Mariana's POV
Her hair glowed in the sunlight when she entered the diner, and lord forgive me but she was stunning. Despite my longing to see her brown eyes look into my own, I had been patient and wanted her to notice me first. I was staring at her across the room the second she walked into my view.
"내가 그녀에게 말해야 할까 (Should I talk to her)?" I asked Iris, she shook her and chuckled a bit.
"잠깐만 기다려, 그녀가 방금 들어왔어 (Wait a minute, she just came in)."
I sighed and tapped my foot impatiently, I wanted to talk to her now. The way she talked with her sisters and the lady so effortlessly made me envy them. I wish I knew her well enough to chat so informally with her. Her dress looked gorgeous on her, I would buy her a thousand more dresses just like that if she liked it that much. Was this what obsession was? Was it love at first sight? Oh well. Whatever it was, it had her invading every thought of mine.
FLASHBACK TO LAST NIGHT AT 7:30 AM
I had returned home earlier than expected. My cat, Duchess, was sleeping on my freshly made white bed, the linens were freshly cleaned. I put my bag down and ran the water for my bath, throwing a rose-scented bath bomb in there to lighten the black and grey bathroom. I went into my room and brought some candles into my bathroom to light them for my bath, and I stripped down to nothing. I put bubbles in there as well because why not?
I dipped my toe in the water to see if it was warm enough, and sure enough, it was. I played Les Baxter's "Baxters Best" album and relaxed into the warm water. Bubble baths brought me the clarity I needed to clear my mind but it wasn't working this time. I thought back to the girl I met at the club tonight, her name was Hera, lord Hera, such a beautiful name. Her face haunted my every thought and action, the whole time she was in the room with me all I could think about was not saying something inappropriate. She probably thought I was a creep by the way I slid my number into her back pocket, I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't call me.
Did she even like girls? What if she's straight?
I felt myself sinking into the water and immediately sat up. I had Hera's face memorized and when I looked into my mirror, I swear that I saw her face looking back at mine. I shook my head and closed my eyes, opening them again, there was only me. That's how it's always been.
But why couldn't I stop thinking about her? Was it the way she talked? The way she carried herself? What was it that was so special about her that I couldn't stop thinking about her?
I sighed and went back into the water, finishing my bath and drying myself off. I let the water drain as I put on my NYU sweatshirt and underwear, slipping into my bunny slippers.
I walked out of the bathroom and held out my arm as Duchess climbed onto me, "Good kitty" I told her, she meowed in response and cuddled into my chest. I went downstairs to the first floor and opened the refrigerator, I grabbed the cheese platter and took it out to eat. I sat on my counter and ate the gouda and crackers before opening Instagram.
There she was, Hera, on the front page of my feed. I followed her almost immediately and looked through her photos. She was gorgeous in every way, I wanted her, I needed her.
PRESENT TIME
"Well, I didn't expect to see you here, Hera."
