3-2-1, play!

The road to forever started over ten years ago... but we didn't know it quite yet at that time.

Joel went to high school with Zach and Spencer—Ashley's twin, younger brothers—but only knew Zach in passing. It wasn't until after high school Joel and Zach became closer friends, where Joel began to merge onto the friends-and-family-gatherings freeway of a ton of food, drinks, and lots of laughs at Tom and Lynne's house, their parents.

We're not sure at which occasion we met, exactly. The earliest one each of us remembers was at Ashley's parents' house for her big 30th birthday / New-Year's-Eve party. A Hollywood-theme'd party with "Black Swan" dressed servers, 120 guests dressed in Oscar-winning attire, a grandma-designed sky-high cupcake tower, and endless supply of munchies, it was a night to remember.

Between then and now, we crossed paths at the occasional super bowl party, birthday party, fight night, getting to know each other more and more, including our similar interest in tv and film. Being a coder, Joel got into a show called "Mr. Robot" about a vigilante hacker, which he recommended to Zach, who then suggested it to Ashley. It was then we started connecting outside of all the get-togethers, finding new shows to watch separately, but together; Ashley on her couch, Joel on his, synchronizing each episode by texting:

"3-2-1, play!"

Over the years, we found an ease in our friendship, finding ourselves becoming a more integral part in each other's lives. Moments like; Joel helping Ashley get through a rough day or photographing her with her dog, Titan, after she bought her first house, Ashley mailing Joel an oversized pot to aid in his meal-prepping or sending donuts to Joel's house before his big Google interview.

Although Joel's feelings for Ashley grew, the uncertainty of his career path discouraged him from pursuing her romantically. To Joel's surprise (but not Ashley's) Google made him an offer he couldn't refuse and agreed to move to San Jose, California. The excitement and joy Ashley had for Joel was dampened with sadness as she had grown to love Joel over the years as well.

Uncharacteristically, without discussing it with Joel, Ashley purchased a plane ticket to San Jose and texted a screenshot of her flight info. Joel interpreted the message as, "your move," and decided it's now or never. The weeks leading up to the trip were filled with butterflies and nervousness as neither of us knew how serious the other felt. Soon after Ashley arrived, with a small gesture of Joel holding her hand, everything fell into place. And we both shared our last first kiss.

~ fin ~