Godwink

It's crazy, really. Just two years ago, you started working at this little shoe store just trying to get any kind of job. Now, you've fallen in love with the place. Between school and work, you barely have time for a social life. This made meeting your best friend, Gloria, a breeze. She started working at the shoe store just one month before you did. Then, she got promoted to Assistant Manager, and that is when the two of you really started to bond, as you worked a lot of the same shifts. So, once you turned 18, you got promoted to Assistant Manager, and the two of you had never been closer. From there, the most wonderful friendship was [[born]].

So, moving on. Ever since then, you two had been through a lot. She fell in love, had a baby, and seems to be amazingly happy. You, on the other hand, not so much. Just this past April, you had finally broken up with your horrific boyfriend. He wasn't abusive or anything, nothing like that, but he was just overall not a very nice person. The last straw for youm, though, was him calling you overweight in front of all of your friends on your spring break trip. So, he was long in your past, and you don't regret that. However, just this past summer, you lost touch with most of your friends from high school, but with work keeping you busy, you didn't mind much at first. However, as summmer draws to a close, and your first semester of college is about to start, you notice just how lonely you really are. No, you've noticed it before, but you're finally allowing yourself to say it out loud. Well, at least you have Gloria and your hectic [[work schedule]] to keep you busy.

You prepare for the weekend, glancing at your planner. This weekend, you have birthday dinner with your cousin and some family member on Thursday, and shopping for new school supplies and books throughout the weekend. After all, the first day of school is already next week. You glance at the work schedule your boss has for the rest of the week. Damn! She scheduled you to work the evening shift Thursday night, when you're supposed to be going out with your mom, aunt, and cousin for her birthday dinner. Well, shit. You really wanted to make that. You've been so out of touch with socializing this summer, you at least have to come out of your shell and try to make it. On the other hand, with college starting, you do need all of the money you can get. You could either just [[work]] and miss out on the birthday dinner, or maybe see if Gloria could [[cover your shift]].

You end up working and missing the birthday dinner. You feel bummed out, but that's alright. After all you have spomething else to focus on, as you [[start school]] next week.

You give Gloria a call, hoping she will answer. She's usually by her phone all the time, so she should. "Hey, I just meant to call you," she starts. "There are these tops on sale at Maurice's, and I kind of need something new to wear to work, especially since having the baby I feel as if my sense of style has changed a lot-" "Gloria," you cut her off. "One moment, I have to ask you something real quick." "Oh, yeah," she responds, understanding my seriousness. "What's up?" "The schedule got messed up. I was supposed to be off work Thursday night, I have my cousin Katie's birthday dinner, but I got scheduled. Is there any way you can cover that shift for me? I would seriously owe you one." The phone is quiet for a moment, and I can tell she's thinking about it. "Well, I work that morning, and you're supposed to come in to relieve me, and I can't work an open-close shift with the baby. So how about this: why don't we just switcjh shifts? You work the morning for me, and I'll work the evening. That'll work, right?" "Yes!" I say, very excited. "Thank you, I really owe you one. Now, what were you [[saying]] about Maurice's?"

You had talked on the phone for awhile, and ending up planning a date to go shopping. But, either way, it was awesome of her to switch shifts with you. It's the best of both words: now you can still work that day, and make it to the birthday dinner in time. You set your alarm Wednesday night so you could be up nice and early to get ready, so then after work you could head straight to the resturant. You wake up on your own, not hearing the sound of the alarm. You chack the clock of your phone. Damn! It's half an hour later than you wanted to wake up! You check your alarm, it was set for P.M., not A.M. You jump out of bed, your heart racing, and shower faster than you ever had before. Thank goodness you had already set out your outfit the night before, or you would really be screwed. You picked out a new dress you had gotten over a month ago. You loved it (it's navy with stripes and pockets!), but hadn't had the occasion to wear it yet. You throw that on, and your peach-colored shoes, and quick make a sandwich for lunch. Shit, you don't have enough time to put on the makeup you wanted to for dinner tonight. You could just [[go without it]], or maybe you could [[bring your makeup bag to work]]; who knows, you might have time to put it on before you open the store.

