"𝚅𝚊𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚎'𝚜"
ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ
𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘶
"HEY, NO NOAH TODAY?" Morgan asks Emily as he walks up to his desk.
"No," Emily says, catching the attention of Reid and Penelope, who walks up to them. "She's with Jess."
"On Valentine's Day?" Derek asks with a cocked eyebrow.
"How cute!" Penelope beams with a wide smile.
"Did you know that there's actually more than one St. Valentine?" Spencer asks them. "There was St. Valentine's Day from Pope Galsius I, who instituted St. Valentine's Day, but there was also a Roman priest who defied Claudius II Gothicus and another priest with the same name who was from Terni, Italy. Well, it wasn't Terni then, but it is now and some people even thought the two priests were the same person—"
"You're romantic in your own little way, aren't you?" Derek asks with a smirk that shows he's joking. Spencer shows a flat smile as he accepts the teasing.
"Leave him alone," Penelope snaps and hits Derek's stomach with the files in her hand.
"If you're classing yourself as a romantic, then you're funny," Emily says to Derek.
"Hey, don't hate what you can't have," Derek jokes more.
"More like don't want," Emily laughs and winks at Penelope, who is holding back her giggles.
Across town, Noah walks with Jess, who has her eyes closed, relying on Noah's direction and hold on her arm to guide her down the street.
"Where are we?" Jess asks as she stands on the sidewalk with Noah's hand over her eyes. "Everyone's gonna think you're kidnapping me."
"Give me one second," Noah says as she takes Jess' hand in hers. "Ready?"
"Yes," Jess replies as she bounces on her toes with excitement.
"Okay, you can open now!" Noah giggles and takes her hand away from Jess' eyes, letting her reveal the surprise.
The blonde's eyes open to a large building. She stares up at the tall building and reads the sign hanging over the grand front entrance. Watergate Hotel. The place where Jess first fell for Noah.
"What're we doing here?" Jess asks with a wide smile.
"Sneaking in...again," Noah giggles and pulls the blonde's hand toward the doors. They walk in and walk past the front desks, heading straight to the elevators. They squeeze in with some other guests and press the top floor.
"It's gonna be freezing up there," Jess whispers to Noah.
"It was cold the last time we were up there," Noah replies. "You can have my jacket."
They wait for the elevator to make all its stops, leaving them alone to go up to the rooftop. When the elevator opens, they step out into the cold air. The breeze is a little harsh because of how high up they are, but they both don't mind it.
Jess walks up to the ledge and looks out at the other buildings. Noah stands behind her and puts her hands on the ledge beside Jess'. Noah kisses Jess' cheek and feels how cold her skin has become.
"Did you think that the next time we'd be up here we'd be girlfriends?" Jess asks with a smile as she turns around in Noah's arms.
"I don't know," Noah replies. "I didn't really know what I felt back then. It's kinda weird to think about it, isn't it?"
"I knew you'd fall for me," Jess giggles.
"Did you?" Noah asks sarcastically.
"I'm exactly what you needed."
"Now, that I can't argue with," Noah chimes and leans in, kissing Jess' lips. "I might have not known what was gonna happen, but I'm glad that everything that did led to this."
"Me too," Jess says and wraps her arms around Noah's neck.
The blonde lets out a squeal as Noah grabs her waist and lifts her, pulling her away from the ledge. She spins them around and puts Jess down, kissing her again. They stay in each other's hold as they rock back and forth to the song playing over the speakers. No one else is in sight, most likely due to how cold it is.
"You're beautiful," Noah mutters as she leans her forehead on Jess'.
"I can't believe this is real," Jess whispers. "It feels like a made-up story."
"It's not made up," Noah giggles. "And if it is, this is some sort of sick dream."
The blonde laughs and wraps her arms tighter around Noah's neck. "I'm gonna write a book one day."
"About what?" Noah asks softly.
"About us," Jess chimes.
"With our names and everything?"
"I don't know yet," Jess shrugs. "I just know the only way I could write a good love story is if I wrote it about mine with you."
