The story starts as so many do, with a swipe right. Lauren had just moved to Greenville, South Carolina, ready to go on a few dates, make friends, discover her new favorite restaurant, and figure out the unfamiliar territory. Meeting her future husband was nowhere on her list of priorities. Life, as it turns out, doesn't care much about lists. Michael was new to town too, working as an athletic trainer at Clemson, dealing with a grudge against the travel schedule. While the football staff couples flew charter for a spouse trip, he rode the bus, motion sickness and all. After that particularly grim ride, he decided enough was enough. When he returned home (mostly out of spite) he downloaded Hinge.

It took some convincing from friends and family, but Lauren eventually agreed to meet him. However, she was operating on her own rules, and texting wasn’t going to cut it if she was going to meet him in person. She let him know he'd need to actually call her. Michael spent that week fairly convinced he'd matched with a con artist. When he finally dialed her number and heard an actual woman's voice on the other end, he was relieved to say the least. They met on a Thursday night in downtown Greenville. Michael turned the corner, still half expecting to find a man there, while Lauren expected to find Michael at least 5 inches shorter than his Hinge profile said he was. Instead, he found Lauren, exactly as advertised and to Lauren’s surprise Michael was exactly as tall as he said he was. A welcome surprise for them both.

Dinner unfolded like a cross-examination, Lauren asking questions with the thoroughness of someone building a case file, Michael doing his best to explain that no, an athletic trainer is not the same thing as the guy who counts your reps at the gym. There was the kind of conversation that happens when two people have decided, that they like each other (a lot), even if it’s too soon to reveal it yet. Neither wanted the night to end, so they kept it going down by the river, sitting on little stone stairs under the stars, trading stories for hours that felt like minutes.

Fall turned into winter. Evidence of two lives turning into one began to accumulate . Shared favorite songs, memories made, inside jokes nobody else would ever understand. The more they learned about each other, the more they fell in love. By spring they'd settled into something that felt nice and easy, which is usually right when life decides to test it. Michael got the call from the Seahawks over lunch with Lauren's brother, Colin and didn't so much as finish his barbecue. It was the opportunity of a lifetime, but for the first time, it wasn't the only thing he wanted. He told Lauren he'd stay in South Carolina. Lauren, who has never once in her life turned down an adventure, told him absolutely not.

In April, the offer came through. They made their first big decision as a couple that day: long distance. A few weeks later they took their first big road trip together, cross-country, just the two of them and a lot of faith in their newly formed relationship. A year of flights and suitcases and switching time zones went by before finally Lauren packed up her life and moved out to join him in the Pacific Northwest.

After that came the road trips, the adventures, Hawaii, Paris, a Super Bowl, and eventually a visit to where it all started. Back in South Carolina, Michael got down on one knee and asked Lauren to marry him. Neither of them expected to find their person on a slightly ridiculous dating app. But they found peace in each other's company, joy in each other's hobbies, and conversation that never seems to run out no matter how late it gets. They never know where life is taking them, but they trust it’s going to be good.