"Riles, wait up," I say chasing after the girl with the cascading brown hair down the street. She stops, to my surprise and I smile at her as she turns around and gives me the look. I fell in love with her the moment she fell into my lap on the subway, sure I did get confused when Maya liked me, but Riley Matthews was always my number one choice.
It was senior year, we had been dating for nearly three and a half years. She was the most amazing girlfriend of all time, she always surprised me with her wits, corny jokes and beautiful smile. It was a November afternoon in New York City, the leaves bled their vibrant orange onto the gray concrete, we were walking home from school. It was surprisingly hot for November in New York City, but sometimes, it just happened.
"Riley," I said with a deep breath, "I have something to tell you." She looked at me with her signature inquisitive face, which made telling her this even more difficult.
"Yes?"
"I-I got accepted into Michigan State University for their Pre-Veterinary program. I can't-" before I could finish she hugged me and it took me a second before I hugged back. I squeezed her tiny waist so tight, I never wanted to let go.
"Lucas, that's so amazing, I'm so proud of you." I grinned so widely and I couldn't help but kiss her. I kissed her, yea, so the author hasn't had her first kiss (because she spends her nights writing instead of going out with boys), so she doesn't really know how to describe it. She kissed back and we stood so closely with our lips locked, it felt like forever.
I finally pulled away and asked, "So you're not mad?"
"How could I be mad that you got into your dream school? I love you so much," she giggled as she pushed my hair back and went in for a second kiss. Riley had this dream where we both went to NYU, she studies English and I am a Pre-Vet student. She talked about it almost everyday leading up to application day, so I thought I would break her heart, but I didn't.
"I love you more," I replied.
Five months later...
"I can't believe you, Lucas!" Riley shouted as she slammed her bedroom door in my face.
"Riley, just let me talk to you. I'm sorry, are those the words you want to hear?" I spoke into the door, leaning against the door frame.
"No!" she shouted back.
"I think it's best if you leave her alone for a while," said Mr. Matthews from down the hallway.
"I don't understand, Mr. Matthews," I walked towards him, his arms spread as he awkwardly went in for a hug.
"I know, buddy."
She knew this day would come, she did, I thought to myself. She was so happy when I told her, Why was she mad now? Wait, I know, it's because I said something a little dumb. But Riley just remembered.
Three months earlier...
"Riles, I think we need to talk about college. What are we going to do if you're here and I'm, not here?" I asked as she sat her head on my chest leaned up against me.
"Well, we will try to make it work, won't we?"
"What if we took a break?"
She immediately lifted her head, turned to me and asked, "Ok, Lucas. Sure. That sounds like an excuse for you to meet other girls."
"That wasn't my point, I just think it'd be harder for us to worry about each other and our studies and being away from home," I replied.
"Lucas, what about when you come home for the holidays? What do we do then?"
"I—I don't know."
"Maybe we should figure this out later then," she put her head back on my chest and I proceeded to rub her hair.
Back to five months later...
It was later.
"Riley, please," I went back up to the door and pleaded.
"No, Lucas, I don't want to lose you and maybe if we start not seeing each other right now, it'll be easier when it's a reality."
"You're being irrational, Riley!" As I said that the door swung open, and I knew I messed up.
"I'm being irrational? Lucas, I want to make this work, but you-you don't! I want you, that's all I want! Whether you're in Michigan or in the Mediterranean, I want you! I want to be with you, everyday, rain or shine," she said getting into my face with tears welling up in those beautiful, big brown eyes.
I did mess up, I really did. "I love you, I'm so sorry. I messed up, I'm sorry. I just got so scared of the future, I tried to rush it. I hope you can forgive me," I cried, we both did. Riley had so many tears in her eyes that she couldn't give an actual response, and just hugged me tightly. "I will love you rain or shine, Riles."
