Elias was heading back to Michigan for school after the COVID lockdown when he matched with Will on Tinder. Neither of them had messaged the other, until Elias got this feeling that he should message Will. Elias was never confident enough to reach out first, so his very first line was "You're cute but I really like your dog" or something along those lines.

From that first message, they continued to talk. Elias, stressed, got some input from a friend and she said to meet Will because he seemed like the right person so Elias asked to meet.

Will nervously and excitedly said, "yes". As anyone willing to drive several hours to meet someone had to be crazy...

The next day, Elias drove to Will's apartment and, although a little awkward at first, they had the best time. They never took a moment to stop talking, and were basically playing 20 questions (it was way more than 20). Upon spending several hours together, Elias realized that he had never been so comfortable with someone before. At the same moment, Will realized that maybe Elias wasn't crazy and that he could see a future with him.

Their first date didn't really happen until a couple of months into their relationship due to everything being closed, but when they did it was an interesting adventure. They went to Texas Roadhouse. Elias ordered a steak that came out raw 3 times before he decided to go with something else. The manager did not make them pay for his order.

After that, they just spent a lot of time traveling to one another, getting to know each other, and their friends. Making memories that would lead them to November 11, 2022. They had planned a trip to Traverse City to visit one of Will's college friends. Elias was super excited because he hadn't been to Traverse City yet. It was cold and ended up snowing, but it was beautiful all the same. Elias had an inkling that Will might be proposing on this trip, but he didn't know when or where.

It ended up being after a hike they had done to see Lake Michigan. Elias thought they were just taking a long time to get a photo, but instead, Will was preparing to get down on one knee...

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Cherry Road Winery