teen-romance

They sat and he drew her into him. Their lips met, sparking an internal firework display. His soft exquisite lips pressed gently against hers. His kiss held the exact right balance between tenderness and a kind of passionate urgency.

She gave a low and delighted chuckle. Her eyes were black as a moonless December night and reflected the electric lights like stars.

Beau, what is it you want?""A porch," he says softly. He says it like it's my name, and right then, I think, what both of us want more than anything is something we can never have. "All I really want is to build a house with a nice, big porch that gets used every day.

Ari is beautiful beyond comparison, and she has my heart and my soul for eternity. I thought I made that abundantly clear last night, but it appears I have further work to do.

I can feel Ari__ mounting excitement the farther we walk. She__ bouncing up and down like a kangaroo on speed. I feel the bulk of the box pressing against my leg as we walk, and I contemplate all that I__e decided to tell her tonight. Lifting my head, I stare in awe at the light of a thousand stars illuminating the dark, night sky. The setting really couldn__ be any more romantic, any more perfect.

I kiss her for way too long at the door, and not for the first time, I wish that I could stay with her, to help chase those dark clouds away.

Ari looks fiercely resolute. It__ the same look she has on her face at the start of every race: Dogged determination. My heart and head enter into full-on combat mode.

Do you fancy catching a movie at the Sturbridge Theater tonight? That new Robert Pattinson movie is showing,_ I ask her, the phone cradled against my chest.__efinitely sign me up for that!_ Ari replies, chuckling as I mock scowl. Her easy laugh warms my soul. __e__e in,_ I tell Gil, arranging to meet him and his date in the diner later. __o, who is it this time?_ Ari asks, resting her chin in her hands. __nyone we know?_ Considering I can count the girls on one hand who have enjoyed more than one date with Gil, I doubt it__l be someone familiar. __ didn__ ask; guess we__l find out soon enough.___ive bucks says it__ a blonde,_ Ari quips. __hat__ one bet I__ not taking,_ I admit, twirling a lock of her hair around my finger. __il__ penchant for blondes is world-renowned.

I won__ pressure you, Ari, but I__ not opposed to subtle acts of persuasion.

Heaviness coats my brain, and I__ surprised at the turn in our conversation; we__e getting into the deep stuff. __ight now, you and me? This feels like fate, if fate can be felt.

There__ a part of me that recognizes him on a cellular level, a part that seeks his comfort and solace, that feels more than comfortable in his arms. And when he stares at me with that deep penetrating gaze of his, my body reacts in all the right, and wrong, ways.

Shunting closer, I snuggle into his chest, soaking up his fresh woodsy scent. His arms encircle me and pull me close. __ou always smell like home,_ I whisper under my breath. Smooth, soft fingers tilt my chin upward, and I__ startled when my face meets his. Tears glisten in his eyes as he looks at me adoringly. Pressing his forehead to mine, he kisses me sweetly, his lips making brisk tantalizing sweeps across my mouth.__y heart is your home,_ he whispers, his voice breathless. __t always will be.

Oh, oh. My heart starts that quivering, fluttering thing it does whenever he hints at his desire for me. Lacing his fingers through mine, he moves to close the gap between us. I know he__ only holding my hand, but it__ the manner in which his fingers curl around mine, and the way his eyes bore into me that makes it seem much more intimate.

Suddenly, I__ struck by the magnitude of the moment. Hurtling through the air becomes freeing, not terrifying. This time last year, I was suffocating within the confines of my life. I would__e done anything to escape. That my life has come full circle is as exhilarating as it is scary. Life is for living. For moments like this.

I looked at Victor, my heart swelling from the emotion. __hen I die, please do the same ceremony for me,_ I whispered, choking up. __his is the most captivating and emotional event I have ever been part of._____ afraid you__l have to ask somebody else for that because if you die before me I won__ survive it._ He kissed the tip of my nose. I gazed at him with so much love that my heart almost burst out of my chest.