Liana says:
The night before, Rob took me out to a fancy night in Boston. We ate at Top of the Hub (which was incredible) and enjoyed a comedy show. The next morning (on our 10th anniversary) he woke me up at 5:30 and told me to get dressed and into the car. I was groggy but complied. He drove out to Manomet Point on White Horse Beach. There, they watched the sunrise. It was gorgeous! I was totally still half asleep, but kept insisting I was completely awake. After a while, Rob made a comment about it hopefully being the first sunrise of the rest of their lives. I was so confused. He then said that he had a gift for me, if I would have it. Rob proceeded to pull a small black box out of a hidden compartment in the car (sneaky man). He had gone to New York in August and took a class to physically make the ring himself (doubly sneaky). It was the best morning!!

Liana says:

Hmmm, a lot to consider here. Two come to mind. First, it was not really a date, but when we were just friends, we spent a few hours lying out on my trampoline looking at the stars. Robby told me a bunch of stories about different constellations. He was so good at his renditions that I honestly did not know which ones were based in mythology and which ones he made up on the spot. I think of that night often. The second was earlier this year. We went out to dinner, and he had looked up a list of questions to ask partners to really get to know each other. It was so special and really nice talking to him all night and discovering that even after all these years he can still surprise me and I still have more to learn about him.

Liana says:

PAX. The Penny Arcade Expo held every year in Boston. I love going with Robby and getting to see a little more into his world. I also really love the board games section! We always end up trying new games and buying new games to take home with us. It is such a great weekend and I look forward to it every year.

Rob says:

I agree, PAX is a blast. So is going on a world tour in Epcot. Otherwise, those nights when we just play a couple of games together, or watch some random, sometimes terrible, Netflix movie and enjoy/mock it are really great.

Liana says:

It was homeroom freshman year of high school. I was nervous but very excited. One of my friends was in our homeroom too, so I was glad to know someone. I got all of my friend's paperwork together and started filling some things out for him. I noticed another boy in the room looked very much weirded out, and maybe a little scared, when I explained to my friend about all his paperwork and what I had already accomplished for him. That boy was Robby. We all became good friends and the rest is history!

Rob says:

I had a really rough time in middle school and didn't expect much from high school. Lo and behold, I get into homeroom and there was this girl who was all smiles and talking to everyone, whether she knew them or not. She really stood out, and it definitely set a great tone for the next four years.

Rob:

Probably me. I invited her out on our first date, but the day before that we were just hanging out, and when it got time to leave we lingered on the goodbye. Then I fell into that old trope of getting nervous enough to almost miss when I went in for the kiss. Almost.


Liana says:

Definitely Robby. I was too scared. Thank God one of us had the courage :) He was very sweet and super thoughtful. There are many instances I could reference, but I think the official "first move" was when he made me a necklace for my 16th birthday. It was an amethyst. I still wear it all the time. I had a boyfriend at the time, but that was the first time I truly considered Rob as a possible "more than a friend" option.

Liana says:

I love how thoughtful and sweet he is. He knows, somehow, when I have a bad day, or need extra love. He texts loving or supportive words, makes special dinner, surprises me with gifts or just cuddles me. It is like he can read my mind, and a lot of the time I did not even know I was stressed/upset/etc until he reaches out.

Rob says:

How considerate she can be, and how she surprises me. All of the time.

Rob:

Hard to tell for me; it was one of those really-slowly-then-all-at-once kind of deals. One minute she was just a part of my life, the next, it was hard to imagine my life without her in it.

Liana says:

There was a night I was at Robby's house hanging out, having dinner, watching movies, etc. When he walked me out to my car, we stopped on his porch. I do not quite remember how it happened, but he ended up playing music and we started slow dancing. It was one of the most magical 10 minutes of my life. I felt so connected to him and so entirely happy.