“Summer, are you nervous? Juliet shakes my shoulders. “What are you going to say?”
“I don’t know.” I haven’t even had a chance to think about what I wanted to say. I was so focused on just finding Caleb that I didn’t even gather my thoughts, and now it’s too late. I’ll have to wing it.
The doors of his gondola open, and he steps out, walking to me. I love the confident purpose in each of his strides as if he knows exactly what he wants. And what he wants isme.
“Don’t make him go the whole distance. Go to him.” My mom pushes me, and I stumble forward a bit but meet him in the middle.
“Are you engaged to Justin?”
“No, I—” I start to say, but Caleb scoops me in his arms, hugging me to him. I don’t think we’ve ever hugged before—not for real, not without any rules or boundaries.
It’s so freaking amazing.
His grip around me tightens, and in his arms, I feel more wanted than I ever have in my entire life.
My family cheers behind us, but all I focus on is Caleb’s soft whispers in my ear. “I really hope that you came here for me and not the Torchlight Parade, or else I’ll feel really dumb.”
“I came here for you.” I smile, pulling back so I can see his face. “Caleb, I—”
“Yes,” he says.
“Yes, what?”
“Yes to whatever you’re about to say.”
My brows jump, and I can’t hide my grin. “But you don’t even know what it is.”
“If you really came here for me, then nothing else matters. I’m yours. Whatever you want.”
My smile stretches wide. “You’re mine?”
“I always have been, from the moment you kissed me that night in the kitchen.”
“And I’m done playing it safe.” I pause because this moment feels big. “I love you, and I want us to be together. And I’m sorry—”
Caleb grabs my coat, jerking my body forward into a kiss. It’s surprising and exhilarating all at the same time. The want behind his tug and the desire in how his mouth covers mine makes everything in my body dance with happiness. By the way my family screams and cheers behind us, you would think they were in the middle of a Taylor Swift concert. But I don’t even care. I’m devoted to every second of Caleb’s tender kiss.
The sweetness is genuine. The passion is electric. And the butterflies are strong.
This is how a kiss is supposed to feel.
For the longest time, I felt like my kisses were gestures Justin didn’t need.
But Caleb makes it seem like I’m giving him life.
I forget about the things I should say or want to say and freely kiss him back. Fireworks go off above us—like real fireworks, not the kind in my body—and the crowd around us cheers. It must be the start of the Torchlight Parade, but I don’t even care to stop kissing Caleb and look.
For all the times I fought my feelings, hid them away like they could be ignored and forgotten, I’m not doing it anymore. I press my body to his, feeling the warmth of his mouth as his lips brush over mine.
The crowd applauds even louder, and more fireworks go off. We both turn our faces toward the mountain, momentarily breaking apart. Skiers fly down the mountain, lighting each torch, one by one, until the entire zig-zag ski slope glows with firelight.
You couldn’t plan a more romantic backdrop if you tried.
“It’s beautiful,” I whisper as Caleb holds me close.
“You’re beautiful.” He kisses my lips one more time, soft and sweet. “I haven’t been able to tell you that nearly as much as I’ve wanted to.”
I nudge his shoulder, gazing into his eyes. “I’m the one that should be telling you things, like how I shouldn’t have turned you down last week. I was stupid and taking the easy way out, thinking somehow that I owed it to Justin to stay with him because that’s what was fair. But I want you. I’ve wanted you since the night you stood in my parents’ kitchen with your forearm up a turkey, making everyone laugh. And then again, when you started a chant for Donna O’Day during the Light Parade. And when you got me kicked out of the grocery store and a hot spring. The more time I spend with you, the more parts of you I find that I love. You’re everything that I’ve wanted since I was a little girl. And I’m not saying all of this because I can’t stand being alone or not having a significant other in my life. I’m saying it because I want to experience new things by your side. It isn’t about not being alone. It’s about beingwithyou. Like you said, falling for you was easy, but admitting that I loved you was hard. I just didn’t want to hurt Justin.”
