Dancing in the Rain | ✓

Chapter 23: Nobody Said It Was Easy

Sophia's skin was warm and soft under his touch as Eli kept discovering every single inch of her body. Her sweater had been tossed to the floor and now she was only wearing a black tank top and a pair of yoga pants. Her eyes were half-closed and her lips parted as she laid next to Eli. "What are we doing?" She asked at some point pressing a kiss right below Eli's ear.

"I don't know." Eli admitted entwining their fingers together. Only a small lamp standing on the bedside table was switched on creating an intimate atmosphere. Despite the poor light source everything was more clear than ever. Sophia's eyes seemed more green than ever, her smell even more inviting. They had been so close for years but only now Eli was sure that they were close enough.

And the image of Sophia in Eli's mind was not perfect. In fact, even if he wanted Eli wouldn't be able to count all of her flaws. But somehow he was able to look past all those imperfections and notice what was really there.

"You have a girlfriend." Sophia pointed out but made no effort to move away from Eli.

The boy looked away for a moment, only now remembering about Avery. Now she seemed like a dim memory, a faint thought bound to break away and flee his mind in comparison to Sophia. She had always been there for him, even in his darkest moments, ready to hold his hand and walk him through hell. Only now Eli was realizing that his feelings for her never really went away, they were just buried and disguised as a really close friendship.

Now Eli felt like he was waking up from a dream and discovering everything for the first time all over again. "I do." Eli replied.

"What about her then? What about me?" Sophia asked, resting her head on Eli's chest. "What does it all mean to you?"

"It means that I've been blind and couldn't see how much you loved me and how much I loved you." Eli said not even knowing if he was making any sense, but he was drunk on emotions, and therefore unable to form any coherent thoughts.

"I want to believe it's real. I really do." Sophia said softly, barely above a whisper. "But you always kept saying that we were just friends...even when you found out about my feelings."

"I can't really explain it." Eli said. "I just realized how important you were for me and how I couldn't lose you no matter what. I was taken back to that damn prom." The girl lifted up her head to look at Eli. "If I could go back in time I would have told you something. I would have confessed my feelings."

Sophia smiled slightly. "Me too." They were both silent for a moment before she asked. "So what now?"

"I will have to break up with Avery." Eli said, not happy at the prospect of that conversation. "There's no other option. At least I can't see any." He smirked. "Unless you want to live in a threesome." He joked.

"You're a pig!" Sophia exclaimed punching his chest lightly even though her shoulders were shaking with laughter. "I am so happy, Eli." She said, more seriously. "You have no idea how long I have been dreaming about this."

The boy ran his hand through her fluffy hair, smiling sadly. "I'm sorry you had to wait so long."

"It's okay now." Sophia said lifting herself up and straddling Eli. She leaned down, cupping the boy's face and kissing his lips. "I have everything now that I could ever wish for."

Eli kissed back, thinking exactly the same. "I love you." He whispered right into the girl's ear. They had confessed love to each other many times already but now it seemed to carry a completely different meaning.

"I love you too." Sophia said with a blinding smile.

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When they returned from Colorado everything was exactly the same, and yet drastically different. Avery still wasn't home from her own hometown, which made the atmosphere a little awkward and tense once again. Eli felt weird kissing Sophia or holding hands with her and the girl apparently felt the same since most of the time they just acted like friends, even though now, after tasting her lips and touching her body, Eli wanted so much more than that.