Olivia sat with her arms crossed, slumped on the deep green couch in her huge, 12-foot ceiling living room. Her gaze remained fixed on the sepia brown door, waiting. The eternally breathless clock thundered through the walls of her house. She despised the continuously moving hand; she hated that she couldn’t control it. The more it ticked to 7 pm, the tenser her muscles became. All she wanted was to be in cushy sweats, with a big spoon in one hand and a tub of cookie dough ice cream in her lap.

Tanner nonchalantly slicked back his shiny, golden hair and hopped into his clean, white truck with a smile so wide it touched his ears. He eagerly made his way over to Olivia’s, glad that his friend set up a blind date for him. Tanner was ready for something new and exciting. He wanted this to go perfectly.

Arriving at her lavish house, he admired the dazzling landscape where Olivia spent most of her time as he pulled into the long driveway. Tanner climbed the stone steps to her front door with a flamboyant rose in his hand. He knocked rhythmically on her red-brown, wooden door. Sweat rolled down the back of Tanner’s neck as he waited for his date to greet him. The drum of the clock beats in Olivia’s ears as she prayed that he would become bored, believe that nobody was home, and leave her front step. After a solid five minutes of listening for footsteps leading down the front porch, nothing. Olivia rolled her eyes, scoffed, and slowly rose from her imprinted spot on the couch.

She swung the door open and stood there. Paralyzed. Their eyes locked. Stunned. They couldn’t seem to handle each other’s energy.

Tanner shook his head from the dream he was in, grabbed her hand and gave it a soft kiss. He reunited their eyes and smiled softly. Olivia giggled nervously. Suddenly, she was looking forward to getting to know this handsome man that stood tall and confident in front of her.