"And you'll dedicate it to me?" Noah asks with a wide smile.
"How I feel about you wouldn't fit on a dedication page," Jess tells her as she shakes her head softly. "I'll dedicate it to us. Our story."
"Hm," Noah hums with a smirk. There's nothing like hearing Jess speak about the two of them as if they'll be together forever. It makes her feel like she's truly being loved the way she's supposed to.
"What do you think you'll do when you grow up?"
"I'm not sure yet," Noah shrugs as she moves her arms so her hands can grip Jess' hips. "Maybe a scientist of some sort or an editor."
"That's very different paths," Jess giggles. "You'd be good at both, though."
"Either way, if I have you, my life will be exactly the way I want it to be."
Jess can't find the words to reply, so she just leans in and kisses Noah's lips. They stay on the rooftop for a while, talking about random things and laughing. Jess has never found herself so enamored by someone. She had always liked people who were serious, smart, and seemingly put together. With Noah, everything is a bit of a mess, but she kind of likes it that way. Noah makes her messy and has shown her how beautiful that can be.
Noah pulls away from the kiss and grabs the blonde by her waist, picking her up and taking her over to the ledge again. She puts Jess down and presses her stomach up to the ledge. The blonde looks out at the city and notices the sun has gone down and it's now dark. Noah puts her jacket around Jess and leans forward to keep her cheek next to Jess'.
"You ready to go or do you wanna stay for a while?" Noah asks as she rubs her hands down Jess' arms, wanting to keep her warm.
"Depends," Jess smirks as she turns around. "What happens when we go?"
"We could get some ice cream or...go to one of our places. Emily will probably be home soon, but I can sneak you in before she comes," Noah suggests.
"My mom won't be back until late," Jess tells her. "We could just go to mine. And she won't mind if you sleep over."
"Okay," Noah nods.
"Okay," Jess mutters and smiles wide. She walks forward with her arms on Noah's biceps, making her walk backward.
They make their way to the elevator and Noah giggles as she feels Jess hanging onto her neck. They step into the elevator and Noah pushes the button before pushing Jess to the back. She presses the blonde against the wall and captures her lips again.
Jess smiles against Noah's lips and feels her girlfriend's hands trail around her body. When a ding goes off, Noah backs away and stands beside the blonde while fixing her clothes. She peers down at Jess and quickly fixes her hair before the doors slide open and reveal a couple waiting to get on.
Noah and Jess hold in their giggles and stand behind the couple. Eventually, they get to the lobby and Noah takes Jess' hand before walking out. They make their way outside and Noah sees a taxi and asks if they can get a ride. The car takes them to Jess' house and Noah pays for the taxi using the leftover cash from Rossi's check. They go inside and Jess locks the front door behind them.
"Do you wanna see your gift?" Noah asks.
"My gift?" Jess asks with a pout. "But you paid for dinner and the taxi."
"And?" Noah giggles. "I can't get you a gift?"
"Noah, that's too much," Jess frowns and wraps her arms around Noah's waist. They walk to the living room and plop down on the sofa together.
"No, c'mon," Noah says as she reaches into her jacket that Jess is wearing. She goes into the inner pocket and grabs the piece of paper. "You're gonna love this."
"Okay," Jess gives in and watches Noah hand her the paper. It's folded up, so the blonde opens it and reads what it says. "Kings of Leon tickets?!" she asks excitedly. "Babe, you didn't! This is too much—"
"It's not," Noah insists. "I know you love them."
"When is it?"
"In March," Noah replies. "But there's kind of a catch."
"Okay...?"
"It's a double date," Noah tells her with squinted eyes, not really wanting to see her reaction.
"With who?"
"Liam, my friend who's dad works with Emily?" Noah says and sees Jess nod. "With him and his boyfriend."
"Sounds fun!" Jess chimes.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah," Jess replies with a smile. "Thank you so much. This is so sweet," she beams and wraps her arms around Noah's neck, forcing her to fall back on the couch with Jess on top of her.
Noah giggles and kisses Jess' lips once. "You're welcome, gorgeous."