No, you don't want to waste time. After all, there is never any time in the morning to do much else, so you simply frun from the house and drive to work. You get there on time, and finish all of the morning duties much earlier than expetcted. As it turns out, you would have had time to put on your makeup. You curse at yourself, looking at your naturally red face in the mirror, with several pimples making a pizza out of your face. You had just gotten a new haircut (cutting 18 inches off was something you hoped would lighten the weight on your shoulders), and your new dress. If only you had a little makeup on, maybe you would feel better. As Gloria always said, if you look good, you feel good; she's right. Sometimes looking good is just a real confidense booster, and mood lightener. You contimlate this for a bit before noticing two people standing at the door. You quick check your watch, and realize it's time to [[open the store]].

You grab your makeup bag and run out the door, throw it into your car, and drive down the street to work. You open the door, and then lock it behind you, and get everything ready for the day. As it turns out, there wasn't much shipment to unpack this morning. This means, luckily enough, you have enough time to put your makeup on, so now you can leave right from work to go to the birthday dinner. You finish putting on your makup in the big mirror in the middle of the shop, put on your glasses, and stand up. Like Gloria always says, looking good makes you feel good, and today you definetly feel it. Just last month you made the drastic change of cutting off 18 inches of curls, so now your hair falls just to your shoulders. With the new haircut, the new dress, and a face looking flawless, your mood is already perkier. You look towards the front of the store and see two people standing by the door. You quick put your bag in your locker, and grab the key to go [[open the door]].

You open the door to find two men standing there. The one is about average height, and older, maybe mid-forties. The other, on the other hand, towers over him. He stands about sixan a half feet tall, with short buzzed hair. They both smile at you. "Come on in," you finally say, pausing your assesment. The tall one looks at you, stepping inside. "Do you by chance have ny shoes that are in a size 15?" With his height, you didn't doubt that it was his real shoe size. You take him and presumably his father over to the mens section of the store, and help them learn which areas would hold bigger sizes, in order to give them some options. The father thanks yiou, and then you [[walk back to the counter]].

You walk back to the counter, and open the morning reports. You can't help but glance to your left, spying on the two men. The more you look at the tall, younger one, you notice more details about him. Between fleeting stares, you notice he's tan, very tan, and has dark hair, the same as his father. He has very broad shoulders, building mass to his frame. You don't doubt that he weighs 250, what with his height and muscle. He also has on a snug t-shirt, painting a vivid picture of how much he goes to the gym. You quickly glance your eyes away as he and his father begin to carry shoes up to the counter. Damn, you've been watching him a [[long time]].

They come up to the counter, and now you can really see his face. He las a large nose, not too large, but large enough to be quirky. His cheeks are round, and you notice his smile lines leading up to him. You also notice his big, big brown eyes. They are so dark, they blend into his pupil, drawing your gaze into them. You continue to gaze at him, a smalll smile forming on your lips. Confidense flows through you as you stare him straight in thr eyes, smiling, before dropping your eyes down to focus on the transaction. "Did the two of you find everything okay?" You ask, staring to checking the shoes and scanning the items. You notice the time on the register: 10:31pm. Had you really been watching them for half an hour? "Yes," the man starts saying. "Actually, I go to this shoe store every year. I go to university here in town, and this place is the only place near here that has my size." Your interest peaks, and you raise your head back up to look at him. "You go to Carroll?" He nods. You smiling, suddenly feeling your personality come back again. "I'm excited for the year this year. I've lived in Waukesha my whole life, so it only made sense for me to go to school there, and I'm actually a little nervous to start." You cringe internally; why did you say that? The dad speaks up as you put the shoes into a bag. "Actually, you should give Jonathon your number. That way, he can actually show you around, if you want." The man, Jonathon, shoots him a glare. "Dad." He slightly hisses under his breath, his round cheeks turning bright red. Shit, clearly he's embarrassed. But, more than anything, you want to know more about him. But does he want to know more about you? He was smiling at you, before his father embarrassed him. It would be so easy to [[ignore it]], as you always do, or you could [[go for it]].

