We met on the 4th of July weekend at Torch Lake, MI 2021. It was both our first time ever going to Torch Lake. We came up with separate groups. When we were out on the water, our friends recognized each other from nursing school, which caused our groups to intertwine. As our friends were catching up, Nathan came up to me and struck up a friendly conversation. Our groups ended up hanging out for a long time that day, Nathan stayed by my side, talking to me all day. It was very organic, we laughed, and he didnt flirt with me. It had felt like I had already known him. He told me about his family farm and his nickname. I didnt realize that ‘Bubee’ was actually like his main name…so when he told me about his nickname, I said, “Bubee? That’s lame. Im gonna call you Blueberry!”
At the end of the day our groups parted ways. He didnt ask for my number and I thought i’d never see him again. I remember thinking “Man, that guy coulda been my husband.” But obviously I kept that crazy thought to myself and moved on with my life. I was NOT looking for any kind of relationship anyway, but I felt like he imprinted a little piece of him on my heart.
The same time I met Bubee, I met Lexi. She and I became friends fast because when we were on the water, I gave her my hat to protect her sunburnt scalp…and later on she said her feet hurt so naturally I offered to rub her feet (LOL), and she happily accepted.
She ended up inviting me to her wedding and of course I went!
Thats when I saw Bubee again. I somehow ended up on their party bus to ride to the after party and for some reason I decided to sit next to Bubee. Again, I wasn’t personally ready for a relationship and he didn’t hit on me, or ask for my phone number, nor was I going to ask for his... but i still had a crush on him.
As the night went on at the party, some people wanted to go on a night woods walk. For some reason I decided to put myself out there and ask him if he wanted to go on a walk with me...he didnt realize i was flirting with him...and he said “Nah, I’m good!”
So i gave up right there. I’ve never pursued a boy before and clearly wasn’t good at it!
Fast forward to his Brother Jeffs birthday party, him and I had a chance to talk briefly.
I had given up on any attempts to further put myself out there, and he actually had a date with him this time! But he still went out of his way to talk to me for a moment. My favorite thing he said was, “ I love it when you call me Blueberry!” He was just so sweet and pure hearted. I was bummed he had a date but I barely knew him and really, I didnt know what was happening to me. So again, I went on with my life trying to forget about my crush.
Finally,
My friends were going to a concert after our friendsgiving and I did not plan to go. I didnt buy a ticket nor did I intend to. But my friend Hannah literally forced me to! She wanted me to have a good time and surprised me with a ticket. When we arrived, we ran into the other group of friends. We all had no idea they were going to be there. Of course, Bubee was there too. We all decided to hangout together that night.
I didnt mention this previously, but since i had met Lexi, she was trying to hook me up with all of her guy friends! I always said no to every single one. In her words, she was trying to get me a boyfriend in her group so she could ‘suction cup’ me into her friend group forever!
So the night of the concert of course Lexi is trying to match me with someone else.
I had finally had enough! I said “Lexi, the only one im interested in is Bubee. But I know he has a girlfriend now. So there is no point in attempting anyone else.”
She said “BUBEE?! You like BUBEE?!”
I said “Yes, but please dont say anything I do not want to disrespect his girlfriend in any way or make it weird.”
She said “Oh, (girls name)? They are not dating. She doesnt matter. Im telling on you and you two are going on a real date!”
My heart fell into my feet. I thought he had a girlfriend so I thought I was being safe and getting her off my back about dating her friends. That backfired on me. (LOL)
She wasted no time, she ran over to Bubee and said “SHE LIKES YOU! HAHAHA SHE LIKES YOU CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? OUT OF EVERYONE SHE LIKES YOU!” She laughed in his face! (Love you Lexi)
He had no idea, turns out he was actually very interested in me since the day at Torch Lake, but he thought I was out of his league so he didnt put himself out there.
He wasted no time, he came right over and danced with me. At the end of the night, he got my phone number, and the rest is history.

Fun fact: After dating a little while, we discovered that our families actually knew each other very well. His uncle and my dad used to be best friends in middle school and played hockey together!
If that doesnt scream meant to be, I dont know what does.