I focused on each individual eye lash as I curved the mascara wand through them. I adjusted my pony tail for the last time and turned around.
“Are you sure this looks okay? Do you think I look like I’m trying to hard?” I pressed Mary.
“God Elle you’re fine, you look hot. He’s going to die when he sees, you trust me.”
Mary was my best friend. She never failed to tell me her honest opinion.
“K love you Mar, I’ll see you when I get back, make sure you watch your phone incase I need help if he’s a weirdo. I’ll text ya!”
“Be good! Have fun!” Mary laughed and turned on the TV.
As I drove out of Mary’s drive way I immediately began to regret the decision to go out on a run with this guy. I didn’t even really know him! We texted for a few weeks but honestly that didn’t say much. S***. What was I thinking? I’m such an idiot. I sped down the road despite the fact that I wanted to be late. Why the hell we’re we even going on a run on the first date? Aren’t you supposed to wait to embarrass yourself on the third or fourth date when you spill frozen yogurt onto your lap or squirt soda out of your nose? Whatever. GET IT TOGETHER ELLE. I turned onto the dirt path and parked. There he was. Sitting on the roots of a huge oak tree looking over the bluff. He saw me and began walking over. S*** what do I do? Be cool, be cool. I tried taking off my Ray Ban sunglasses to be dramatic but they got caught in my chic loose pony. I had to tug them out of my hair. Finally they were free and put to rest on top of my now mangled mess of a pony tail.
“Hey I’m Tim! holy s*** you’re tall in person.”
I laughed nervously “Ha yeahh, I know, I hate it… I think you’re still taller than me though!”
Lol as if, he was maybe the same height as me, on a GREAT day. But he was cute. I can’t deny that. It wasn’t just his mysterious blue eyes, or golden blonde hair that made him cute though. It was his entire vibe. He just had this distinct persona that resonated within my soul. We began our run, which for Tim was actually just a light jog, but for me was a dead sprint… As we ran we talked. Or rather, Tim talked. Tim talked about everyone he’s met, every where he’s been, and every where he was going. Everything he said enticed me. It left me with an endless amount of questions. Some that I asked, and others that I kept locked up in my head. It seemed like he had been every where worth being. He was a surfer for the past two years and he had a sponsor. He met the most interesting people and got the most interesting opportunities it seemed. We ran down that three mile path and back twice, the only reason we stopped is because the sun began to set on that warm May night. My mind endlessly replayed the image of Tim winking at me and saying “I’ll call you.”. As I drove away my stomach turned over and over. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me until I got back to Mary’s.
“It’s called ‘butterflies’ dummy”. scoffed Mary with a mouth full of skittles.
The next time I saw Tim he was wearing bright red shorts and holding an ice chest and a picnic blanket. He packed an entire lunch for us to have in this little park by a river. I was in awe. No boy had ever spent this much time and effort on me.. He laid out the picnic blanket and said with a sparkle in his eye:
“Your 5 star meal awaits madame”
I melted. Throughout the entire time we were eating lunch he just asked me questions about myself, about my childhood, my parents, school, basically everything. It was so refreshing to have someone to actually want to get to know me, and not just have meaningless small talk about parties or that girl who did that thing with that guy in that school. It was new. And it felt right.
The next part of our date consisted of us climbing up to the top of this bridge that had railroad tracks.
“What the hell are we going to do up here Tim…..?” I laughed at Tim’s dumbstruck face.
“We’re going to wait for the train of course!”
Oh s***. What in the world did I get myself into? Despite my doubts I trusted him. So we waited. Finally we saw it coming and Tim’s instructions began to spur out rapidly. They weren’t too hard to understand though.
“HOLD ON THE THE BACK RAILING AND LEAN.  DON’T PUT YOUR HAND OUT. JUST BREATHE!!!”
The train rushed by, taking my breath away. Literally, it took my damn breath away. The wind whipped by so fast I could barely even think. It was so invigorating.  After it finally passed Tim took my hand and pulled me close.
“Now how was that Elle?”
Before I had time to answer he leaned in and kissed me. His lips were so soft and gentle. It felt like electricity sparked through my body. He was it. He was what I had been waiting for. That weird feeling in my stomach came back, what was it called again? Butterflies?
Now I realize what I had felt was butterflies. But before today I would still question why it was that I had felt them so present with Tim. It was because I was an immature little girl who was naive enough to believe any thing told to me by a boy like Tim. Little did I realize Tim was someone completely different than he portrayed to me. So yes I did have butterflies, but I know now that real love isn’t supposed to be based off of butterflies, hence why the end of that word is lies.