Not a Love Story

Forty-Nine // For Both Are Infinite

Benjamin Jones

Ollie and I had gone back to his house, his mom at David's and Henry out with his friends for the night. We were sitting in front of the fireplace, warm cups of hot chocolate in our hands. We'd both changed into warm clothes, Ollie finding a larger pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt that would fit me. We were huddled together under a blanket draped over our shoulders. Ollie's head rested on my shoulder as we watched the fire crackle, getting warmed up and just enjoying being with one another.

"Ben?" Ollie suddenly said, quietly.

"Yeah?" I asked, looking over at him, seeing him still looking at the flames of the fire.

"Do-when-" he stammered, lifting his head off my shoulder and looking down at his mug. I set my mug down and placed a hand on his knee, encouraging him to continue.

"What is it?" I asked.

"When we leave, for college, do you want us to stay together? Like, as boyfriends?" he asked, his voice fading into a whisper.

"What?" I softly asked. Ollie shook his head, dropping it to look back down at his mug. "Ollie, look at me." I coaxed, reaching over and placing a hand on his chin. He tilted his head towards me, his eyes shining with tears. "You think I don't want to be with you once we graduate?" I asked, my heart dropping as I said the words. He shrugged.

"I-I don't know. I just know you'll probably find someone better for you." he admitted, dropping my gaze.

"Oliver, of course I want to be with you. I will never find someone better for me than you. I promise." I placed my hand on his cheek, gently wiping a fallen tear. "Please say you believe me, Ollie. Please." I pleaded.

"I just can't help but worry." he choked out, collapsing into my arms as more tears rolled down his cheeks. I pulled him close to me, wrapping him up in my arms.

"I promise, Ollie. I promise." I murmured in his ear, feeling his tears drip on to my shoulder. I pressed a kiss to his head, feeling his breathing begin to even out. "Can I show you something?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. Ollie lifted his head and looked up at me, his eyes rimmed with red from crying, making my chest ache with sadness. He wiped a few tears away and slowly nodded.

"Yeah?" he answered, confused. I pressed another light kiss to his head before unwrapping the blanket from my shoulders and wrapping it around Ollie. He pulled it tighter around himself as I stood up, making him turn away from the fireplace to look at me, confusion etched in his face.

"I was uh, going to do this a little later. But now's a good enough time as any." I rambled, earning another confused look from Ollie. "Alright, um, just don't laugh." I said, my heart starting to speed up.

"Okay." he agreed, clearly still confused and skeptical. I cleared my throat and took a breath.

"Alright, um, here goes nothing. Uh, okay, but soft! Through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Oliver is the sun." I recited, putting emphasis on his name and smiling at him. He was looking up at me, traces of confusion still present in his eyes. "Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, who is already sick, and uh, and pale with grief. That thou his maid art far more fair than he." I paused.

"Is-are you reciting Romeo and Juliet?" he softly asked. I sheepishly smiled and nodded.

"I'm not done yet, hold on." I said, taking another breath. "And yet I wish but for the thing I have. My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my-" I paused, kneeling down in front of Ollie, seeing realization begin to dawn in his eyes. "My love as deep. The more I give to thee," I paused again, gently placing a hand on his cheek. "The more I have. For both are infinite." I whispered.

Ollie let out a light laugh, smiling as tears rolled down his cheek once again. He placed his hand over mine and cupped my face with his other hand, wiping a tear off my cheek, making me realize I was crying too.

"For both are infinite." he whispered back, relief flooding through me. I smiled and wrapped my arms around him, pulling him into a hug. Ollie wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close. I slowly pulled back and rested my forehead against his.

"I love you, Oliver." I breathed. He balked, clearly surprised by my admission as tears continued to quietly stream down his cheeks. He finally met my eyes, wiping another tear from my cheek.

"I love you, Ben." he whispered, filling me with relief. I wrapped my arms around him, hugging him as close to me as I could. "I love you." he whispered again, almost as if the words sounded foreign in his mouth. He kissed my cheek, taking my head in his hands and bringing his lips to mine. He deeply sighed into the kiss, making my lips quirk into a smile.

"I love you." I whispered against his lips, lightly kissing him. "I-" I kissed his cheek. "Love-" his nose. "You." I finished, pressing a kiss to his forehead. I looked down at him, seeing his eyes hooded, his lips parted.

"I believe you." he suddenly muttered. I smiled, sweeping him up into another deep kiss. "Yeah, I definitely believe you." he breathed, smiling as he firmly pressed his lips to mine in an earth shattering kiss.

We broke apart with swollen lips, our hot chocolate now cold.

"No matter what happens, no matter where we end up, I want to be with you. As long as you still want to be with me." I said, looking deep into his eyes. He nodded, a light smile on his face nodded.

"Deal." he agreed.

"Good." I grinned.

"Movie?" Ollie suddenly suggested.

"It's my turn to pick." I reminded, making him roll his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah." he waved me off, pressing a light kiss to my cheek before standing up and grabbing the forgotten cups of cocoa. "I'm going to put these away. Pick something." he said, gesturing to the remote on the arm of the couch. I picked up the remote and scrolled through the movies, deciding on a Christmas movie to get into the holiday spirit. "Find something?" Ollie asked, sitting next to me on the couch. "Ah, Elf. A Christmas classic." he said, lips quirking into a smile.

I nodded and started the movie, wrapping a blanket around both of us and slinging my arm over his shoulders. He relaxed into my side, placing a gentle kiss on my cheek before snuggling closer to me and lacing our hands together.

****

Hi, it's me again!

I know I've said it a million times, but thank you all SO much for the support and love for this story this week. I'm so blown away and incredibly grateful for every single one of you♡︎♡︎

x, Anne

p.s. I love reading your comments, so feel free to keep commenting, voting and sharing:)