They come up to the counter, and now you can really see his face. He las a large nose, not too large, but large enough to be quirky. His cheeks are round, and you notice his smile lines leading up to him. You also notice his big, big brown eyes. They are so dark, they blend into his pupil, drawing your gaze into them. Suddenly, you feel embnarrased. If only youhad just brought your damn makeup bag to work, you wouldn't be so embarrassed by your face. You look down, suddly shy and wanting his gaze off of you. "Did the two of you find everything okay?" You ask, staring to checking the shoes and scanning the items. You notice the time on the register: 10:31pm. Had you really been watching them for half an hour? "Yes," the man starts saying. "Actually, I go to this shoe store every year. I go to university here in town, and this place is the only place near here that has my size." Your interest peaks, and you raise your head back up to look at him. "You go to Carroll?" He nods. You smiling, suddenly feeling your personality come back again. "I'm excited for the year this year. I've lived in Waukesha my whole life, so it only made sense for me to go to school there, and I'm actually a little nervous to start." You cringe internally; why did you say that? The dad speaks up as you put the shoes into a bag. "Actually, you should give Jonathon your number. That way, he can actually show you around, if you want." The man, Jonathon, shoots him a glare. "Dad." He slightly hisses under his breath, his round cheeks turning bright red. Shit, clearly he's embarrassed. But, more than anything, you want to know more about him. But does he want to know you, the weird pizza-face shoe store worker that his dad kind of just hit on? You could just [[ignore it]], as you always do, or you could [[go for it]].

discourage father, Jonathon leaves embarrassed go on start school have awkward glances [[be sad]]

Confidence suddenly swelling through you, hot in your veins, you smile at Jonathon again. "No, its okay," you say, as you reach for a yellow sticky note. Shit, you think, are you really doing this? You scartch your name and number on the paper, your hands shaking, making the writing slightly messy. You look up and hand him the paper. "Angela," you say, as his father slides his credit card to pay for the shoes. "Call me sometime." Jonathon takes the Sticky Note from you and smiles, takes the bag of shoes and exists the store. His father says thank you, and follows shortly behind him. You left out a huge breath. How long have you been holding that in? Your hands are sweating, but the biggest smile blooms accross your face, and you can't hold it in. Did you really just do that? You hadn't even thought about men since you had broken up with Adam five months ago, and now you give a random person your phone number? Wow, that's new! You think that you should immidiantly [[text Gloria]] to tell her what happened. Or, because youre at work, maybe you should [[wait to text her]].

You pull out your phone, which you keep under the counter, and text Glroia right away. you're so excited! You can't believe you just did that! She calls you, and you talk for what feels like hours, until the next person comes into the store. The rest of the day seems to drag. You check your phone every five minutes, thats how excited for you. But it hasn't rung, and you have no text messages from Jonathon. You think that he must be so creeped out, especially after his father sort-of connected the two of you. He must be just ignoring you, hoping you forget the situation as well. Getting more and more anxious about the situation, you put your phone face-down in the breakroom, and decide to move on and not let it bother you. The rest of the day goes swimmingly, and you find small tasks around the store to distract you. Gloria comes to work, and the two of you talk about it. "I'm sure he will call," she says, but the tone in her voice is more comforting than assuring. The two of you work for a few hours before its time for you to leave. You collect your things in your purse, and get ready to head out to the dinner. you grab your phone on the counter after almost forgetting it. You check it, hesitantly, and are pleasantly surprised! He texted! Right there on the screen, it says, "Hi Angela, this is Jonathon from the store before. How was work today?" You run out to Gloria, practically jumping up and down, scaring a family who had come in to look at clearance items. "You have to text him right away, Angela," she says. "You never put yourself out there. I know you, almost better than anybody. This is definetly what you should do." However, you don't know. You have this dinner, and you don't want to text through it. You could either [[follow Gloria's advise]] and text him, or just [[wait until after dinner]].

