Work seemed to fly by faster than I thought and before I knew it, I was getting ready to go back to my apartment and put my ideas down on paper.

I sped out of the parking lot of the office as quickly as I could without going a dangerous speed. In the blink of an eye, I made it back to my apartment. I ran up the stairs as fast as my feet could carry me and to the front door of my apartment.

On my front door was a little note. It was from Jean-Paul. It read:

Dearest Blakely,

I hope work has treated you well today. I cannot wait to see you on Saturday. I'm getting impatient as I mark the days off of the calendar until I can see you next. I hope the rest of the workweek treats you well.

Love,

Jean-Paul.

I took the note off of the front door as a smile spread across my face. I like that Jean-Paul is old fashioned, that he could have sent a text, but he took the time to write a note. It was neatly written and the letters curved into elegant loops. It's the little things he does that shows how much he truly cares. How I got so lucky to meet a man like Jean-Paul I'll never know. But I'm so glad that I have. I hold the note close to my chest, knowing that I'll cherish the letter forever.

I ran into the apartment and I grabbed my notepad and pen from the spare kitchen drawer. I sat down at the kitchen table to begin brainstorming places Jean-Paul and I could visit on my vacation-that is, if he would even want to come with me.

Although we have been to the beach in New Jersey, we could always go to a different beach, perhaps in Florida. There is also the Grand Canyon. There were so many places we can go on vacation.

I made a list almost an entire front page long of states we could travel to within the US and things we could do in each state.

All that was left to do now was to ask Jean-Paul if he would want to come with me and figure out a place we both would love to visit.

I made myself a cold-cut sandwich with chips for dinner since I was too tired to cook for the night and I poured myself a glass of sweet tea.

I walked into the living room and sat down on the couch while turning on the TV. I realized that it was the night for some of my shows to be coming on. So I sat and ate my sandwich with chips and sipped on my sweet tea while catching my shows on live TV for the night.

After I watched my last show, I walked into the bedroom to get ready for bed. As I laid my head down on the pillow, my eyes immediately closed in sleep.

The next morning, I was awakened from the radio from my alarm clock that was playing romantic love songs. I took a shower, brushed my teeth, and dressed in some comfortable clothing, before making my way to work.

I wish I could say that the day went by as fast as the day before, but I would be lying if I said such a thing. The day dragged by so slowly.

In fact, it wasn't just the day that seemed to fly by so slowly; It was the rest of the entire week. Of course, when you look forward to something such as meeting up with your French cutie or planning to go on vacation the next week, things will seem to go by much slower. That's why I always dread looking forward to something exciting.

Finally, Saturday came around and I sprang up from my bed almost as fast as someone would spring up if they had a fire set to their behind.

I woke up extra early to have a small breakfast and get dressed before our usual afternoon meet up at the coffee shop.

I left the apartment a little earlier than usual and found a table and sat down just waiting for Jean-Paul to get there. I was so excited to finally see him again after five days...which seemed like the longest five days of my entire life.

Finally, the bell on the door rang and I turned my head into that direction while opening the door. Through the door, walked in all six-foot and 4-inches of pure muscle from a French heartthrob. He came to sit across from me and my heart started fluttering while a smile tugged from the corners of my mouth. He picked my hand up from the table and whispered "bonjour," as he placed a kiss upon my hand. I could feel the heat rise up to my cheeks.

"How have you been doing?" He asked.

As he sat down, I stared deeply into his bright green eyes, to the beautiful and caring soul inside. It's crazy how much you can tell about a person by just looking into their eyes. I saw his lips move, but I didn't hear the words he said.

"I-I'm sorry, what did you say? I was lost in your eyes." I admitted, hiding my face in horror, embarrassed about saying something so crazy.

He blushed, the color making him even more handsome than he already was. Then he started chuckling, and I immediately joined in, feeling my discomfort fading away, knowing that he was laughing with me, and not at me.

I asked how you've been doing, he said.

I returned the gesture. "I've been doing okay. Not nearly as good as when I'm with you though," I said with a blush.

Jean-Paul smiled. "I feel the same way. Did you get the note that I left on your door?"

I nodded. "Yes, and it was so sweet and thoughtful. Thank you. It helped ease the pain of missing you this week. It melted my heart to know that you were thinking about me when we weren't together.

I smiled at him as he returned a smile.

"Of course I think about you even when you're not with me. It's because I-I." He tried to spit the words out but he was just too afraid to say anything. That's okay, though because I knew what he was going to say. I guess he thought it was too soon to say the words "I love you."

"Shall we?" I asked as I took his hand into mine and we walked up to the counter to order something. I ordered a mango peach smoothie and he ordered a berry smoothie.

We took a seat back at the table that we had just occupied. We waited for our names to be called. I figured I would go ahead and talk to Jean-Paul about the vacation week. I was beginning to get nervous. My palms became sweaty, worried that he would say no.

"So I was reminded the other day at work that next week is our office vacation. Every year for one week, we all take the week to go on vacation, sleep in, or do our favorite hobbies. It's a week of relaxation that we can take away from work, away from getting up early every morning, and having to adult. So I was thinking up places that I could go to visit for my vacation. I want you to help me decide where to go," I said. Then I took a deep breath to brace myself. "In fact, I would love it if you would join me on the trip."

He just sat there in a state of shock for a moment without saying a word. Finally, he started to speak.

His eyes lit up with excitement. "Thank you for inviting me. I would love to come. What places were you thinking of wanting to visit?"

I pulled the list from my purse as Jean-Paul's eyes grew wide because the list was so long.

"I see that you came prepared," He chortled.

I smiled. "Yes, I did."

His eyes grew even wider. I knew it would be hard to figure out where to go for our vacation. There were tons of awesome choices. But no matter where we decide to travel to, as long as I have Jean-Paul by my side the entire trip will be fun and worth it.

"May I?" He asked as he wanted to see the list of places I had written down.

He hummed and hawed as he started flipping through the list.

Finally, I could tell that he reached a decision.

"I think a trip to the Smokey Mountains in Gatlinburg, TN would be a lovely choice. The cabin in the woods with peace and quiet. I have never known what quiet has been like. I've always heard the sounds of cars and horns and other vehicles as they travel both here and back home. It would be nice to visit somewhere a little quieter for a change."

He smiled with confidence that a trip to Tennessee was the perfect trip for us. I agreed. I think a trip to the mountains would be a better trip than anything else. Not only that but we would get a cabin to rent and not have to worry about having to stay in a hotel. We could cook our own meals while we vacation.

Jean-Paul handed the list back to me as I placed it back into my purse. I didn't want to throw the list away because now I can start using it to check off the places that I would love to see.

The one amazing thing about taking a trip to Tennesse is that it's not far from my old Kentucky home.