We Found Love

eighteen

My eyes widen, not sure if what I heard was real or if I was just hallucinating.

Emery, I like you.

"I," I trail off, trying to articulate some sort of sentence. But I was so surprised that I could think of nothing.

August smiles amusingly. "What, cat got your tongue?"

I blink, now aware of the situation and I put my hands on my hips. "August. This better not be some sort of joke or I will actually kick you."

He laughs. and copies my stance. "Emery. I'm not joking. I feel the same way as you do."

I scoff in disbelief and look around unsure on what to say next. "But, but why?" I ask. "I've been thinking about it, and we are so not compatible. I can't take care of you, sometimes I'm not able to distinguish between a joke and something serious, and-"

"Emery," August stops me. "Do I have to explain my feelings to you with logic?" He smiles. "I just like you. I'm not sure when it all happened, but I knew that on that beach I wanted to make a move and show you how I felt."

My head was spinning just thinking about what just happened. August Gilmore, saying he likes me back?

"But then, what were all the things you did during the vacation?" I asked. "Lawrence said that whatever you do in public is usually fake, so you were probably just being romantic for the sake of-"

"Why would you listen to Lawrence?" August stops me once more. "He may be my best friend, but he's not me. I did those things because I actually do like you."

Why the hell am I not able to wrap my head around this? Emery, do you really have that low of self-esteem that you can't accept the fact that the person you like likes you back?

August notices the conflicting expression in my face and sighs, grabbing my hand. I glance at our hands and then at August. "You don't have to think about this, you know? Trying to come up with some explanation, or trying to twist what I'm saying into something negative." He says. "Or, do you no longer like me back?"

My eyes widen and I immediately shake my head. "No! No, August, I still like you. In fact," my cheeks heat up as I speak. "After the kiss, my feelings towards you amplified. That's why I've been so cautious around you, but I thought you still didn't feel the same and I was going to end up heartbroken."

Before August could say anything back, the wind blows past us and we shiver. "How about we continue this conversation inside?" I suggest.

August nods. "Good idea."

We quickly pack up the materials and head back to our apartment, putting the items in a neat pile in the corner of the living room. "Do you want something warm to drink?" August asks.

I nod. "Yeah, that'd be great," I sit down at the living room couch and watch August as he makes some tea and hands me a cup when he's finished.

"So," August says.

"So," I repeat, taking a sip of the tea and feeling warm once more.

"What's gonna happen now?" I blurt out. August blinks, taken aback by my outburst. "What?" He asks.

"Like, we both like each other. Which I'm still trying to get myself to accept that," I mutter the last part. "But, what's next? We both know that personal relationships are decided by our agencies, and my CEO has made it clear and I can't date anyone right now and to focus on my career.

"As much as I want to date you, it's going to be so hard for me when I leave We Found Love-"

"How's that any different than what we've been doing these past few months?" August, for the third time, interrupts my rambling. "We've been experiencing this married couple life and we've grown accustomed to being each other's lives. It's going to be hard on me too, but can't we just live in the present? Enjoy the time we have right now? Why do we have to worry about the future?"