Like most millennials, our story starts on a dating app because apparently that is how love works now.

Tyler messaged me on Hinge on December 31, 2023. I replied on January 1st, mostly because I was about to delete the app and decided to give it one last chance. Plot twist: best decision ever.

We talked and talked, and at some point I realized that if I waited for him to ask for my number, we might still be chatting on Hinge today, so I asked him instead. Shortly after, we went on our first date to see the Astra Lumina lights. After the show, we wandered to a bar near Alki Beach, where we kept talking, eating, and having drinks like time did not exist.

A black cat named Sausage stayed with us for a while, and when it was time to leave, he followed me all the way to my car. I briefly considered kidnapping him.

After that, we kept hanging out, and the rest is history.