Jess kisses Noah again and again until the touches of their lips become passionate. They laugh and smile so much that they can barely even let their lips meet. The blonde eventually gets off of Noah and stands, taking Noah's hand and helping her up. Jess leads them up to her bedroom and closes the door just in case.
Noah stands beside Jess' bed as she watches the blonde take off her jacket. Jess kicks her shoes off and Noah does the same. The blonde walks up to Noah and lets her arms rest on her shoulders. Noah's arms wrap around Jess' waist and she feels a tickle on her neck from the blonde's lips.
"Jess," Noah giggles as she squirms in her girlfriend's hold. However, she stops laughing as she realizes Jess isn't stopping.
You're gonna leave a mark, Noah says, but the words don't come out of her mouth. The sensation feels so good that she doesn't want to say anything to make Jess stop.
"Are you okay?" Jess asks, pulling back as she realizes what she's doing.
Noah peers at the blonde with eagerness in her eyes. "Are you?" she asks.
Jess only nods but feels her heartbeat pick up. She is suddenly nervous and can feel her hands shaking, but she's not sure if it's from the anticipation or the nerves. She decides that it's both and nods more confidently.
Noah can't help but smile and hold Jess' cheeks, feeling their warmth. She crashes their lips together and holds Jess' waist firmly in her hands, bringing her body closer to her own. Jess feels a strange sensation in the bottom of her stomach, except it feels like there are butterflies fluttering or flowers growing. She thought she had felt this feeling before, but she couldn't have been further from it.
With Noah, she feels secure and like she could strip herself down to her bare skin and she would still know for sure that Noah doesn't see her any differently. She almost feels like she could become an entirely different person and Noah would still give her the same look. And she will never have to question her place in Noah's life. She will always be the girl who came along and changed her, the same as how Noah came into her life and changed her too.
Noah pulls away and gives Jess the look she was just thinking about. Noah wishes she could find the words to tell her how she feels, but nothing seems right or good enough. And when words aren't enough, actions are all you have left. And nothing sets Noah's heart aflame like Jess' bare skin against her own.
"Are you sure?" Noah mutters as she sits on the bed with Jess standing in between her legs.
"I don't know," Jess replies honestly. "But I like this."
"Tell me when you wanna stop," Noah tells her.
"Okay," Jess says as she nods.
The blonde leans in again and kisses Noah. She feels the need to be closer to her, so she takes a step forward. Noah can feel Jess' chest against hers and grips her waist tightly. Jess leans forward, pushing Noah's back to the bed so she can be above her.
Noah feels Jess' hand grabbing the hem of her shirt. The blonde lifts the fabric, revealing Noah's stomach and eventually her bra. Noah sits up and lets Jess take her shirt off, the blonde doing the same as well. Noah continues their kiss before leaving a trail of kisses from Jess' cheek, down her neck, and to her chest.
Jess picks Noah's head up and kisses her again, this time rougher. She can't keep her hands off her girlfriend's stomach as Noah trails her hands closely to Jess' chest but waits for her to make a move in that direction. Noah instead travels her hands down Jess' back, sending a chill down the blonde's spine.
Jess doesn't move past kissing and touches that get a little too close to sensitive areas. She starts to get in her head and feels herself holding back for some reason. Eventually, she pulls away, still sitting on Noah's lap, and covers her eyes with her hands. She can't bear to see the look on Noah's face.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Jess panics.
"Hey," Noah coos as she puts her hands on the blonde's sides, feeling her warm skin and the bones of her ribs. "It's okay, there's nothing to be sorry for."
"I'm just...not ready."
"Me either," Noah whispers, making the blonde pull her hands away from her eyes.
"Really?" Jess sheepishly asks.
"Really," Noah nods. "It's scary, I know. It's removing everything and being completely yourself."
"It's not even that," Jess replies as she wraps her arms around Noah's neck. "I feel completely myself around you without having to take all my clothes off. It's just...the nerves. Like I don't know what I'm doing."
"I don't either," Noah tells her.
"You've never done this before?"
