom practice.

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