I awoke to the warm feeling of the sun rays resting upon my face as I slowly opened my eyes.
Last night was the first night I didn't dream about Maria since she left.
I sat up slowly, feeling confused as to why that was. I was so used to it, that I knew and remembered I didn't dream of her.
Eventually, I brushed it off, beginning my morning routine.
I turned on my favorite playlist, which ranged from classical music to rock music, but contained the best string of hype songs.
I felt so good today. Probably because I knew what awaited me at the end of my work day. I was so excited to see Josephine that every time I thought of her I broke into a smile.
I've never known anyone who brought me so much joy, especially after not knowing them for longer than 24 hours.
Once I was done getting ready, I finally slipped on my shoes and went downstairs and prepared my coffee.
I checked the time and realized I was running a bit late and made my way to begin another work day.
Time: 3:30 p.m.
The minute my last patient left the room, I followed suit. I rushed into my office and began packing up all my things in order to make good time on my date with Josie.
I hate to admit it, but I may have manipulated the speed limit once or twice on the way home.
I burst through my front doors, rushing upstairs to get ready for my date with Josie.
I had just gotten off of work after a long day, and was eager to see her. The only thing that kept me going was this date.
I quickly threw on my favorite button up shirt and my favorite pair of jeans, and ran to my mirror to fix my hair.
"Shit!" I exclaimed looking down at my watch.
I picked up my speed, tripping a few times along the way down the stairs.
"Ow!" I yelped as I bumped my head against the wall, as I was looking down at my phone.
On my way! I texted.
I jumped in my car and began speeding to the record store, which was at least 30 minutes away from my home.
After a 10 minute traffic delay, I finally reached my destination. As I parked, I saw Josephine get out of her car.
"Woah.." I mumbled to myself, watching her as her hair danced in the breeze.
She had on a nice pair of RayBans and was wearing an outfit that perfectly complimented her personality and much more.
Once I parked, I stumbled as I ran over to her.
"Woah, slow down, Applehead!" She said, as I embraced her, "I see I'm not the only one who's excited for today." She giggled.
"This is the only thing I've been looking forward to all day," I breathed out, "You look breathtaking." I said, pulling down my sunglasses for a brief second to check her out.
She mimicked my actions teasingly, "As do you, handsome."
She leaned in and kissed my cheek.
Oh yeah, I could get used to this.
"Let's head in, shall we?" She said, extending her hand.
"We shall," I smiled, taking her hand in mine.
As we walked in, we were greeted with a practically empty store, but one that was filled with so many treasures.
"Welcome in!" An employee shouted, "Anything you're looking for in particular?" He said as he struggled to place a large box of records on the counter.
"Here, let me help you with that," She said, running over to the older man.
"Well, thank you, miss," He nodded politely, "Let me know if you two need any help finding anything."
"Oh, Michael, let's go check out the Soul section!" She beamed, pulling my arm and leading me to the R&B and Soul section of the store.
We both began to search the records for our favorite artists, which thankfully we had many in common. From Stevie Wonder to Aretha Franklin, all the way to Nirvana to Queen, to Tchaikovsky to Mozart.
She was such a dynamic person, with so many sides to her that I am eager to explore. All I want to do is spend my time with her.
"Michael, look! They have 'Songs in the Key of Life'!" She smiled, coming closer to my side, "And it's an original pressing." She smirked.
"Oh, how cool!" I said, holding the record.
"Did you find anything neat, Applehead?" She asked, leaning her head against my shoulder.
"Actually, yes," I said, pulling out a Bee Gees record.
She mentioned last night that they were one of her favorite bands of all time, and she had been looking everywhere for one of their albums, and thankfully, I could be the one to find it for her.
"No way! Michael!" She gasped, her jaw dropping, "This is the one I wanted! This was my mom's favorite record!" She exclaimed, her beautiful smile overtaking her whole face.
"Eh, well, you may have mentioned it," I said, biting my lip.
To see her happy made my heart swell with joy, and it was in an unexplainable way.
Her positive energy already touched everyone she passed by, but to be someone that she wanted to share it with to another level, was an amazing feeling.
"Michael, thank you so much!" She said as she hugged me tightly.
"Come on, let's go check out, cutie." I giggled, kissing her cheek.
As we both approached the cash register, she kept trying to cut in front me to pay.
"Michael! Michael, move! I got it!" She said, struggling to reach over my arms.
"Uh-uh, back away, girl," I said, moving in every direction she kept coming from.
I eventually got to stick my card into the machine, "Ha-ha," I teased.
She rolled her eyes playfully, "Thank you, dork."
"No need to thank me, gorgeous." I said, wrapping my arm around her waist.
We made our way out of the store with our records, both of us with a total of 6 vinyls each.
"I'd say this was a more than successful record-store trip, wouldn't you say, Applehead?" She smiled, holding my hand.
"Definitely more than successful," I kissed the top of her head, "Let's get these to the car."
We both parked fairly close to one another and placed our bags in our cars.
She walked over to me once she was done and said, "Hey, Michael?"
"Hm?" I questioned.
"Would you maybe want to come over to my place for dinner? I can order take-out or something, and we could watch a movie?" She asked, slightly blushing.
"There's nothing else I'd rather do," I kissed her cheek, "You're so cute when you get all flustered."
"Stop it," She giggled, blushing even more, "I'll send you my address, and then I can pick up the food." She offered, pulling out her phone.
"No, no, let me go get it," I protested, "I can grab it on the way to yours."
"Mike, you don't have to do that, you just bought over $100 worth of records, at least let me buy dinner." She said, shaking her head and proceeding to look at her phone.
I sneakily took it out of her hands, "I will not allow any such thing, I'd spend a million dollars on you, girl. Let me get dinner, please." I begged.
"Michael, give me my phone back!" She laughed.
"Not until you let me buy us dinner." I said, putting my hands on my hips.
"Fine! But next time, it's on me," She gave in, "Thank you, Applehead."
I kissed her cheek sweetly, subtly putting her phone in her back pocket, "Anytime, gorgeous."
