Closer than Ever

Chapter 31 - Confession

"Your sister said something the other day that made me think you might have some news..." my mom hints over the phone.

"My sister is a little gossip. She's in trouble, the next time I see her." We both laugh. "Was it about my love life?"

"She just said that you were spending a lot of time with a man... but she didn't give me any details."

"Huh. Well, I suppose you can probably guess who it is."

"It's that V guy, right? What's his real name?"

"Kim Taehyung. Yes. I'm writing songs in his living room right now, but he's on an airplane over, I dunno, Canada or something."

"Ah, that's right, I saw on the internet that they're going to speak at the UN! How exciting!"

I don't respond, because my eyes are welling up with tears again.

"Honey?" my mom says.

"Yeah, I'm here. I just went all teary for some stupid reason," I tell her, laughing with embarrassment.

"You're not on birth control pills again, are you?" she asks. "You know they make you all anxious and moody!"

"No, no, we use condoms. I think I'm just about to get my period."

"Oh... so, you two are..."

"Yes, we're shagging like little bunnies, when he's here." I laugh. "Oh my god, Mom, he's... he's amazing! Not just in bed, of course, he's amazing all-round. But also, damn..."

My mom laughs a little uncomfortably. "Well, good. There's nothing worse than an incompetent lover."

"Well, a few things could be worse, but that's definitely not a problem in this case. The man's a natural! But he's also sweet, and hilarious, and an amazingly creative, non-linear thinker, and crazy smart, and he loves animals and children... It's kind of hard to believe that he's real, actually. He even washes dishes, mama, and I'm starting to teach him how to cook a little bit."

"All that, plus that voice? I watched those music videos you sent, and his voice is so lovely!"

"Yeah, even his speaking voice gives me chills, and his singing voice..." I sigh, then laugh. "Sometimes I have to ask him to repeat what he just said, because I'm listening to the timbre of his voice and forget to pay attention to the words!"

My mom chuckles. "Oh, chica. You have it bad!"

"I really do, mama. It's a little scary. I've never felt like this about anyone before. I just wrote the sappiest, most ridiculous love song right before you called, and I was bawling my eyes out, sitting at the keyboard. I'm going to blame hormones, though."

"Hmm... I would probably like that song. You know that's more my style than yours. You should send me a recording."

I sigh shakily, and scoff. "I was actually going to make a rough demo to send to Tae, but I was blubbering too much to sing. Fucking ridiculous."

"Wow..." my mom says. "I can't believe it. My daughter is really in love!"

I laugh, but I feel distinctly panicky and my heart is trying to pound out of my chest. "I think I just might be. So, what's new over there? Have you heard from the twins lately? I think it's been almost five months since that little punk Caleb called me."

"Well, I think he's in love, too, or at least in lust. One of the other rafting guides from his company, a girl named Shane? Or Shana? Something like that."

I snort. "We'll see how long this one lasts."

"Um-hm. He's thinking about going back to school, but he's still not sure what he would major in, so I don't think it's a good idea yet."