Page 120 of Revelation

My heart explodes the same way it does every time I see the name “Josh Faraday” land on my screen.

“Hey, PB,” I write back, grinning broadly.

Oh my God, being away from Josh this past week has been torture—I’ve literally been counting the hours until he lands in Seattle to visit me and meet my family. Just forty-eight more to go. Gah.

“Are you home from work yet?” Josh writes.

“Just got home this very second.”

“Cool. A package is being delivered to your apartment in exactly five minutes. You’ll have to sign for it personally. Wanted to make sure you’ll be there.”

“Five minutes? Lucky I’m here.”

“I’m a lucky guy.”

“Are you hiding in the bushes outside my apartment watching me?”

“No. But that’s a good idea. Note to self.”

“Why not bring this package with you when you come on Saturday?”

“Nope. This particular package had to be delivered to you TODAY.”

“Ooooooh! Is it youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu?!!” I write.

“LOL,” he writes. “No. Sorry.”

“Derby Field,” I reply. “Darn.”

“I gotta go. Just wanted to make sure you’ll be there for my package. T-minus four minutes.”

“So mysterious! Gimme a hint, PB.”

“Okay, one hint: good things come in very large packages.”

“OMG!!!”

“Namibia!!! What?”

“It’s youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!!!”

“Nope.”

“Darn. I thought I was so smart. Waaaaah.”

“LOL.”

“Derby Field.”

“Haha. Bye, PG. See you in two days. Can’t wait. Enjoy your package.”

My heart melts. “Bye, PB. Can’t wait.” I add a heart emoji and a kissing emoji.

I stand and stare at my phone for a minute.

Oh my God. I’m a smitten kitten. A fish on a line. Done-zo, as Sarah would say. And the amazing thing is that Josh seems to feel the same way about me. Of course, I still don’t know where I stand with the guy beyond next week. There are no labels allowed, no relationship-status updates, no declarations of serious feelings—ha!—nothing ever assumed, planned, or implicitly promised more than ten days out (it’s kind of hard to putflorrebblaaaaaahon the calendar). But still, as long as I stay in the moment and don’t wonder what might happen a month from now, everything’s fantastic. Better than fantastic.

But damn. Not looking to the future is easier said than done when you’ve fallen in love with someone as amazing as Josh. In fact, that’s all I seem to want to do—fantasize about the future—about one day living in the same city, sleeping every night in the same bed, maybe even planning a trip to Europe for next summer with a little of my finder’s fee money. But in what world can a woman be the first one to say “I want you to be mine and only mine forever and ever until the end of time” and not have everything implode after that? And that’s especially true when the man you wanna say it to is the raging commitment-phobe, Joshua William Faraday. And so, I’ve made a pact with myself to keep my big mouth shut and just enjoy the ride.

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