You wait to text her, not wanting to bother her while it is her time off, especially with the baby. When she gets to work, however, you tell her everything! She is so excited for you! The two of you talk about it. "I'm sure he will call," she says, but the tone in her voice is more comforting than assuring. The two of you work for a few hours before its time for you to leave. You collect your things in your purse, and get ready to head out to the dinner. you grab your phone on the counter after almost forgetting it. You check it, hesitantly, and are pleasantly surprised! He texted! Right there on the screen, it says, "Hi Angela, this is Jonathon from the store before. How was work today?" You run out to Gloria, practically jumping up and down, scaring a family who had come in to look at clearance items. "You have to text him right away, Angela," she says. "You never put yourself out there. I know you, almost better than anybody. This is definetly what you should do." However, you don't know. You have this dinner, and you don't want to text through it. You could either [[follow Gloria's advise]] and text him, or just [[wait until after dinner]].

You follow Gloria's advise, of course you do. She is so good about these kinds of things, she could never be wrong. You decide to text him back, and he responds almost immidiantly. You go on, texting for the longest time. You even text at stop lights on the way to dinner. Once you get to dinner, however,. youre enrapured in a conversation, and you don't want to seem flaky. You can either [[text through dinner]], or [[put phone away]].

You decide not to follow Gloria's advise, much to her dismay. You don't want to distract yiurself through Katie's birthday dinner, but that's exactly what you do. People talk, and everyone seems to be having a good time, but you are so distracted, you can't enjoy yourself, let alone make a dent into your meal. So, after dinner, you text him, and the two of you get to talking. It's... thrilling, talking to a man again. It's not something you have even thought about in these past five months, but you love it. Do you want to [[set up date]] with him, or [[chicken out]] which is what you always do, and is definetly the easier option.

ou end up ruinging dinner because you're so distracted. Even thoiugh everyone at the tablke kept giving you glances, you can't put down the phone. You're having so much fun talking, more fun than you have had for awhile. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, he says, "I would love to continue this conversation in person. Maybe we can meet up for coffee?" You suddenly get nervous, butterflies unleashed in yuour stomach. You're so excited about him, how could you not be? So, on the one hand, you should [[set up date]]. On the other hand, however, this is all so new, and you don't want to move so fast after dating Adam. Maybe you should just [[chicken out]].

You tell him you're having a birthday dinner with your cousin, and he completly understands. You end up having an amazing dinner, and telling everyone about Jonathon. They can see in your eyes how happy you are. You end up texting him after dinner, and he asks to meet you for coffe. You might as well [[set up date]]; after all, youre so happy, it seems silly to [[chicken out]] now.

Now that you've decided to go on a date, you have to pick out something to wear! You could text Gloria to help you [[arrange an outfit]]; this is right down her alley, after all. Or, you could just [[wing it]]. You don't want to seem needy, especially this late at night. She may be trying to take care of the baby.

You chicken out of the date, therfore drawing the conversation to a close. You move on with dinner. You could have been happy, but you have decided toi [[be sad]] instead.

You decide it's best to call Gloria. She agrees to help you, even though you woke up the baby. You turn on your video chat, and show her three different outfits. She eventually convinces you to wear jeans and a showy top. You finally nod off to sleep, but you didn't sleep well. After all of the tossing and turning, your body is sore for work the next day, but you muddle through. You punch out a few minites early to quick throw on some makeup in the bathroom at the end of your shift. You drive there, confidense fading as you go. You haven't been on a date in... far too long. You're suddenly so nervous. You can either [[go right in]] and have a good time, or [[doubt yourself]] and you continue to sit in the car.

You p[ick some sort of random outfit out of your closet; this is probably not something Gloria would approve of. As you slip on your blue pants and blue cardigan that morning, even though it is your favorite cardigan, you still wish you had consulted Gloria. You're nervous enough, you don't need the added stress of worrying about your outfit. Either way, what's done is done. You muddle through the day at work, and decide to punch out a few minutes early to put on some makeup in the bathroom. You drive to the date, nervous the entire way, especially about your outfit. However, once you park, you can either [[go right in]], or continue to [[doubt yourself]].

