They say timing is everything — and Brandon and I needed a few practice rounds.

We passed each other in the high school halls — Brandon, the senior; me, the freshman. Same friends. Same circles. Same everything. Just not the same chapter.

Then came Texas A&M University. I did notice him there (there’s even a picture to prove it). Same bars, same house parties, same friend groups — we ran in the same circles, but it still wasn’t the right moment.

Fast forward to the same friends’ wedding. Brandon and I were paired together. We gave it a shot… but once again, timing wasn’t on our side.

A few years later, at the same friends’ kid’s birthday party — there he was. And I’ve said it at least 100 times — the man looked like a snack. This time? I wasn’t letting timing win.

After dropping several subtle-but-not-subtle hints to our friend Kate about what ol’ Stubbs was up to, I reached out. A couple of times. Because sometimes you just have to take matters into your own hands.

He says he “made me work for it.”

I say I knew exactly what I was doing.

He asked me out Memorial Day weekend to join him and some friends in POC. First official date the following weekend. And from that moment on — we were locked in. It was finally our time.

Turns out, we weren’t missing our moment.

We were just waiting for the right one.

And this time? We made it count.