After a year and a half of being acquaintances, Alex and I finally became closer through mutual school friends and began to spend more time together. We clicked just like we had before, and every time we hung out we always had a ton of fun together. With the help of some no-nonsense friends, (thanks Conner and Meredith!) we realized we might have been stifling some romantic feelings for one another and wanted to be more than friends.

On September 15th, 2023, we went on our first unofficial date to El Parian in Arkadelphia, AR just outside of campus. We got there and I said “So this isn’t a date right?” And he said “No, of course not.”

….It was most definitely a date

In the weeks that followed, we knew that we had found something special in one another. I can only describe it as a sense of “knowing”. I didn’t have any reservations about him even in the early phases of dating, and every day we spent together reinforced my confidence that we were supposed to be together.