“Once,” I cringe, “and that was a long time ago. I was trying to get over you! But they just weren’t good enough. They weren’t you, so I stopped trying.”
Silence ticks between us for a beat, so I release a sigh and sit up to join her. The darkness helps; it means I can’t see the rejection on her pretty face when she tells me we’re just friends and nothing more.
“I didn’t know,” she breathes.
“I didn’t want anything to change between us, cricket. I’m in love with you, more than just friends. I love you, but I am terrified of losing you.”
“But everything changes,” she says softly.
“Have I lost you, cricket?” Fear clogs up my throat, a sweat breaking out across the nape of my neck.
“No, Noah,” she answers quickly, “you haven’t lost me.”
“I haven’t?”
She chuckles lightly and I see the silhouette of her head shake, “Not even a little bit, but I wish I’d known sooner.”
“Why?”
“So, we could have done this earlier,” she moves quickly, catching me slightly off guard, but I manage to catch her before we both go tumbling off the bed and her mouth latches, her arms wrapping around my neck. She kisses me intensely, her tongue slipping between my lips as she holds on tight.
“We’ve lost so much time,” she says breathlessly, peppering kisses to my lips and at the corners of my mouth, “I have loved you for just as long.”
“Fuck,” I groan, kissing her again, “Say that again.”
“I love you.”
“Are you sure?” I chuckle, “It’s not just the sex?”
She pushes back and swats my chest, “You’re not funny.”
“You wound me, Sidney,” I capture her hand, desperate to see her but knowing that maybe we need the dark right now. “Are we doing this?”
“You mean for real?” She says.
“For real,” I confirm.
“I’m scared.” She admits, “More scared now than I was when we agreed to just sex.”
“Tell me what you’re scared of.”
“It’s different now. We could do this and not come out of it intact.”
“Do you think anything between us will change?” I ask.
“Well, of course it will,” she moves to slide off my lap, but I don’t let her escape.
“It doesn’t.” I assure her, “We are the same Noah and Sidney we have always been. We just have a label.”
“A label?” She chuckles. “What label is that?”
“Is this where I ask you to be my girlfriend?”
“Oh my god,” she groans loudly, “No, don’t do that.”
“Why not?” I flip us quickly, letting her land on the mattress on her back, the bed bouncing slightly as I hold my weight above her. “Will you, Sidney Summer Adams, be my girlfriend? I’ll even let you hold my hand in public.”
“Noah!” She squeals with a giggle.