You go right into the little cafe that he picked, and you see him standing there, towering over you, with the biggest smile on his face. He walks you around the entire area, and you each get soups and coffe. Just as you're about to sit down and eat, Jonathon looks at yhou and says, "Hey, my place is just outside and around the corner, did you want to watch a movie or something while we eat?" Suddenly, your radar goes up. You should not go to his place with him, you barely know him. He seems so nice and wonderful, but that's what they all seem like at first, don't they? You could either [[go with him]], and decide to give him your trust, or you could continue to [[get nervous]], and insist the two of you eat here.

You think for a moment, and realize how silly you're being. He seems like such a nice guy, and the two of you talked for a long time last night, really hitting it off. You decide to muster up all of the confidense your body can possibly produce, and [[go right in]].

You go back with him to the apartment. After everything, this guy can't be bad. Something inside you, something deep, feels the sense of being safe when you're around him. You look around his place, which is still pretty empty, since he had just moved in only a few days ago. You eventually settle down to watch a movie, one of the Lord of the Rings movies, off all things. Not exactly what you would have chosen for a movie for the first date, but you decide to go with it. All of a sudden, halfway through the movie, his hand slips to your waist, and he's pulling you towards him. You could either [[kiss him back]] or [[pull away]] from his embrace.

He kind of makes a face at you, but agrees to eat at the cafe here. The rest of the night, you continue to be nervous and the mood sort of ruins the rest of the date. You eat, and the food was amazing, but the conversation was stunted by you. Damnit, why did you have to be so nervous. You guve ech other an awkward hug, and the date gets cut short, and the two of you go seperate ways. ~*~ A weekend passes, and you throw yourself into work in order to stave off the ammount of dissapointment that you feelt. How could you have let this happen? However, after your shift on Sunday at work, You see a text from Jonathon, asking you to get together again. What? Why would he want that, especially after how you acted the last time. You could either [[answer him]], or [[dont trust him]] any more than you already do.

You answer his text message, deciding after all that its [[not too late]] to try to continue things on with him.

You decide that maybe you shouldn't trust him after all. You continue on with school, staring your first day, and trying to continue on with classes like normal. After seeing Jonathon several times on campus, you have to decide whether it is [[too late]] to start something with him, or if its [[not too late]].

You kiss him back and share this passionate, imtimate kiss. Everything in your body ignites, suddenly aliove under his touch. You want more than anything to continue this, but you can't let it get out of control, especially on a first date. You pull away, and spend the rest of the night totally content in his arms. This feels right, so right, which is weird, especially for it being so soon. But sometrhing about him is different. Something tells you that this is everything you had been looking and praying for. After the movie, he holds your hand, leading you back outside to your car.He pushes you by the hips up against it, once again lowering his mouth to your, and then sharing the biggest smiler. Oh yeah,. something about him is spoecial, and you can't wait to see where this takes you. For the first time, in months, you feel genuinly happy. (If you wish, go back to [[Start]].)

You pull away from his embrace, suddenly finding yourself not ready for this. After everything that had happened in the past, you shouldn't be doing this, this isn't you. You excuse yourself, and leave the date, right in the middle of the movie. ~* A week passes, and as school starts, you suddenly find yourself not sure of the decision you made. You can decide right now it its [[too late]] to continue thinking about trying something with Joanthon, or if its [[not too late]]. After aall, you really can't stop thinking about him.

Double-click this passage to edit it.

You decide it is too late to start something with him. After all, maybe you weren't ready to be in a relationship so fast after Adam, maybe you need to work on yourselof some more. ~*~ Weeks go on, and you decide it's best to throw yourself into work and into school to keep your mind off of everything. However, once you get work that your little shoe store is closing, it seems as if your life is being drained of purpose. With everything being taken away from you, you have no choice but to [[be sad]] and deal with it.

