Joey Avery appears to have everything. Happiness. Loving parents. A life all mapped out. But it's all a lie. An entire life based on a lie. First of all, she's a her, not a him, though it gets people confused all the time, since her name is typicall...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Tonight, I'm taking Joey out on a date.
Today marks two months that Joey and I have been together. Two months ago, from today, we were kissing in front of that restaurant in Joey's hometown, where she was completely obsessed with the milkshakes. Two months and I feel like I've known her my whole life. In such a short time, she became the most important person to me, and I wouldn't have it any other way. She completely changed my point of view about love. She showed me what it was to truly be loved, but she also trusted me enough to let me love her. And I do.
I fucking do.
Like my sister loves her doll. Like my mom used to love my dad. Like Joey loved her mom.
Like I have never loved anyone before. With all my goddamn heart.
I have a heart. The kind that skips a beat when I see her, when she smiles at me, when she just sits in silence, reading a book, leaving me with my thoughts like in this exact moment.
"Everything's alright over there?" my girlfriend's voice calls out from the other side of the living room.
We've basically been living in my apartment since the moment I first took her here, but we still go back to our respective dorms from time to time, mostly hers, because Cole and Kayla seem to enjoy the fact I am not there all the time a little too much.
I look up, nodding at her.
"You seemed so far," she chuckles a bit.
"I was just enjoying the beautiful sight in front of me," I wink, getting up from my chair at the counter and joining her on the couch, taking a hold of her book and putting it carefully on the floor, knowing she'd yell at me if I ever ruined even just one page. "Cuddle session."
She gets up, allowing me to lay on my back, before she climbs back, putting her whole bodyweight on me, and still, she's a lightweight, a feather, I could literally fall asleep in this position, and I wouldn't wake up with a numb arm or anything. I wrap my arms and lock them in her back, tightening my hold. Her head lifts back up, her chin resting on my torso as she looks at me.
"Wanna hear our ship name?" she asks me.
I look at her confusedly, "Since when do we have a ship name?"
"Since Kayla decided she wanted to give us a ship name. And I warn you, it's awful," she laughs, and I can't help but smile at how gorgeous she looks when she's happy — and when she's wearing my hoodie that is way to big on her—.
"Go ahead. Tell me."
"Jander," she says without hesitation.
"Gender?" I make sure I understood well.
"Well, at first, it was Xoey, but then, Kayla thought, why should the guy's name be first? Why can't it be the girl's? And Jander was kind of the only option that worked with my name first. Plus, it kind of worked since it became a question of Jander."
