FALLING AROUND YOU ➵ DANIEL SEAVEY ➵ SEQUEL

30 ➵ The Next Step

Nothing justified why I didn't want to take the next step except fear.

I was petrified, really. If we keep going, continue with this, then it meant everything between us  was real. It meant that this wasn't just a telltale about my first love, or a list of regrettable decisions because of how naive I am at this age. The emotions, the feelings, the relationship would be set in stone. It meant that everything from my past, previous issues and all, would be my future. It also meant I was growing up and growing with Daniel.

"You are too good to me, you know?" I brushed my hand along his cheek.

He chuckled, resting his on top of mine. "I do know actually. How do I even put up with you?" he jabbed.

"Because you have a good heart."

Here's the thing about someone with a good heart. They are the ones that give excuses when you don't explain yourself, accept apologies that you don't give. They see the best in you when you don't need them to. They lift you back up , even if that means putting their own priorities aside. They make time for you, even when they don't have any. Daniel did all those things and more. He's selfless, caring more about me than his own wellbeing.

"I love you," I said it, as if it was a reminder to both of us.

"I love you, admire you, adore you," I giggled at words. "I could easily say you've changed my life in every way possible. That sounds so cheesy and gross, but it's the true. You are literally making me sound like a grandma."

I loved the way he looked at me in that moment. It was as if he heard music in my laughter, saw poetry in my words.

Daniel chuckled, raising an eyebrow. "Does that mean you're accepting to my offer?"

"You make it seem simple."

He pulled into at my hands, gripping them tightly. "It is this simple, Sienna. I want to wake up and have you there. I want to be able to make you pancakes in the morning and sing stupid lullabies when we're half asleep before bed. I want the security. I want to know that this relationship could be more someday, because I really hope I could."

I stood there, staring at the boy I loved so dearly, afraid of my next few words. The small smile couldn't be wiped off my face, proud that I could vividly say my feelings out loud and think it in my mind. I remembered the times I tried convincing myself that I didn't love Daniel, those times being much farther in the past than I realize. I remembered the second I tried to tell myself I wasn't in love was the moment I realized I was.

"I'll do it."

Another pair of three little words I was afraid to say but did. Daniel's smile held too many emotions to decipher. He looked beautiful in the moonlight, gliding on his skin, making his eyes seem a darker blue than they really are. The moon and the stars were more than envious at that moment because Daniel held an indescribable glow.

My fingers traced his skin, glancing from his eyes and down to his lips. Daniel's touch was gentle, grabbing the small of my back. There was something so delicate about the moment, so fragile. I felt like I was hanging by a thin, tenuous thread, unknowing when my lips would touch his. I could feel it twisting above me, gently fraying, slowly giving in.

The kiss was healing the fears that torment me too often. My lips felt like a bridge for his emotions to flood into. It wasn't needy or small, but intimate and needed. We spoke more words in the kiss, words I wasn't sure how to say out loud.

It was that moment I realized he was the one I want forever. There was no argument, no foul worry. He was the one that made me question everything I knew about love. He was the reason I couldn't sleep at night, because I was so worried if I messed this up any longer, then he might disappear. Daniel was the one that got under my skin, made me unsteady, but that's how I knew he was the one after all.