Royally Normal

22

My only wish was that I wanted to tell my parents and Cole's parents about our relationship. It felt like every pivotal moment of my life was stolen by the media.

From walking the streets in London, hanging out with my friends, and simply having a boyfriend as most teenagers do. 

Of course, when his parents found out that we were dating, they weren't surprised at all. My parents thought Sammy and I would've been best friends to lovers, but I could never see him in that way.

Plus, he had a whole-ass girlfriend.

Now that everyone and I knew that Cole and I were officially a thing, there were more rules. Well, not really rules but guidelines.

Of course, no fooling around at weird hours, but they trusted us since we were mature young adults.

We respected that, and we weren't overly affectionate in the house.

It was nice to know that your boyfriend was always there.

Especially since he was good at writing English papers and helping me with math.

"Did you ever decide what you wanted to do for your birthday? It's in a couple of days." I said to him as we both sat in my bed.

"I think Sammy and I will just invite the crew over on Friday night. Of course, we'll probably have a family dinner on Thursday." Cole decided.

He held the bean necklace that he gave me with his fingers. "I love that you never take this off."

"My boyfriend gave it to me and I love him very much." my voice trailed off.

His body jerked and his eyes got wide.

"Jolt?" I asked him.

His ICD would always send a shock to his heart when it started to beat too quickly, and it happened now and then.

"Yeah," he confirmed. "It just feels like a strong flutter, and most of the time, I can't even feel it. I guess you made my heart race too much."

I picked up his wrist and checked his heart rate on his Apple Watch.

"nighty-nine beats per minute." I read out loud.

"That's normal for me, Bean, it will slow down in a minute." he assured me. "What's yours?"

I shrugged. "Like sixty."

"I wish there was a sharing feature that I could see your heart rate at all times. You know, just to make sure that you're alright." I went on

"Aiyla, you know I can't die from my heart as long as I have the ICD, right? At least I shouldn't." he informed me.

I took a deep breath. "That's reassuring."

"Guess what I found under my bathroom sink today? Condoms." he answered his question. "My parents put them there."

I chuckled. "I'll make sure your heart rate isn't too high when that time comes."

"The Apple Watch stays on during sex." he joked.

I kissed him. "Goodnight, we have school in the morning."

"I love you." he stood up from my head. "Sweet dreams."

It made my heart so happy every time he said it.

"I love you more." I said to Cole.

-

"You guys are coming over on Saturday for Cole and Sammy's birthday, right?" I asked my friends as we sat at our lunch table.