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“I’m not going to leave you again, Stella.”
She sighs. “Yes, yes, you are. I heard Beckett talking. You guys are going to New York to record, and then they’ll send you on tour again. Headlining. Congrats, by the way. That’s amazing. I’m really fucking proud of you,” she says, but the emotion isn’t behind the words.
I step closer.
“I’m not going to leave you again, Stella.” She gives me a soft look.
“You are, Riggins, and that’s okay. It’s more than okay.” I shake my head because she doesn’tget it.
“I’m not leaving you because you’re coming with me,” I say, my words low and quiet. Again, her eyes widen.
“I can’t come with you, Riggs,” she says, sweet and low. “I’d get in the way of everyone, of the band.”
“You heard the guys. You arepartof the band. You’re… you’re us.” She shakes her head again, her face going sad as she does.
“I’d be a burden,” she says. “The little sister wandering around, getting in the way.” My brow furrows as I stare at her, confused how she can still think that.
“You are so far from a little sister to me, it’s not even funny,” I say, taking a step toward her, and she takes a step back.
“What?”
“You heard me. You are so far from being my little sister, it’s actually comical you’d think you were.” I take another step closer to her and she follows suit, moving backward.
“Riggins,” she says, and her back bumps into a thick tree trunk. Rain starts to fall, soft and gentle.
“If you were my sister, it would be incredibly fucked to think about you the way I do every day.”
“Riggins,” she whispers, and soon, I’m pressed against her, her breaths pushing against my chest.
“Riggs,” I whisper back.
“What?”
“I’m always Riggs to you. And you’re my little star. Ironic when you’re my goddamn sun, when my entire world revolves around you.”
“Riggs.” It’s almost inaudible now, but I watch her lips form the word.
“I’m going to kiss you now, Stell,” I say, then wait for her to argue.
I’m so fucking this up.
I planned so many things while I was on the road, so many things to tell her, so many ways to confess this to her, but now I’m fucking it all up, and she’s going to say no, and our friendship will be fucked forever —
“Okay,” she whispers, my heart beating out of my chest with the single word.
One word, two syllables, and both of our lives are changing forever.
I close the gap between us, gently pressing my lips to the lips of my best friend in the entire fucking world, and everything changes in a heartbeat.
The rain starts to come down hard, soaking us through instantly despite the tree cover, and the gentle press turns into a fevered sliding of lips against lips. Her hands move, one to my jaw, the other behind my back, mine going to her hips to hold her close. Her mouth opens, and I slide my tongue into her mouth, tasting her for the first time. She lets out a tiny moan, a sound so precious I know I’ll keep it in my mind forever.
We stay like that for what feels like hours, kissing and tasting and learning each other, pressed against a tree as it rains, kissing my girl on her birthday and somehow, I know this will be forever.
But right now, there’s nothing in this world except for Stella and me. Despite everything in this universe, I found her, and she found me, and it was always supposed to be this way.
By the time we stopped kissing, the rain had stopped, and the sky clearing to reveal the stars. I contemplate heading back to the house, but then I remember what we left there and decide to continue deeper into the woods. It takes a bit to reach our clearing, but when I do, I pull the blanket out of the bag in my guitar case, thankful the waterproof case kept both my guitar and the blanket with the waterproof lining dry, even though we’re both soaking wet regardless. I spread it out in silence before grabbing Stella’s hand and forcing her to lay down with me there, guitar and her bag long forgotten in the grass.
We lay on our sides facing each other and slowly, I take in her face, all the small subtle changes I missed over the past six months.
