Her big brown eyes always sent me a wave of warmth and comfort every time they glanced into my own brown eyes. I knew this wasn't the case for her though. I intimidated her. Her cheeks would turn pink with my every glance. The small smile on her face projected her shy personality.
Despite this, she was always a good friend. She always came to pick up her friends, Claire and Jake, from parties. Those were the only nights I got to see her but it was enough for me to fall for her. It's been 3 years since that summer. The summer of shy smiles and comforting eyes.
After that summer, everyone went off to college in a different corner of the country. I was in California; Claire and Jake were in Miami, and she was in... I don't know where she was. She was always on my mind though. Three years later and I still thought about her. I still saw that smile in my head. I still remember the soft but scolding voice she used when Claire got out of hand and refused to go home before 3am. She was long gone by now.
"Get your lazy ass out of bed Shawn! It's 11am, let's grab coffee before class." My roommate Tyler's screaming voice woke me up everyday but today felt different. Instead of stalling, I hopped out of bed and got dressed.
Unlike every other day, Starbucks was quieter today. There were less people sitting around and only two in line. "I'm done at 3pm so we can go workout after that" Tyler said as we got in line. The line moved up and the girl in front went up to order. "Hi, can I please get a venti green tea lemonade. Thank you."
Her voice sent a wave of comfort through me like I had heard that voice before. It was soft and soothing. It was Aria's voice! I hesitantly tapped her shoulder and her hair swung around along with her body. There she was! Three years later but I finally found her. I gently grabbed her arms and pulled her in for a tight hug as I sighed with relief and joy.
As we pulled apart, I could tell that my burst of happiness left her confused with a hint of excitement. What are the chances that the girl I had been swooning over for the past three years was five minutes away from my apartment this whole time.
