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That was what real love was built on, right?
“You feel it don’t you?” Brian asked, tenderly brushing the back of his knuckles across her cheek, then cupping the back of her head in his hand.
So overcome by emotion, Hayley couldn’t speak, she just nodded. Brian began to shimmer as her eyes grew watery. You couldn’t not cry when your dreams had finally come true.
“You’re crying,” Brian said, dismayed, catching a stray tear with the pad of his thumb as it wound its way down her cheek. “Hayley, you don’t have to worry. Yes, what’s happened the last few days made me realize what was in my heart, but it didn't make me fall for you. Just made me see what was already there. I’ve been falling for you for months now. This just forced me to accept it, to admit that I wasn't just attracted to you because you’re beautiful but that I’m falling in love with you.”
Falling in love.
Even though her head still wanted to fight against what Brian was saying, her heart believed it. Her heart felt it. She was already in love with Brian while he was still moving toward the same place, but he was moving there.
Hayley looked up, her eyes still watery, but they were happy tears not sad ones. Although she wasn't usually forward with men, she reached up, curled her hands around Brian’s cheeks, and drew his face down to meet hers.
The kiss was soft, light, and unassuming as they took that first step out of the friend zone and into the couple one. Just like she could sense Brian’s feelings for her, she could also sense his nervousness. They were both anxious about the changes that were happening in their relationship, but those changes were happening whether they acknowledged them or not. The more time she spent alone with Brian, the more her feelings grew, and she knew it was the same for him. It helped her to know that he was just as nervous as she was. It was reassuring, they were in this together, and if Brian was anxious it was because he wanted this to work out as much as she did.
* * * * *
6:29 P.M.
Brian could do this all day.
Just stand here and kiss Hayley. His hand was still on her heart, feeling it race beneath his touch, his other curled behind her head, drawing her closer as he took the kiss from gentle to deeper, more sensual.
At first, she had been hesitant to believe him when he’d said that he was falling for her. She didn't want to get her hopes up, he got that, but she didn't have anything to worry about. While it was true she had been in love with him a whole lot longer than he’d had feelings for her, he knew what he felt was real. That feeling of panic when he’d realized that if Hayley had died in that fire a part of him would be lost forever had been the wakeup call he’d needed to admit that he no longer saw Hayley as his little friend, but as someone he could see himself having a future with.
Only because his lungs were screaming for air did Brian break the kiss. Breathing heavily, he stared into Hayley’s blue eyes as she stared—also breathing heavily—into his.
“This is odd,” she said with a giggle.
“Good odd, I hope.”
“Very good.” She gave a contented sigh.
“Well, there’s no going back now. After that kiss, I don’t think I could go back to just being your friend.”
“Good because I don’t want you to,” Hayley told him.
She still looked nervous, and he certainly still felt anxious. As much as he wanted to take things to the bedroom, Brian didn't think either of them was ready for that yet.
“Come and sit down.” He took her hand and led her back to the couch. He knew what he wanted to say, but he didn't know how to say it. Brian wasn't used to being nervous around a woman. He’d dated off and on since he was in high school, but it had never gotten super serious because he hadn't been able to envision a future with any of those women.
But with Hayley, he saw it all.
He wanted it all.
He wanted marriage and kids and pets and a home. He wanted to have her by his side as he grew old. He wanted to share every day of the rest of his life with her.
But how could he say that now?
They’d been a couple—which he guessed they were now. That kiss certainly felt like it sealed the deal—for all of ten minutes if that. He couldn’t just say that he wanted all of that. He didn't want to scare her off.
Although she was thinking the same things as he was, right?
She’d said that she’d had a crush on him since she was nine, so it made sense that Hayley wanted those same things as well.
“You look thoughtful,” Hayley said, breaking his concentration.
“Just thinking about us.”
