Eye for Love - Natalie & Rafael - Something New

Something New

Rafael's POV
————————

I woke up Sunday morning to Natalie sleeping on my chest, just like she usually does. But this time is different. This time she's officially my girlfriend. And I think I could stay with her like this for the rest of my life.

My mind wanders as I gaze down at the sleeping beauty in front me. I finally got over my fear. I've wanted her for so long and could just never admit it to myself for fear of ruining our friendship. But was our friendship ever really platonic?

We might have been claiming that for well over a decade but I've had actual feelings for her since we first kissed. And I know she's had feelings for me since at least prom.

I can't imagine why none of our previous relationships worked out...

Natalie lifts her head off of my chest and yawns as she wakes up to greet the day. And I lean over to plant a light kiss on my girlfriend's cheek.

"Good morning, love."

Nat lightly blushes as I say it. I know I'm very obvious in my feelings for her - I know she knows what me saying that word means. And I appreciate that she's going to let me come to terms with that on my own... because I know exactly how she feels about me. I wouldn't let myself believe it for awhile but her true feelings have been evident on her face for months now. She's in love.

And for the first time in years, I feel like I deserve love. I feel like I deserve her love.

Natalie shivers and I realize that the blanket is hardly covering us. And it's not like either of us are wearing anything right now - pretty much what happens when you both fall asleep right after sex. "Are you cold?"

"A little bit."

"Here." I reach down and cover us in the blanket, allowing us to be enveloped in it's warmth on a chilly morning.

"Thank you, Rafe."

"I can't have my girlfriend getting cold," I say in response, amusing myself at my infatuation with the word.

"You seem to really like that word, boyfriend."

"What's not to like?" And I love being able to call her my girlfriend. But I don't plan to use the word girlfriend forever.... No, my plans for her are far bigger than that. We might just be at the beginning of our official relationship but I meant what I said to her - I'm all in.

"So how are we going to tell everyone about this?"

"I figured we'd keep it to ourselves for now. Not that I don't want to tell anyone!" Because god, I want to tell everyone. I'd shout it from the rooftops if I knew they wouldn't make a big deal about it. "I just know our friends and family are going to get all over us."

"You mean our friends who have been all over us for years now?"

"And they've been even more relentless since you moved back." They've always tried to push us together but we're both stubborn people, digging our heels into the sand rather than face the inevitable truth. But since Nat moved home, they've been on another level. I guess I can't blame them, though - it worked this time.

"You know Claire's going to figure it out as soon as she and Jack get back from Paris."

"She'll probably figure it out while they're still in Paris." I mean, it took her all of 30 seconds to figure out when Nat and I slept together for the first time. I want us to keep this to ourselves for now but I know that will only last until we see Claire again.