After a cold commute through the backstreets of Michigan, I made it to my rundown slice of home. A lowly, family owned apartment complex dead set near the industrial area.

I stumbled through the main doors into a small and warm greeting room. I glanced at the clock at the end of the bland lobby. The elevator stood open, and I tried to hurry into it, but the woman behind the desk stopped me.

“Everything ok, Jamie?” she spoke with wickedly sweet honey in her voice. I winced.

Shit, the thought came across my mind. I completely forgot.

I turned towards her. The smile is what I saw first, her luminous teeth with a blue-white shine. The setting disappeared, leaving me and her in a sea of darkness. Then, her eyes, a beautiful green, the color of emeralds that gleamed beautifully. She caught my heart with those eyes, like a hypnotic maze; I was trapped within them. Her hair was thick and black and curly. Her face was warm and perfect. I was mesmerized, and dammit, I was glad I was.

“Heyyyyyy Jeannette, how are ya?” I said lazily.

“Ya doing alright, Jamie?” she pressed on. Suddenly I fell out of m trance. I was brought back to reality. The world fell back into place around us.

“Yeah, yeah…It’s just… It’s been a long night.” I shrugged. 

“Want to talk about it?” Jeannette asked.

“Well, I legally can’t. So… Sorry?”

“Well, I’m open tonight anyway, if you want to go up?”

I wanted to say yes more than anything, but I was exhausted.

“I really need to get to bed” I said in a yawn. She hopped the counter and approached me with a benevolent smile. Her slender hand came to my face and ran along my cheek.

“Are you really sure about that?” she said in an alluring tone. I gently grasped her hand.

“I’m not so sure now that you said something.” I said with a smile. We looked into each other’s eyes. I can’t believe I forgot that she was in the neighborhood tonight.

“When did you get here?” I asked.

“Just a few minutes ago, I thought I could finally surprise you.” she responded.

“Well, I don’t want to sound like a bad lover, but…” I let the thought hang out. We exchanged a long kiss. Fireworks went off in my tired mind as I experienced pure Nirvana. Jeannette was one of the seven wonders in my world. On the list, she was above pastries and high speed chases. She was my guiding angel in a world of darkness. A paragon of joy. Maybe she wasn’t here all the time, but that just highlights the times she is. She was as kind as she was beautiful. Jeannette belonged to a long line of business owners in this little section of town, and pretty much everywhere else around the state. She is off always helping her distant family with their businesses. Which is fine, but I wish I could help. The job always comes in the way of most stuff in my life, including helping her. Being a detective does not leave a lot of free time. Our lips parted, and we stared into each other’s eyes for a long time. Her eyes, those big green beautiful eyes, they reflected the blue shine from mine. It was pure bliss.

“On second thought,” I concluded, a new smile plastered on my face, ”I’m not tired at all.”