FALLING AROUND YOU ➵ DANIEL SEAVEY ➵ SEQUEL

30 ➵ The Next Step

It was that kiss that made me think that I could never feel with way without any other, because no one else had a heart that rare.

—

"So, when's the wedding?" Anna spoke, unbothered on her floaty. She had a drink in one hand, sunglasses blocking her eyesight.

"What?"

Tomorrow would be our last day in Portland, so we decided to spend some time in the lake. Winston, Charlotte, and Nicole were once again familiar faces. Daniel and Anna decided to rent a boat for the day, all of us pitching in a few dollars with the last minute decision. We didn't go too far from land, but it would've been a hefty swim if we needed to. Anna was a pink pool float while I was on a red one. Daniel was talking to Charlotte, laughing nearby and catching up, while Winston and Nicole were sunbathing.

"Don't be so subtle," Anna pulled her sunglasses on, looking at me. "Daniel told me last week he wanted to as you the big question. I wasn't sure what the question was, exactly, but I knew it was a big one."

I shook my head, but the grin never ceased. "He did not ask me to marry him, if that's what you're wondering."

"So, you aren't going to be my new sister?" she teased, settling in her float a bit more.

Anna's swimsuit was more modern, a black asymmetrical strap on the top with tiny bottoms. It was already amusing watching her yell at Winston when talking photos earlier, but her stance right now seemed like she was posing once more for her social media feeds. I looked down to my own skin, a patterned blue swimsuit hugging my body. Daniel always loved me in blue, saying it matched his eyes, so I decided to wear the color.

"He asked me to move in with him," I looked at her casually.

She sat up quickly, elbows being her only support. Anna pulled her sunglasses up to her hair, trying to keep her eyes on me, as if to know if I was being serious. "Really? You guys are going to buy a place together?"

I nodded happily. It felt more real when Anna put it to words. It wasn't like Daniel and I would move back in with Keri and Anna, but we would actually be apartment shopping, looking out for places. It all felt too surreal to think of as a reality. Anna took my smile as excitement, swimming a little closer to give me a hug.

"I always knew it was you, you know." she gripped me tighter.

"What?" I snickered into her chest.

She pulled away, a genuine smile on her lips. "I knew it would be you. I just knew it."

Anna waited for my response, but I couldn't give her one. I was in shock with her little words. She continued anyway, "You have no idea how much he cares, don't you?"

She was amused.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I mean, I know a lot. He loves me, cares for me more than himself. He's a good person, the best actually. I've never met someone with such a capacity for love before."

She giggled, small but subtle. "You know of his love for you, but you don't see all the details, the behind the scenes, so you? You don't see that if the world went black, he wouldn't care, as long as you were safe. You don't see that whenever he cracks a joke, he always looks to you to see you laugh. You don't realize that his first instinct when crossing the street is to look both ways is not because he's scared to lose his life, but because he'd be scared he'll never see you again."

I looked at Anna a bit faltered. "You know all these things?"

Anna gave me a look. "Sienna, I've seen all these things. I've seen the way he looks at you. It's a look I'm jealous of, because I've never had someone look at me that way."

It was true. I was the few blessed that got to have someone to love them endlessly.

"Two souls don't find each other by accident," her words were soft.

"You are such a hopeless romantic," I barged.

Anna laughed, "What's new?"

—

hi all! this is a bit of a shorter chapter simply because i loved the scenes in this one so i thought quality over quantity. also, my computer broke so it's been a bit of a struggle typing these things out on my phone.

IVE RELEASED A NEW BOOK!

it would truly mean the world if you guys checked it out. since i'm updating this book today, i'll be having a new chapter for that book up tomorrow! there's already four chapters written in that book and it really is something i'm passionate about.

anyways, thank you for all the love! you guys are the best and the sweetest and i'm so grateful you guys enjoy my writing. please leave more comments as they are my favorite to read and leave a vote if you want!