Work Text:
Do you believe in love at first sight? I think we would all like to believe in it, and for me it was even more. It was not just love at first sight but " I'm going to marry this woman someday. "
Kelley's POV
For the first time in my life I remember feeling secure and contented, knowing my future was mapped out in the most wonderful of ways.
I was working as a graphic artist, intent on putting my career before anything or anyone else. The last thing I was looking for was a girlfirend. The last thing I expected was to fall in love. Move ahead s couple of weeks and our path crossed at Starbucks. Thst's when it hit me. Really like cupid's arrow. Oh, this is going to sound really corny.
Wednesday morning....clear azure skies, warm sun and me on time to catch up with friends....perfect start to the day. What more did I want! Coffee....Yes, my regular coffee at Starbucks.
" One Latte please..."
" One Americano for me..."
That was the most amazing voice I have ever heard in my entire life.
I look back. I simply had to...
I look back and find what...? Deep-blue eyes that could see stars and hear bells...
" Stars! Bells! Get a hold on yourself....I say to myself....take the coffee and walk away."
Stupid cupid doing his rounds....
" Excuse me....
" OMG! She wants to talk to me!" a sly grin formed on my lips....
" I think you have taken my Americano by mistake...."
" Ooh....oops....I hand over the coffee to her.
She looked at me as intently as I stared at her, then introduces herself as Hope. She was 7 years older than me, charming and confident and I felt gauche and tongue-tide as teenager by comparison. I loved her. Before we said goodbye, Hope asked me out on a date. I was delighted and said yes not sure if romance or just friendship was on cards. For my part, I was absolutely dying to find out more about this charming enigmatic woman.
I can vaguely remember getting ready for her to pick me up a few days later, checking myself nervously in the mirror at least four times and wishing my short brown hair was long and blond.
As we sat down to have dinner in a small Italian restaurant, I realized this wonderful woman sitting opposite me represented everything I had ever wanted, and everything I would ever want. I had never met anyone so charming, so honest and so funny. That realization made me feel breathless and heady, and if there was something in the way Hope looked at me across the table that convinced me she felt that same intensity about us.
" This is crazy," she said. I've never felt this before. "
It was extraordinary. We talked easily and freely through the first dinner about how we wanted to get married, yearning to travel and our desire to have cats and dogs. We discuss on where we live. We'd save money to buy our own home, and plan our first holiday together. All these are decisions made by any couple in the first months or years of a relationship, but we were making them on our very first date.
I asked her, " How do I know this is real? and she said, " Because I don't love you - I truly love you."