It was a lazy Sunday in November, and Jess Fitch had claimed her favorite spot on the cozy couch at home. Her best friend, Tori, sat across from her, casually flipping through the latest issue of The Local. The warm hum of casual conversation filled the room, the perfect backdrop for a day of nothing in particular.
Out of the blue, Tori says, “Check this out! There are some seriously cute guys in here,” she teased, nudging Jess with her elbow. “You should see if any of them are single!”
Curiosity piqued, Jess reached for the magazine and began thumbing through the pages.
“The ‘Gratitude’ themed issue was pretty fun,” Jess remembers, recognizing a few familiar faces among the glossy pages. “There were a couple of friends and neighbors in there, which was cool … but then I got to page 51, and there was Justin.” She smiled at the memory, “I thought, ‘Oh! He’s cute!’”
In true millennial fashion, Jess didn’t waste a moment. She pulled out her phone and quickly searched for Justin Hodges on Instagram. With a tap, she hit ‘follow,’ and to her surprise, Justin followed her back almost immediately. A few moments later, her phone buzzed with a message from him, setting off a chain of events that neither of them could have anticipated, but both would remember as the start of something special.
“From her photos and profile, I could tell Jess had a great, bubbly personality—which she totally does,” Justin recalls with a smile. “But what really caught my eye was her profile photo. It was taken at Prairie House Coffee, one of my favorite spots. So naturally, that’s where I started the conversation. Turns out, we’re both coffee shop enthusiasts.”
For their first date, Justin suggested they visit the Winter Garden Farmers Market the following Saturday, thinking it would be a fun way to spend time together. But Jess wasn’t about to wait that long. “A whole week away? That’s forever!” she teased. So Justin ran with it, saying, “Let’s be spontaneous. How about I take you to one of my favorite coffee shops tomorrow? It’s called Filigree.”
Jess grinned as she recalled the moment. “Filigree is one of my favorites, so I just knew this was a sign. When he showed up, I couldn’t believe it—he was even cuter than I’d imagined, smarter than I’d imagined, and taller too. Here we are, almost 10 months later, and everything about him was better than I ever could have dreamed.”
