It's Time

The Day is Here

The day has finally come. All of the dress shopping, the cake tasting, the mild disagreements, and the countless hours spent planning all for this very day. It is exactly how I dreamed it to be, well, almost. I've been planning this day since I was a teenager. Every detail but one, just as I imagined it.

At sixteen years old, I met my best friend. Everything in my life became brighter that day; everything I knew changed. We spent every day together until we didn't. We shared millions of laughs until they transitioned to millions of tears.

I still remember the first time he told me he loved me and not like his best friend but truly loved me. That day didn't feel real, much like today.

"Olivia, honey, I've been calling your name for the past two minutes. What has you so focused over there?" I am jolted out of my thoughts by my mother's voice.

"Sorry, mom, just wedding day jitters," I lie.

I fidget with the necklace in my hand. I know I can't put it on, not here, not today. Still, I needed it.

"Spencer, hurry up in there! I swear it takes you longer to get ready than any female I've ever met." This man has no sense of time.

"You can't rush perfection, Olivia; you know this." I smile at his response as I think about how many times he has told me I'm simply perfect.

I have been feeling stuck creatively lately, which has led to me producing less photography. I need to finish my portfolio if I'm going to submit it to UCLA's art department in enough time to start next fall. Spencer came up with the idea that for my birthday this year, he would give me inspiration.

This is how we ended up in the middle of nowhere in the mountains of Colorado, wholly disconnected from everyone and everything. I still have no idea how he convinced our parents to allow us to take this trip. He is full of surprises.

I peek out the windows at the trees covered in snow, and for the first time in months, I see it. I run to grab my camera and capture the most magnificent view in front of me. "Spencer," I scream, "You're missing it!" My raised voice finally goads him out of the bathroom.

"There," I point. I turn to look at his obviously confused face causing me to let out a light laugh. The wrinkle in his forehead and his scrunched nose, while very cute, is always a dead giveaway. I pull the camera strap up on my shoulder, allowing the camera to fall to my side before grabbing his hand and pulling him to where I'm standing.

I again point to my right, and his face lights up. You know the kind of smile that takes up your entire face, where your eyes sparkle and all of your pearly whites slowly reveal themselves; the infectious kind. He sees it; the bird perched peacefully on the tree branch as snow falls all around. He squeezes my hand, "stillness," we say in unison.

"Liv, these are brilliant!" Spencer says as he looks through the shots I took.

I stand across from him, eager to watch his face as he views my work. Photography is my passion, and many people tell me I'm very good at it. Still, knowing what Spencer thinks is enough to shape my entire perspective. Brilliant. He thinks my work is brilliant.

A single tear starts to fall from my eye, and I'm not sure why. I am completely overcome with emotion right now. He honestly just gets me.

"Woah, Liv! Don't cry." He rushes to my side, raising his hand to wipe the single tear now traveling down my cheek, allowing his hand to linger just a second longer. The average eye wouldn't notice the intimacy laced in this moment, but I felt it; we felt it.

I shake my head and squeeze my eyes. "Just happy my creative juices are flowing again." I look up at him as I smile with my eyes.

"Never doubted you for a second, Liv," he says as he squeezes my shoulder.

Just as fast as the moment came, it went. Whatever it was, now was not the time or the place.

Spencer glances out the back door at the patio, "hot tub?" he asks with a smirk on his face.

"Spencer, it is seven degrees outside and actively snowing... there's no way you're serious." He laughs, his entire face lighting up.

"Oh, but my dear Olivia, I am very serious." I can't help but smile at the boyish grin on his face right now. He thinks he can just bat those unfairly long eyelashes of his at me, and I'll do whatever he says. There is not a chance in hell that I'll be getting in that hot tub, and honestly, he shouldn't, either. He opens the door allowing the harsh cold air to flow in. "Come on, Liv. I dare you." He winks at me, knowing how competitive I am.

"Not happening, Spence." He won't tempt me into that pneumonia trap via reverse psychology, not today.

"Okay, I didn't want it to be this way." Before I know it, he has me off the ground and over his shoulder, running out of the back door.

"SPENCER, YOU PUT ME DOWN RIGHT THIS MINUTE." My demand was falling on deaf ears. I'll never forgive him. I let out a light laugh at the thought. I could never stay mad at him.

My internal dialogue is broken by the freezing temperature outside that seems to fade instantly as I feel myself waist-deep in water. "Not that bad, right?" he smirks at me.

"Not that bad," I shrug my shoulders, splashing water in his direction.

He scoots closer to me as I rest my head on his shoulder. "Hey, Spence," I say softly, gazing straight ahead. "Thanks for knowing me better than I know myself."

I feel some movement in the water before I notice him interlacing his fingers with mine. "Knowing you is the most natural thing I've ever done, Olivia Baker." I smile at his words and notice us playing with each other's thumbs under the water.

"Hey, Liv," he says, slightly mimicking my earlier inquiry prompting me to look up at him. "I'm so grateful I get to experience life with you. You're simply perfect."

I stare at him for what feels like an eternity. I don't know what comes over me, but I lean in closer to him, searching his eyes desperately for confirmation. In the deepest pit of my stomach, I secretly hope he stops me because if I do this, we can never go back. Ever.

He doesn't move, not even an inch, but he tells me with his eyes what he needs. I close the remaining space between our lips as we crash into each other. Our hands still entwined under the water, his tongue knocks at the entrance of my lips, and I slightly part them inviting him in. He deepens the kiss while simultaneously squeezing my hand.

We slowly pull away from each other, the tension palpable. "I'm sorry-"

"I love you," I begin to finish my thought before I pause at Spencer's revelation.

"I love you, Olivia. I spend almost every moment of every day with you, and it still doesn't feel like enough. My first thought in the morning when I wake up is you, and I see your face, that radiant smile, every night before I go to sleep. You're my very best friend, and in learning you, I discovered myself. I search for the stillness in my most stressful moments, and I can hear it in the silence, your laugh—it centers me. I love you."

I stand looking in the mirror at my now finished makeup; it is truly stunning. I walk over to the closet where my custom wedding dress is hanging, every detail matching the sketch I made at a mere eighteen years old. While most brides have a team of people helping them get ready, I wanted to be alone. I wanted to sit and feel it all.

I slip on my dress, zipping it up as far as I could. I would need someone's help to zip the dress the rest of the way. I feel a hand graze mine as I begin to release the zipper. I know that hand. They finish zipping up my dress, and I turn around. Spencer?

"You're simply perfect," he says with the most intoxicating smile on his face, and all the air rushes out of my lungs as my knees get weak. Spencer.