Written by Lance

I moved to Colorado Springs in the fall of 2021 to work on a large hospital project. On my first day at the new project, my coworkers mentioned America – a cute brunette with a fun name. I was immediately intrigued. I was interested in her from the start. Fast forward through probably more awkward interactions than I care to remember - to the spring of 2022. America was sitting in my office on a Friday afternoon talking about weekend plans. She was house-sitting for a coworker near the project, and I had just so happened to hear about what was rumored to be the best chicken wing spot in Colorado. I anxiously asked her to join me for dinner and she accepted. Chicken wings and a cold Miller Lite is not a typical first date...so, neither thought it was a date but rather two friends/coworkers having dinner. After amazing conversation and laughs at dinner, I thought “damn is this a date?” America on the other hand did not. After dinner, we sat in my truck for what felt like 30 minutes but was really 3 hours talking till midnight. I got home and as I was brushing my teeth; I looked in the mirror and said, “what the hell just happened, I think I am going to marry that girl”. One of my friends had told me the year before while discussing my dating life that, “it will happen when it happens, you’ll know when you meet the right one because it will hit you like a ton of bricks”. That is exactly how I felt that night. I texted her the next day about what a great time I had, and we should do it again. She wasn’t interested at first, and being rejected by someone I had to see daily was brutal. So, I avoided her for six months. But America has this gravitational pull—before long, we were close friends, walking job site together, and sharing inside jokes.

We spent the next 6 months growing our friendship, which eventually turned into her spending an exorbitant amount of time in my office flirting. She would find any excuse to walk the jobsite with me. I decided I would make it beneficial to us and work by giving her a spray can and would let her spray paint all the trash I wanted the crews to throw away. The project was coming closer to an end in the Spring of 2023. One night out on the town with friends and a little cocktail courage, I thought, "what is the worst that could happen" and kissed her. We began to secretly date until the project was finished, which was probably the worst kept secret in Colorado Springs. She was hesitant to put a label on it and make it official. I really worked to win America over, even putting myself outside my comfort zone. I thought taking her sky diving for a date would do the trick. Before we took off, I was cool as a cucumber, and she was very nervous. Once we got up in the air sitting in that tiny airplane the tables turned and the only thing that was higher than my anxiety was the few clouds above us. If she wasn’t with me, I would have totally backed out, but since she was there, I thought there is no way this girl is going to fall in love with a guy that chickens out and doesn’t jump. Despite my bravery, skydiving wasn’t what won her over. That moment came later—at a Zach Bryan concert at Red Rocks, when I finally saw the look that told me she was all in.

After ten amazing months of dating while living close to each other in Denver, America, Parker, and Zora moved into my one-bedroom apartment. I went from living by myself for the last 6 years to now sharing 900 sq feet with a sometimes overly emotional woman, a dog with a bad haircut, and a feisty cat... and I could not have been happier. We shortly moved out of that apartment and rented what would be our first home together. After we made it through a summer in Denver with no AC, I knew we could make it through anything. I asked America on the top of a mountain overlooking Estes Park on December 21st, 2024 to marry me. We have been dating now for 2 years, but it feels like I have known her for a life time. We have been through family loss, new locations, new jobs, and have only grown stronger together through every life change. Now, as we plan our wedding and buy our first home together, I can’t wait to celebrate this next chapter with all of you.