Page 157 of Falling Like This

“Aaron,” I whisper.

He leans in and kisses me. Closed lips. A gentle peck. “I love you.”

“I love you, too. So stupid much. And I always have. When you said that, I thought you were crazy, but then you kissed me and I knew. I knew for the rest of my life there was no one for me but you.”

He brings his lips to mine again, but this time it’s raw and emotional. Tongue-in-mouth, hot, powerful kisses. I lean into him and he pulls us over.

And then, before I know what’s happening, his hand slides inside my shorts. I reach for his shorts and unbutton them, then I tug them down. He fumbles with the button on my shorts, then pulls them down, followed by my underwear. I push his boxers down and then he’s inside me.

I’m lying under the slide where we first kissed, having sex with the love of my life, wearing a jersey with his last name on the back.

Rae Cooper sounds like a good name. I could see myself being Rae Cooper one day.

I know that day won’t be any time soon—I want to enjoy building our relationship together first—but this feels like the ultimate version of that promise.

Aaron’s hand slides up into my hair as we move together, lost in each other like we always are.

I can’t believe we’re doing it in public, under a slide, where anyone could probably come along and discover us, but like I said, I’m shameless with him. Once I feel his touch, it’s all I know.

It’s over in minutes, but it fulfills our needs, both physically and emotionally.

We pull our pants back on, but lie together for a little while longer, enjoying this full-circle moment in our relationship.

I feel invigorated, sexy, and a little naughty.

“It really is amazing with us,” I whisper.

“Yeah it is.” He gives me another long, slow kiss. “Now, I have one last stop for us.”

We grab the blanket and head back to his truck. He drives us back to my house and leads me up to the deck. We walk over to one specific spot and sit down.

“This is it. The place of our firstrealkiss,” he says, eyes dancing.

“Oh, I remember. I came up to the deck feeling sorry for myself and left feeling on top of the world. Those kisses were pure magic.”

“My biggest regret was not asking you out right then and there. Those kisses changed everything inside me. But at the same time, I was just happy you were smiling again. Jake didn’t know what he missed out on.”

I laugh a little. “I don’t think he would’ve had quite the same reaction to those kisses.”

He shrugs. “Probably not. But that whole day was big for us. The kisses. Your nickname.”

I lean in and gently kiss his lips. “Thank you for tonight, Ace. Seriously, my heart feels so full right now. I love that you remember these moments and feel them as strongly as I do.”

He wraps an arm around me and gazes into my eyes. He doesn’t say anything, he just kisses my forehead. Then he looks up at the sky. “What do you think? Should we make some wishes?”

I look up at the sky and then back at Aaron. “You know what? Let’s save them for someone else tonight. It sounds so cheesy, but I feel like all my wishes are coming true with you.”

He laughs. “Maybe a little cheesy. Let’s enjoy this beautiful night, then.”

He lies down and pulls me against his chest, and we stare up at the night sky, wrapped tightly together.

My mind drifts to the conversations we’ve had tonight, all the talk about forever. Even though I want to believe it, forever is a big word at eighteen. It’s hard to believe we could really have it. It almost seems too easy.

I sneak a glance at him. His perfectly chiseled jaw, his fluffy blond hair, his strong arms. Arms that have always protected me and made me feel safe. And that’s only what I can see. There’s so much more that I can’t. His big heart, his love for his friends, his protective instinct, the way he loves me.

My gaze returns to the stars and even though we said we weren’t making wishes, I find the brightest star anyway and let my heart whisper the words that it’s been silently saying since I first realized I was in love with him.

I hope Aaron and I will have forever together.

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