As I feebly open the door to the cafe I wonder if he’s here. The sun is still scorching my neck when a Rock and Roll bass beating through the speakers seem to shake my entire being. I attempt to look careless when I throw indiscernible glances around the populated college coffee and pastry shop. Searching the throngs of students, I barely notice him until his eyes meet mine for the first time in four long years. His soft, chocolate curls jump playfully as he makes his way towards me. I look into his mahogany eyes and beams of sunlight rebound, making him even more mesmerizing. When he reaches me I see the lips that I kissed so long ago, the lips I’ve dreamt of kissing for so long. All of this happens too quickly for me to prepare, I was in a trance. Usually, I would act as if I didn’t notice him, or try to act like I wasn’t surprised that he noticed me. My volleyball scholarship states a strict “No boys” policy, but I barely worried about it when I went to Berkley. I didn’t bother to raise a guard. He wraps his arms around me and my body moves without my permission, reciprocating the motion. He whispers in my ear with his voice as hypnotizing as my dreams remembered, except a bit deeper and more grown.

“I’ve missed you. I could hardly believe it when you first told me you were going to Berkeley. I’ve been waiting for you to tell me when you were coming down, but when you didn’t reply I came here. It’s my fourth day in a row.” He admits sheepishly, not knowing I’ve been here for weeks.

I swoon inside. My heart pounds so that I’m light headed and dizzy. I stumble forward and trip a student who managed to balance four tray of coffee on both arms. He falls, then I almost go on top until I feel a strong hand pulling me up. The student is yelping in pain, his teal and white striped polo stained brown, with steam rising. I turn to the Hypnotist, his hand still on my arm.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to embarrass you like that. I just got a little dizzy and fell. I’m not used to Cali yet.” I mumbled more or less incoherently.
“It’s fine, Ali. I promise.” He turned to the steaming boy dripping with a mixture of ice, whipped cream, and brown liquid, “Look man, I’m sorry my friend tripped you. Here I’ll pay for those. How much do I owe ya, Sean?”
Seeing my opportunity to escape, I quickly apologize to the boy named Sean and feel my cheeks redden as I shuffle out of the shop. My failed attempt to woo the Hypnotist replaying in my head. The background music to the fiasco is the hypnotizing voice saying the word “friend.” Is that what I’ve been this whole time? Is that why he talked to a girl four years his prior for so long? Is this why he invited me to visit him? Am I just a friend? Am I doomed to stay a friend and end up like Patrick Dempsy in Made of Honor without the happy ending? These questions haunted me as I stormed through the park in the middle of campus, resisting the urge to run. My mind, clouded with inquisitive questions about his feelings for me, stole the proper use of my eyes. I wasn’t seeing what was in front of me. A flash of white told me that I wouldn’t remember what would happen between now and the time I woke up. These blackouts have followed me since I was thirteen. I patiently wait until my body allows me to be in it again. I ponder in darkness.

When my brain finally allowed my eyes to work properly I saw a beautiful face swimming in front of them. I shut my lids again. Feeling grass and damp earth under my fingertips, back, and head I realize I’m laying down. For a moment I wonder if it’s blood, if it was my blood. I hear sounds. Before I focus on what’s going on around me, I center my attention on my state. My fingertips and toes move at my command. I wind my wrists and ankles in circles not feeling any soreness. Moving to my other joints, I find my knees, elbows, hips, and neck move correctly. When I try to push myself up, my eyes reopen. I look over my body first, speculating the damage. The dampness was not blood, but water. I see another person and a wrecked bicycle a few yards away. The biker’s helmet and miscellaneous gears are strewn around the main wreckage. His blue, ad-covered riding suit is torn in places, while his face is contorted with rage and an angry finger points in my direction.

A voice pulls me out of my confusion. I don’t turn. I don’t move. I thought the face was imaginary. A figment of my dream. A dream that I knew would never become a reality. The voice belongs to that face, that unrealistic dream. The syrupy voice that put me in a trance. I reluctantly sigh and turn to see the figment was real, still trying to explain. I look down at the freshly watered plants beneath me and raise my right hand. This motion stops the voice. Looking up, I feel my sky-blue eyes open his mouth. He looks at me for the first time in years. He looks at my face, body, then stops on my eyes. Mouth still ajar, he looks around as if suddenly discovering where he was.

“Yeah, I can be hypnotizing ,too.” I gloat in my head. I lightly touch his knee to break the trance. He smiles and motions around us. Realizing that we are encircled by pristinely cut bushes and trees I turn to him. Cross-legged, we just look at eachother. The doubts and embarrassment from the coffee house long forgotten. I stretch my legs out and start to move toward him, my mind in perfect nirvana. His mahogany eyes are round with anticipation and we both know that this was well worth the wait. The sunlight streams through the leaves and turns green. My tanned legs are horizontal over his, still crossed. His dark wash jeans remind me of the night we first kissed. His gray t-shirt is loose, but fitting. Soon he is cradling me as if I were a defenseless baby. His stature is solemn. No curls bouncing, no dazzling smile, no witty remarks. Sky-blue strapless dress covered in flowers and bought in Hawaii covers my strong muscles worked by spikes, dives, and pure running. In that moment I was frail, delicate even. One arm moves from under my tones legs and the hand attached caresses my cheek. Eyes, blue and brown, are closed. Lips touch. Bodies mesh. The embrace is long overdue.