Chapter 7

June 3, 2019

Eventually, days of my routine turned into weeks and before I knew it, it was June. The name of the month is a painful reminder, I'll be okay, I have to be. Plus, I have Jay now, that makes it about a hundred times. Without him, I don't know if I would even be able to get out of bed in the morning. Maybe we haven't even kissed yet, but I'm okay with taking it slow. As long as I get to spend my nights, sunrises, and sunsets with him, nothing else in the world matters.

"You'd think that after so many hours of tennis you would actually be good," Jay's laughing, his eyes sparkling.

"You're so mean," I'm laughing too, jogging over there to get the ball I totally hit too hard.

"It's not mean if it's true," The corner of his mouth turns up into the perfect smirk before he turns away to get the ball for me. When he returns to me with it, he pauses before handing it to me. His face is only inches from mine. His lips are only inches from mine. My heart is racing and my palms are sweaty as he brushes a piece of my hair out of my face, tucking it behind my ear.

"God, you're beautiful, you know that?" His voice is hardly a whisper, but it's all I can hear in this moment. He moves another piece of hair behind my ear, but this time he lets his hand rest on the side of my face, looking into my eyes. Slowly, he leans in, placing his other hand on my face. In a single, perfect moment, he kisses me. For a moment, I think that the ground is spinning beneath my feet. It's soft and sweet, but hot and needy at the same time. It's everything, all at once, and for a moment, the world is still and I forget how to think.

"I.. I think.." I find myself stumbling over my words out of shock, "No, I know," I correct myself, "I love you Jay," The last four words come easily, like I've been saying them my entire life.

"I love you too, Brooklyn," He looks down at me for a moment before leaning in to kiss me again.