In My Head

*November 29*

Staring happily into the mirror, Olli pulled his suit jacket up onto his shoulders. He adjusted his tie, making sure everything was just right as he prepared for his date. He’d waited such a long time for this moment, months to be exact. If there was one thing that Maatta knew, Taatum would be the woman that he would marry.

As he took one more hopeful look into his bedroom mirror, Olli Maatta made his way to the car. He sat in the front seat for a few seconds; he took a couple of deep breaths with a large smile on his face. He started his car and made his way towards the restaurant.

This would be the first day of the rest of his life with who he believed to be his true love.

…

Tatum pulled on her dress while staring into her full body mirror, sighing. She was simply stunning in her red V-neck backless bodycon dress that reached right above her knees, which was matched with black stilettos and a black silk cardigan. She brushed her curled locks with her fingers. Any single person would see her beauty, all except herself.

This is not at all what Tatum wanted. Blind dates weren’t usually something that the wrong lady feared purely because she wasn’t in love then. All those other blind dates were usually just people who seemed nice, but they didn’t leave any impression on her. Not in the way that a real love interest would have.

Love was something that Tatum felt should not be messed around with; it was something that could ruin somebody’s life if they were not careful. She knew how bad it could be, and she didn’t want to rush into anything ever again. One heart break was enough.

Tatum took a look at the clock mounted on her wall, sighing as she saw that she must be on her way. She dropped her iPhone into her bag and headed towards her uber car.

“Well,” she sighed, “here goes nothing.”

…

Olli sat at the table, checking his watch every couple of minutes when he saw her. Tatum approached the table slowly. She had a modest smile on her face, glancing down at her feet as she approached him. He felt his chest tighten just looking at her. She was stunning, pure and simple.

Right as she arrived at the table, Olli shot up, pulling her chair out for her. She modestly thanked him with her cute little innocent voice; she didn’t usually act so shy. Olli kind of like it though. He took his seat once again, studying her facial expression. Figures, he thought, it’s hard to read what the psychologist is thinking.

“So you are the guy that Pascal decided to set me up with,” she finally said, breaking the silence. Olli just nodded as he took a sip of his water. “I have to give me credit where credit is due, Olli. Somehow, you convinced the Pascal Dupuis to let yourself take me out on a date. Usually, he isn’t easy to get through to.”

Olli just smiled at her, “Well, darling, I guess Pascal just thinks that you and I are a good fit together. To be completely honest, I think so, too.”

A new feeling erupted inside of Tatum. She could feel butterflies going mad inside of her stomach. Her chest was a bit tight following his words. It was like nothing she has ever felt, and she couldn’t tell if she enjoyed the sensation or not.

The two looked at their menus, looking over all of the overly priced foods. Both of them were making odd faces before Olli finally spoke up to her, “You know, how about we leave this place? This is not a place that either one of us really want to be at.”

“Well, Mr. Maatta,” Tatum said as she glanced up into his eyes. She had a meek smile present on her face. “Where do you purpose that we go off to?”

Olli’s smile lit of the dimly lighted restaurant, “I know just the place for us to go to.”

The two both hurried into Olli’s black truck, heading off onto the highway in search of the location for them. Olli couldn’t help but glance over at her every now and again, watching the flashing street lights reflect off of her shiny skin. He thought to himself, she looks so soft and precious, like a child playing in a field of cotton. Her eyes are so bright and beautiful. She is perfect.

Within the next few minutes, Olli pulled off into the parking lot of a small burger stand. It seemed oddly out of place in the middle of downtown Pittsburgh, but it was charming as well. Olli opened the door for Tatum, who struggled to climb out of the large truck. The two made their way over to the counter, ordering two burgers, and then taking a seat in the bed of his truck.

“So,” Olli said, looking down at his blind date, “what do you think?”

Tatum looked over at him, taking another bite of her burger. “Of you or the date?”

“Both,” Olli shrugged.

“Well, this date has been oddly charming. I never would’ve imagined the burgers in a fancy dress would feel so right, really,” Tatum said. Olli chuckled taking another bite of his burger. She giggled too, pushing some curls behind her ear.

“What about me,” Olli asked innocently, focusing back on her. She looked up at him, admiring how that city light hit his hair and eyes, making him look bright as ever. He looked angelic, in the young lady’s opinion. She was so busy admiring him that she didn’t realize she became lost until he spoke again. “What do you think of me?”

She cleared her throat, taking a second to think. She stuttered a bit, “Well, I... um… I think that this could actually be kind of fun. You and I together, I mean. Maybe this isn’t going to be bad, right?”

Olli chuckled again. So cute, so meek. What a woman, Olli thought, what a beautiful woman.

“Who knows,” he shrugged as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, “maybe this could just be one of those moments that we look back on and say ‘wow! Remember our first date? Look at how far we’ve come.’”

Little did they know.