In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, this week’s MMLM Sunday Writing Prompt is “A Story of Love.“

This is my first attempt at a love story EVER, please keep that in mind as in some reader’s perspective, this has nothing to do with love.

Genre: Romantic Fiction

Sitting beneath the dim lights of the restaurant, I nervously tapped my nails on the table. To say I’m nervous would be an understatement. I am a 30-year-old woman who is on her very first date ever with a guy who she has only been texting for the past 6 months and with no previous dating experience to piggy-back on. Yeah, I am nervous.

What if the guy isn’t who he appears to be? What if he doesn’t look like the person I’ve pictured in my head for the last 6 months before this whole social-distancing thing came to an end once and for all? What if I haven’t been talking to him but someone else like his roommate for the last 6 months?

What if…

Stop it! I mentally shrieked and forced myself to inhale and exhale a sharp breath. Stop with all the what ifs.

“Pamela?” Hearing my name made my head jerk up. Standing before me was a guy – tall and lanky, his light brown hair parted slightly on the left. It was as if, like me, he wasn’t used to dressing up. Also like me, this guy was truthful and used his real picture online.

“Josh.” I said breathily before quickly getting up. Awkwardly, we hugged.

“Have you been waiting long?” I shook my head as anxiety, nervousness, and awkwardness seemed to bombard every cell in my body.

We were silent for a moment before we both spoke at the same time. “Do you want to go do something else?”

“What do you have in mind?” I asked.

“Didn’t you say you’ve always wanted to go bowling?” I nodded. “Let’s grab something somewhere else and let’s bowl.”

Half an hour later, after renting shoes at the bowling alley, Josh was standing behind me, guiding me in scoring my first strike. Of all the things I was afraid of, I had not once asked myself, what if Josh is the one?

For tonight, at least, he is the one and even though I have no previous experience of love, one thing I discovered tonight or maybe it’s been hiding in plain sight for the past 6 months, Josh seemed to genuinely care for me.