Victorias POV:

I first met Jared when I was 13. My older brother Steven had wanted to go into the city to hang out with his friends, and he got hit with the classic mom line: “Yes, you can go but take your little sister with you” so I ended up being dragged along. During a game of basketball, Jared had picked me for his team and even shared a mini pizza with me. I wasn’t supposed to be part of the day, but somehow he made me feel like I belonged.

Over the years, Jared was always around, spending more and more time at our house. Nothing ever happened between us back then, our lives were on different tracks, but I always looked forward to Summer, because I knew he would be around.

In 2021, Steven brought me to a Halloween party, and that night everything changed. Before we left, Steven said, “You need to stop talking to idiots and date someone like Jared.” It was the first time in years that both Jared and I were permanently back in Queens, and I might have taken my brother’s advice a little too literally.

A few games of beer pong, half a bottle of Hennessy Pure White, and a lot of dancing led to us talking. And we haven’t stopped since.

I spent my childhood watching love stories unfold in movies and books, always wondering what it would feel like to live one of my own. I never realized that my story had been quietly unfolding all along. I feel incredibly lucky to be marrying someone who has known me through so many stages of life. The boy who shared his pizza with me when I was just the little sister tagging along, and the man who turned out to be everything I didn’t even know I was waiting for.

Jared’s POV:

When Steven, my best friend and Tori’s brother, and I went to pick up Tori for a Halloween party back in 2021, I didn’t think much of it. Tori and I had seen each other here and there over the years, but it was always just as friends.

That night, something shifted. Whether it was our conversations at the party, the bachata dance moves, or the generous amount of Hennessy Pure White, I found myself being drawn to her more and more. Maybe it was her radiant smile or her uplifting personality. Whatever it was, Tori kept pulling me in.

One thing led to another and now, years later, I’m surrounded by stories, friendships, and memories, all with my soulmate by my side. I came to realize that I couldn’t imagine my life without her. So to mark the journey we’ve taken together, I returned to the place where we had our first date, got down on one knee, and asked her to be mine forever.