The Psychology of Falling in Love

II. July 13th

The sound of rushing water out of the faucet put me in a small trance. I shook my head to clear the morning fog and dipped down, taking in a mouthful of water. I gripped the porcelain sink with both hands and watched the liquid cascade down into the drain. The last thing I wanted to do was look up.

It wasn't always like this. I used to not know what it was like to wake up after a long night of fitful sleep. The pounding headache, dry throat, cotton-mouth, shaking limbs.

I glanced up into the mirror and stared into my own deep-sea eyes. The whites of my eyes were bloodshot and the dark circles around the lids caused my irises to spark. My short, chestnut hair was messed up.

Then, my eyes lost focus. In the blurred lines of reality, my face transformed into my mother's. We were cursed to look like twins, a constant reminder of each other.

Ding.

I threw myself off of the sink and wandered over to my phone. Thumbing through the notifications, I smiled once I reached a message from a certain someone. We had texted quite a lot the past two weeks but were never able to meet up.

My digits worked autonomously, dialing Claire's number. She picked up almost immediately.

"Aria!"

"Hi, Claire," I smiled at her excitement.

"What's up? You're up a bit early, no?"

I rolled my eyes. "It's 10 AM."

"Yeah, and you got off last night at 2. You're not sleeping enough," she chastised.

"Hey, you can fight me all you want in person. How about that? Want to take a day to ourselves? Learn a bit more about each other, maybe?"

The line went silent. I held my breath in hope that she would agree. The seconds ticked on awfully long.

"Of course I would." It came out as a whisper, a soft voice that held both awe and caution.

"Perfect," I started. "Um, I'll pick you up in about 2 hours, cool?"

"Yeah. Yeah, that's perfect. I'll text you my address."

My brain immediately went into hyperdrive as soon as the call ended. I ran through all the current circumstances to try and nail down an itinerary: it's the middle of July, it's hot, there is no beach. Bowling? A movie and dinner? Cruise and music?

I sighed, exasperated. Just then, a lightbulb clicked on in my head. I rushed back to my phone and speed-dialed Lorraine.

"What's up, bestie?" Raine squealed into the phone. "I'm at work."

"Oh shit," I mumbled. "My bad."

"It's dead as hell, ain't no thing."

"Raine. I want you to listen to me, okay?" I started, then stopped to get a confirmation. Her silence was enough of one. "I'm taking a lady out today. Nothing too fancy, just trying to branch out and make friends. What would you suggest we do today?"

Raine's brain explosion could be heard through the phone. I could feel her shaking with excitement. The line went totally quiet and I thought she hung up on me, but she was still there.

After a few moments, she spoke. "So," she began, clearing her throat. "I say do a drive and chat. Take her to the bluffs maybe?"

I nodded, then facepalmed as I realized she couldn't see me. "Yep, got it."

"And then for dinner, you let me know when you're on the way to your spot by the lake and I'll set up a nice little dinner. Deal?"

"Raine, it's not–"