You end up being so sad, but continue with school and work, trying to rid everything out of your life that didn't need to be there. ~*~ Years later, you were thrown into an amazing career. You ended up moving to New York and working for a publkishing company, something thast you thought you had always wanted. Its hard, however, to enjoy a big apartment in an even bigger city when you're alone, and have nobody to share it with. But, that's alright. You're a career focused woman, and you won't let anyone stand in your way of anything you wish to accomplish, even though you seem to feel so lost in the world. (If you wish, go back to [[Start]].)

The start of school wasn't rough, but it wasn't exactly easy, either. You've never felot shy in your entire life in school, and now suddenly, you don't want to talk to anybody. However, there is thisd boy you keep seeing around campus. He's tall, and all around gorgeous. You keepo seeing him, and he keeps seeing you. You lock eyes, but now you've started to smile at each other whenever you see him. YOu could decide to [[talk to him]], or just [[ignore him]]. After all, you don't need any added stress to your life right now. But on the other hand, every time you see him, he intregues you, and you just want to know more about him. Sometimes, he's all you think about.

One of these times, you end up walking up to him and talking to him. You're suddnely uncomfortable with how you're dressed, your face, everything about you. Compared to you, he's gorgeous. His skin is tan, so tan, and his hair was dark, leading you to believe he is of Hispanic decent. His cheeks were round, smile lines leading into them. He had the darkest brown colored eyes you have ever seen, and the biggest smile taking up half of his face. You get to talking, but don't have much initially in common. Hiwever, you know what they say: opposites attract. You eventually figure out you could propose to [[go on date]] with him, or get out of this and [[ignore him]] all together. After all, you don't need anything else on your plate right now.

You end up ignoring him, and decidint to focus on school. After all, that's enough on your plate right now. However, as time passes on, you stop seeing him, and stop sharing those glances. I don't think you ever stop wondering about him, what happened to him, or even what it could've been like if you had simply had the courage to talk to him. (If you wish, go back to [[Start]].)

You ask him to go on a date, taking all of the courage you have in your body. Against your thoughts, he seems very interested. Now you have to decide, do you want to [[go somewhere fancy]], or [[be casual]]. You haven't been anywhere fancy in awhile, so it mighjt be nice to try that. On the other hand, you're more of a casual person lately, so something more low-key might be better.

You decide to go somewhere fancy. You meet him at this resturant, and wonder how a college student can even afford a place like this. Just the flowers in the vase on the table looked to be at least $50 a piece. But, you end up having the most wonderful time. Until the end. Jonathon pats at his pockets frantically, looking around him. :Shit," he murmers under his breath, and he looks at you with absolute despair in his eyes. "This is so embarassing, but I forgot my wallet, I tdon't have it with me, do you mind if you pay? I'm so sorry." "it's not an issue," you say, pulling out your credit card and handing it to the waitress. "Really, its no big deal." He just stares at you like you're the dumbest thing on the planet. "Yes it is," he says. "I finally get a chance to out with a girl, for the first time in a long time, and this happens. Really, I am so embarrassed." He get's up, murmering how he will call you, and dashes out of the resturant before the waitress even returns with your card. You had the best time, and more than anything you don't want this to be over between you and him. You can either [[be done with it]], especially because of the strange way he acted, or [[tell him how you feel]].

If it was possible to determine the best date in history that existed, yours was the new Number 1. You two hit it off, more than you thought you would. You were right, opposites really do attract. You have decided that he is really something special, and you cannot wait to see where things go from here. (If you wish, go back to [[Start]].)

You grab your card from the waitress, and run out into the parking lot, hoping to catch him. You do, you run right u-p to him, and, throwing caution to the wind, you kiss him. You pull on his neck, lowering his mouth to yours, and show him just how you feel. And right there, right in that moment, you knew that this was something special. You had found what you had been looking for. Now, more than ever, you decided you were not going to be letting him go that easy. After all, he owed you a second date. (If you wish, go back to [[Start]].)

You decide to be done with it, and [[be sad]]. After all, its not your fault he acted in such a weird way to you. If he doesn't want to see you again, you weren't about to get in his way of that.