Our first date was at a cute little watering hole called Water Witch near my (Mariah’s) downtown apartment. I was extremely nervous because this was easily the prettiest girl I had ever gone on a date with, but I did my absolute best to act cool, calm, and collected. Internally, however, I was fighting for my life.

In a shocking twist that still confuses scientists to this day, I actually arrived on time. I’m usually late to literally everything work, birthdays, casual hangouts, probably my own funeral someday. Meanwhile, Brielle, who is normally the human embodiment of professionalism and punctuality, was running late. Saturn was definitely in retro-grape, or whatever its called.

After waiting a few minutes, I decided to grab a drink to calm my nerves. As I confidently ordered an Old Fashioned like a sophisticated adult I am, Brielle suddenly appeared behind me. Naturally, I doubled down on the restrained confidence and ordered her a whiskey Coke with the swagger of a man who had paid taxes on time every year.

We sat at a little corner table on the outside patio, and for the next hour and a half I absolutely interrogated this poor girl. I pulled out every move I had to impress her. I showed her my ticket from the Vatican, my UTA card, and (drumroll please) the crown jewel of adulthood, my Costco card. Nothing says “marriage material” quite like access to bulk groceries, discounted gas and cheap hot dogs.

Somehow, despite my aggressive interviewing tactics and weird flexes, we got along swimmingly. After drinks, we decided to walk over to Proper Burger for a snack, where we demolished some delicious but incredibly messy french fries.

Eventually, I walked her back to her car, cautiously optimistic that I might get a kiss. I did not. But I told her I had a great time and that I’d text her later, which felt smooth enough but not too eager.

I walked back to my apartment slightly drunk, very giddy, and with a grin from ear to ear. I sent her a goodnight text, praying I'd get a reply in the morning.

Fun Fact: she texted back and... the rest is history.

After Mariah and I first started talking—before we had even met—she ended up ghosting me. I won’t lie, my ego was a little bruised, but nothing I couldn’t come back from. About a month later, I randomly decided to reach out to her again, and to my surprise, she replied almost instantly.

For our first date, I technically arrived on time, but what I didn’t plan for was spending ten minutes trying to find parking. By the time I finally walked in, I was late and incredibly nervous. I found Mariah at the counter ordering drinks, and before I could even say much, she ordered one for me without asking what I wanted. I have to admit, I was pretty impressed with that move.

I was also completely blown away by how beautiful she was. I couldn’t take my eyes off her all night—and honestly, I still can’t.

As soon as we sat down and started talking, all of my nerves disappeared. We talked about everything and anything, and before I knew it, an hour had passed even though it felt like we had just sat down. I don’t think I stopped smiling the entire time. I loved listening to her talk and watching her proudly show me everything she had in her wallet. She was especially proud to show me her Costco card, which, I’ll admit, impressed me more than it probably should have.

Then Mariah asked if I wanted to go get some fries, and at that point I knew this girl was already figuring out the way to my heart.

After we ate, Mariah sweetly offered to walk me back to my car. The only problem was that because I couldn’t find parking earlier, I had ended up parking down a residential street and had been worried the entire night that I might get a ticket. Sure enough, as we walked toward my car, I could see a parking ticket waiting for me. I was so embarrassed. I did everything I could to make sure Mariah didn’t notice it, and luckily, she didn’t. I may have gotten a parking ticket that night, but I also got a second date, so I’d say it worked out pretty well.

For our second date, Mariah cooked me dinner at her place and then took me to the Natural History Museum. I already knew she liked dinosaurs, but that night I learned just how obsessed with them she really was—especially the Utahraptor. I loved walking through the museum with her while she excitedly told me everything there was to know about dinosaurs. Seeing how passionate she was about something she loved only made me like her more.

When we got back to her place, I offered to walk her to her door. At that point, I still wasn’t completely sure how she felt about me, and I was nervous. As I leaned in to give her a hug goodbye, Mariah said, “We should do this again soon.”

The second I realized she wanted to see me again, something in me switched. Instead of going in for the hug, I changed course and kissed her.

Best. Kiss. Ever.

I was honestly shocked at myself for being that bold, but I am so glad I went for it. I already knew there was something special about her and that she was someone I wanted to keep getting to know.

And we’ve pretty much been inseparable ever since.