It all started at Whiskey Mistress, a night neither of us expected would change our lives. I was out with my friend Kiana, and we had a table right in Rich's section. As I walked up, we caught each other's eye. It was one of those moments that stick. A few minutes later, he asked if we could exchange numbers or social media. From there, we spent the whole night texting even though we were technically in separate sections.

A few days later, we met on Friday at the bowling alley. When I first met him, I remember thinking, "Okay, he's cute." But after that first date, I knew he was someone I wanted to get to know more.

What stood out the most was how thoughtful he was. I happened to be fasting from alcohol at the time. Without hesitation, he chose not to drink either, to support. The easy and genuine conversations we had leading up to the date and during, I realized this was something special.