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I patted the spot on the couch next to me, and she approached tentatively.
“Landon,” she said in a tone that I knew to be nothing other than worry. Reservation. My heart sank.
“Belle,” I said warily, hoping that she wasn’t about to crush everything I’d ever wanted.
“What are we going to do now?” She asked in a small voice, sitting next to me but not leaning into me.
“We’re going to date if that’s what you want.” It was an easy answer, a simple conclusion. There were no other options in my mind, unless she just wanted to skip straight to marriage. Which I wouldn’t really be opposed to.
“And what if it doesn’t work out? It would ruin our friendship,” She explained her worries, and I just smiled. “Stop smiling like that, I’m serious!”
“I know you’re serious, baby. But do you really think that it won’t work out between us? You know me better than I know myself. You know every little issue I have, and it hasn’t run you off so far. What are you worried about?” I was fully confident that this would be a forever thing with her. Actually, there wasn’t even a sliver of doubt in my mind that Belle was going to be my wife that I got to grow old with.
“Well, I know. But what if…I don’t know, you decide you don’t like me anymore? What if I’m not enough for you?”
I clamped my hand over her mouth, rising on the couch to tower over her. “That is absolutely the most ridiculous thing that has ever come from your mouth, Belle. You are enough for me, and you’ve always been enough. There’s nothing that you could ever do that would make me love you less or stop liking you. Don’t let your fear of something different with us prevent us from going all in on this. Please.”
Tears filled her eyes and I feared that I’d said something wrong, that I’d gone too far. I immediately removed my hand from her mouth and sat back.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to–”
“No, don’t apologize. I’m not upset. I’m just…so happy.”
The tears were falling down her face then, and I couldn’t stop myself from wrapping her up in my arms, pulling her into my lap. I buried my nose in her damp hair, smelling her familiar scent that had driven me mad for years.
“I can’t believe you feel that way about me. I never…I never thought you would,” she finished her previous thought, and I sat back to look at her.
I laughed, shaking my head in incredulity. “Me? I can’t believe that you feel this way about me. I thought I would always be searching for a woman that made me feel the way you do. I didn’t think you would ever be in love with me.”
“How could I not be in love with you, Landon?”
Those words melted something inside of me. They sent me into outer space and back again. Because I couldn’t believe that there was even a chance that I could be with this beautiful girl, and yet here she was, telling me that she loved me. This was a moment that I would never forget and would most likely replay her words every day for the rest of my life.
I couldn’t help the grin that spread across my face. “So does that mean that you’ll give us a try?” I asked, not hiding the swell of hope in my chest.
“Yes!” She said with such excitement, I couldn’t help but pull her closer to me and plant my lips on hers again.
I would never have had enough of her. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever. This girl was my everything, and I had always known, at least a little bit.
After I finally let her go, she snuggled up to my side, and we watched the movie, snacking on the salsa until it ran out. I promised her that I would restock it tomorrow, and she giggled happily.
Nothing felt better than finally having her in my arms, and we fell asleep like that, completely content.
29
Isabella
“Youcanofficiallycountthis as a date,” Landon said as he sat down my iced coffee and a plate of macarons in front of me.
I hadn't stopped smiling since Landon and I decided to start dating. It was like the missing piece of the puzzle had slid into place, and now there was nothing I would rather do than be with him. It was like I finally understood something that had been lacking in my life this entire time. And it was so easy. There was no rejection like I expected, no awkward moment where Landon told me he didn’t feel the same. In fact, he confessed his feelings first, which made me feel like I was in a romance book.
Leaning in, he pressed his lips against my cheek in a warm kiss that gave me goosebumps and butterflies all in one.
Another thing I couldn’t get enough of. Kissing him. He was the best kisser ever, and I could kiss him all day long. It was so tender and meaningful to me and just reminded me how amazing it was that we were together finally.
After all of this time.
It had only been a few days, but I knew that this was a forever thing. There would be hills and valleys in our relationship, I knew, but the love between us was stronger than any obstacle that we would have to overcome. We’d had eight years to get to know each other on such a deep level, and dating felt the same as our relationship always had been, just with more kissing and romance.
