annie
i had lived in maryland for so long, and had spent so many days spent laying on my couch, isolated from the outside world due to the snow. still, the vibrant flakes coating times square in a magical blanket came as a surprise to me, as jayden and i stepped out the doors of our hotel.
"annie! it's snowing!" jayden threw her arms out and began twirling around me. i started giggling and joined her, giddy on the feeling that we were invincible.
"make a wish!" i yelled, grabbing jayden's hand.
"what?"
"that's what you do when it snows!"
"you're insane!" she laughed, pulling us towards the starbucks just across from us. i quickly ran up to the seats by the fireplace, claiming them as ours, and scooted my chair closer to the heat.
"i can't believe it's december already," jayden said, passing me my latte i had ordered back in the hotel room, "it definitely doesn't feel like it in la."
"i love the winter. it's so magical. everything is new and pretty and there's so many endless possibilities." jayden smiled, and i wondered what for.
"i'm really glad you're happy," she said, as if she had read my mind.
"how can i not be? i'm with you."
there was a moment. a fleeting glance and a soft brush of my fingers across jayden's knee. she looked at me and i barely caught the flicker of emotion in her eyes. maybe it was love, or admiration. i didn't know what i felt and i wasn't sure what it meant, but i think that small heartbeat of a second is the closest to heaven i'll ever be.
and i think, just maybe, she felt it too.
