Bonus: The Truth Behind "You Are My Heaven"

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This fic was inspired by true events in my own life, so I have written the full account for my own records and for those interested. 

XO,

Anika

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Although there have been many experiences of unrequited love/intense crushes in my life, one in particular was the inspirations for You are My Heaven.

His name was Matt.

After graduating from culinary school, it took me a few months to find a job and I also had wrist surgery somewhere in there. I finally found work at a bakery, feeling very green and nervous.

(Note to anyone who cares: having a culinary degree does not make you a pastry chef or chef of any kind. School gives you the very basics, working is how you gain experience. Unless you have insane connections, you still start at the bottom and that is COMPLETELY OKAY. Seriously. I've had some awful jobs and some good jobs and now a great job, all valuable experiences in the end. Now you know. )

About a week after I started this new job, they hired another new person. A guy. He walked in wearing his white chef's coat and checkered pants (our uniform). Some people just look really good in chef whites. He was one of them. We were awkwardly introduced by the pastry chef because I'm an awkward person and I was especially shy back then. He was not traditionally attractive, but I was intrigued by him. He had a confidence about him and I just wanted to know more about him instantly.

Matt was a little bit taller than me (which is impressive since I'm 5'11"), a little soft around the middle, and a few years younger. He also graduated from culinary school recently but worked at his uncle's bakery a little while and then in Mexico a few months before they kicked him out for not having a work visa. He was not phased by that at all, by the way. That's just the type of person he was.

Originally from California, he looked like the antithesis of a surfer dude but actually was a surfer dude. Pale skin that sunburned easily and the blondest, curliest hair I ever did see. His unruly curls were just adorable. He kept the length just above uniform regulation, since the rules said his hair couldn't touch his collar. With his curls, he got away with it for a long time. For a young guy, he hated most modern music, preferring classic rock and oldies. The only recent band he liked was Modest Mouse. Hearing them always reminds me of him. As do The Doors, CCR, and the song "Hot-Blooded" by Foreigner. It's an inside joke.

He has such an off-beat sense of humor but when I got him to laugh, it was just he best. There's a local free newspaper we used to get and read the hilarious editorials. We would do the crossword puzzle too. I'm a wealth of weird knowledge and he reads a lot (we both do) so we did well. Or we would use Wikipedia to cheat sometimes. The work computer was blocked from most websites, but wikipedia snuck under the radar so we'd read random articles and learn new things.

I promise we really did work hard and did our jobs, but there was quite a bit of downtime when we got snowed in or waited for the morning pastries to bake. I started coming in early with him just for that alone time. I knew I had a crush on him but he had no clue. He was just an open and friendly person, making friends wherever he went. I remember a time when a girl from another department on the resort walked in and started talking to him about going snowboarding the next day. I was insanely jealous, although I had no reason to be. Maybe they were a thing, maybe not. It shouldn't have mattered but it did.

So a little while later, I mentioned that I would like to learn how to ski or snowboard, because I hadn't attempted either. We worked at a ski resort, by the way, so we got free passes. I casually (probably not at all casual) mentioned that it would be nice if someone could show me the ropes, and he offered to help me. He was just that kind of person. We set up a day to go and I was excited/terrified.

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