"I love you," I whispered as I ran my hands through her hair, "more than you will ever know." She shifted under my touch and I jumped backwards quickly.
"Cadence," she asked, "is that you?"
"Yes," I whispered, "I'm here." I froze due to the nerves. She reached for me and I moved in so she could feel my skin. She cupped my face and I tensed.
"I did," she muttered, "I heard what you said." I closed my eyes and waited for her to speak again. She didn't and I knew she was waiting for me to say something. To deny it, or to lie about it. I couldn't, and had been for far too long.
"Cat," I started and hated myself for the shaking in my voice, "there's no need to lie about it anymore. I love you," I stopped, "but I don't just love you, I'm in love with you, my best friend." She gasped and I knew what was coming next. Rejection, hatred, failure.
"Was that flirting? It kind of felt like flirting. No. Couldn't be. She just thinks the senior girl is cool, like all of my sister's other friends. I was just wishing it was flirting. She's the new girl, she's super cute, and she makes me feel really good about myself. It's normal, I assured myself, but in no way could I let this turn into a crush."
Coming out just before her freshman year of high school, Analee didn't have an LGBTQ community to join. In her small town, she WAS the LGBTQ community. When two new girls move into town her senior year, one older, one younger, everything changes for her. It turns out falling in love is harder than she thinks. Even with a steadfast belief in true love, Analee finds navigating romance, friendships, and family something that has to be figured out one day at a time.