I never thought I would be doing this, but here I am. I'm sitting in my car outside Starbucks. It's 5:15pm. Time to go in. I was hoping to see you arrive first and watch you go in. I had hoped seeing you while hidden in my car would help ease my nerves. But I never saw you pull up. As a matter of fact, in the last 10 minutes of my sitting here, I didn't see anyone walk in. Did you change your mind? There are a couple cars in the parking lot though, so perhaps you beat me here.
I flip down the visor and check my reflection. I fix a stray hair, straighten my glasses, and sigh. It's now or never. You had assured me I have no reason to be nervous. We've talked for several months online. We've seen pictures of each other. We've shared secrets that no one else in the world knows about. Regardless, I am a ball of nerves. But the butterflies in my stomach are not just nerves - I am excited, too. To finally meet you in person. To finally see your face light up when you smile.
I open the door, climb out of my car, take a deep breath to calm myself, and push the door closed. As I walk towards the door, the heels of my boots click against the cement (I promised you I would wear the tall black boots you have been dying to see me in) and my black knee-length skirt flows in the light early-spring breeze. I cross my arms to ward off the light chill in the air - it was too warm for a jacket today. So I chose a thin, long-sleeve, form-fitting red v-neck shirt.
I reach the entrance and pull open the door. I walk in, scan the coffee shop, and I see you standing off to the side waiting for me. You are wearing black slacks and a blue button-down shirt, open at the collar, and sleeves rolled-up casually on you forearms. You are looking at me and smiling. And as soon as I see your smile, I can't help but smile back. The nerves immediately begin to subside - although the butterflies are still in full force.
I walk towards you and greet you with a friendly hug. I immediately notice how strong your arms feel and how sexy your broad shoulders are. You give me a friendly kiss on the cheek, and I slide my arm through yours as we walk to the counter and order our drinks. As we wait for the drinks to be made, we make small talk - how was work, how was traffic, enjoying the warmer temps? After we are given our drinks, we find a 2-seat table towards the back of the restaurant.
I expected my shyness to kick in, but instead, I feel at ease with you. Conversation is flowing easily, and there are no awkward pauses. At one point, the conversation does lull, but it's still comfortable. It is like we have met before - which I suppose we have, only we had been separated by a keyboard. Now, as we sit face-to-face, the connection is even stronger than I could have imagined.