Heather and Raven

I Just Did That

By the time I drop down on the couch that evening, I'm exhausted. Like, I-don't-want-to-ever-get-off-this-couch-again exhausted. I'm glad I already had a late lunch with the girls because I can't imagine having to get up and cook something for myself. But this is apparently the summer of wishful thinking, because the fucking doorbell rings. Of course it does.

I'm tempted to just let whoever's outside stay there, but they're insistent because the damn thing keeps ringing. So I drag my ass off the couch and over to the door, and open it, only to wish I'd been more stubborn about not opening it. Because standing on the threshold is none other than Raven May.

I'm so surprised by his very presence, that it takes me a second to realize that one; he's dressed in a fucking tuxedo, and two; he's holding a bouquet of... Dahlias. Too tired to really think of anything else, I lean against the doorway and sigh.

"Kate?"

"Kate," he confirms with a sheepish smile that disappears almost immediately. "I'm sorry, Heather. I'm sorry for telling Justin, and I'm sorry for lying to you. The truth is..." He pauses to take a deep breath. "Well, I'm sure you already know, but I was in love with you. I am in love with you. And when you asked if I was in love with Kate, I panicked."

"Kinda like when I thought you were going to tell Justin."

He nods. "I'm also sorry for suggesting we should go through with that whole fake-dating thing."

"That definitely gets a whole lot weirder now that I know you were in love with me the whole time," I agree. "But I get it. I mean... I guess Kate already told you as much, but I- I fell in love with you, Raven."

And from the way those brilliant blue eyes widen, I can tell that he did, in fact, not know. So, I just did that. Okay. Fucking great.

"Wait, what?"

Because I've already blurted it out, I shrug and repeat: "I'm in love with you. And I forgive you."

He's looking at me like he can't quite believe I'm real. And honestly, this entire moment doesn't feel real. But then Raven smiles, and it's like the sun breaking through the clouds on a cold winter day.

"Then I guess I should give you these," he says, holding the dahlias out for me.

I accept them, valiantly suppress the urge to bury my face in the sweet-smelling flowers, and then look back at him. "Thank you. They're... Well, not my favorites; but definitely up there."

He laughs, looks me in the eyes, and asks: "Heather, can I kiss you?"

I don't respond. No, I put the flowers on the shoe-rack, step outside and grab the front of that ridiculous tuxedo to pull him closer. Then I respond. I look up at him and say: "Do you even have to ask?"

Raven smiles, and I feel his hands on my waist and back. "I guess I don't."

And then he kisses me, and it finally feels perfect. There's no panic, no confusion. I let my eyes fall shut as his lips meet mine, and the entire world falls away. Now, it's really just us. I wish I could live in this moment, with the evening sun warming my skin and Raven's fingers on the small stretch of exposed skin right above my hip. But humans unfortunately have to do a thing called breathing, and that's kind of difficult when you're kissing someone else, so we have to draw away eventually.

It's not so bad, now that I can see the incredibly soft grin that's playing around Raven's lips. For a while, we just stand there, Raven leaning his forehead against mine, just taking each other in. I am so stupidly, so absolutely in love with this boy.

"I wish I could stay here forever with you," he mumbles, and it's such a close mirror to my earlier thought that my heart jolts a little, "but unfortunately, we have somewhere to be."