Page 61 of Honest With You

He scoots behind me. The necklace is cool as it nestles against my skin. I touch the heart, the moon and the sun, in awe of how absolutely beautiful and perfect this is.

I’ve always likened Jesse to the sun.

He’s bright, warm… he shines.

While I’m the moon, perfectly at home in the dark, comfortable in my own darkness.

“I’m giving you my heart, Ava.”

My throat feels clogged and I clear it, before even attempting to look at the boy who had captured my heart all those years ago. I never fully feel like myself unless I’m with him, and for the first time in my life, I truly know what it feels like to be fully present in myself.

I turn slowly, wanting to savor this feeling of euphoria, warmth spreading across my belly and my heart thumping in tandem with the tingles I feel from head to toe.

His eyes are flying around my face like he’s committing my every feature to memory, worried he may forget if he looks away for too long.

Ocean blue eyes meet chocolate colored ones in a stare down that heats up with every single second that passes. I see what he’s not saying quite yet, so vividly it’s like he’s whispered those three words, soft enough for only me to hear. His pupils dilate, and I can tell by the sudden quickness of his breath that he sees the same emotions mirrored in mine, without my uttering a single word.

His hand comes up to cup my cheek, his lips curving slightly upward in a smile I’m seeing for the first time. He’s giving me a look that pierces my soul, because I know… I justknowhe’s only ever looked at me that way.

“You are the best damn thing to ever happen to me, Ava. We’re young, I get that, but I just know this feeling isn’t fleeting.” His thumb finds its way to my chin and he tips it upward, his lips grazing mine for what feels like a nanosecond. “Thisis the great love story I’ll be writing songs about for the rest of my life.”

He rests his forehead against mine and I find my eyes fluttering closed, as I absorb every breathtaking word that comes out of his mouth.

“Because of you, Ava, I found happiness when there was only sadness. I found love when I’ve only known betrayal. I found not just the love of my life, but my best damn friend. You know me. You accept me for who I am. With you, I’m not lonely anymore.”

“Jesse…” I breathe out.

“You make me so happy. I love you, Ava.”

My eyes fly open in time to see him lean back. I catch the back of his head with my hand and smile, tears brimming my eyes. “I love you too, Jesse.”

I watch in fascination, tears spilling down my cheeks as the smile grows infinitely bigger on his face. His eyes brighten into a cloudless sky and the storms are nowhere to be seen. “Happy birthday, Ava.”

Then he kisses me, lowering me onto the pillows and we both forget everything. Nothing else exists except for this moment, under the stars when the moon and the sun finally find each other after they’ve only ever known solitude.

Tonight they don’t exist for anyone else but themselves.

Tonight, it’s justus.

“Still nothing?”

I shake my head, not even bothering to utter the wordnoto the same question I’ve gotten all weekend.

Vanessa frowns at her phone, her eyes narrowing at her screen before she shakes her head and tosses it behind her.

“What was that?”

She waves her hand in front of her. “It’s nothing. I thought I saw something, but I’m overthinking as usual.” She attempts to smile but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes.

I tilt my head at her, shoving my problems aside so I can focus on the friend who didn’t even hesitate to come check on me when I called her last night.

“Everything okay?”

She nods enthusiastically. Too enthusiastically. But before I can ask again, my brother sticks his head into my room.

“Hey. Dinner is ready. Are you girls ready yet?”

I don’t miss the eyeroll Vanessa does and apparently, neither does Stephen because his eyes narrowed into slits. He looks positively annoyed before he clears his throat, looking away.

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