"No," Noah shakes her head. "Did you think I have?"
"I don't know," Jess frets and wraps her arms around herself.
"You seemed to be doing a good job at leading," Noah giggles and takes Jess' arms away from her stomach. "Why don't we just watch a movie or something? We could watch a romcom, that's very Valentine's Day-esque."
Jess nods silently but doesn't smile. Noah gently moves the blonde off her lap and sits up. She goes to the drawers in Jess' dresser and picks out one of her oversized pajama shirts from her dad. She always likes wearing those.
Noah walks over to the blonde and slides the shirt over her head. Jess puts her arms through the sleeves and shows a soft smile. "What movie do you wanna watch?" Noah asks as she sits beside Jess in bed, pulling one of her own sleep shirts she had left from their last sleepover over her head.
"The Nanny Diaries?" Jess asks.
"Sure," Noah chimes and gives Jess the remote. She can see that the blonde is still nervous, so she leans over and kisses her cheek. Jess smiles and peers over at her girlfriend, seeing only a smile in return. While Jess puts the movie on, Noah quickly texts Emily that she's staying with Jess, tossing her phone on the nightstand after hitting send.
As the movie starts to play, Noah lays down and pulls Jess down with her too. They cuddle closely and Jess feels her heartbeat calm itself. Only Noah can make her heart beat wildly and soothe it all at once.
—
𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕟𝕖𝕩𝕥 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘
Noah wakes up to her phone vibrating on Jess' nightstand. She groggily sits up and peers over at her girlfriend, who is sound asleep. Noah reaches over to grab her phone and sees an incoming call from Emily.
"Hello?" Noah groggily answers.
"Hey, I need you to come home—"
"What?" Noah asks as she rubs her eye. "Emily, I just woke up."
"I know, I'm sorry, but it's really important."
"I—Emily, did something happen?" Noah asks.
"It's CPS," Emily tells her.
"What?" Noah springs up and steps out of bed. She puts her jacket on and finds her socks on the floor. "Why is CPS there?"
"I don't know, but they need to talk to you."
"Okay, I'm coming, give me, like, 10 minutes," Noah says before hanging up the phone.
Noah quickly finds sticky notes on Jess' desk and grabs a pen. She scribbles out a note and sticks it to the pillow next to Jess and smiles at her blonde hair everywhere. She leans down and kisses Jess' forehead before putting her shoes on and walking downstairs. She is met by Josephine in the kitchen, who smiles at her and holds her mug up.
"Coffee?" she asks.
"No, I actually have to go," Noah says with a frown. "I didn't wanna wake Jess up, so I left a note."
"Okay," Josephine nods. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, it's fine, it's just Emily called," Noah says. "I should get home."
"Do you need a ride?"
"Uhm..." Noah goes to say no, but she needs to get home quickly. "Actually, if you don't mind—"
"Not at all, c'mon!"
As the two drive to Emily and Noah's place, Jess wakes up to an empty bed. When she turns over to look for Noah, she sees a note on the pillow. She picks it up and reads it to herself.
𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲
𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘂𝗽.
𝗜'𝗺 𝘀𝗼𝗿𝗿𝘆. 𝗜'𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂.
- 𝗡 ♡
Jess smiles at the note and turns back over in bed. She looks at her nightstand, where the envelope Noah gave her yesterday sits. She picks it up and rips it open, taking the paper out and seeing a page-long letter. Although, one thing about it is unexpected: it's in French.
—
𝗠𝘆 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲,
𝗜 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻, 𝘀𝗼 𝗜 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗜 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮 𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲.
𝗜 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝗮 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗜 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿, 𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗜'𝗺 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲. 𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂, 𝗜 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗲. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗺 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜'𝘃𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗜 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿.
𝗜 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝘀𝗻𝘂𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝗱𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲. 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘇𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗲𝗸𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘀. 𝗜 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼𝘄𝗻. 𝗢𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗺𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗺𝗲. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘀 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝘀 𝗜 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀, 𝗜 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗜'𝘃𝗲 𝘂𝗽𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂. 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗿𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗺𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘄𝗮𝘆. 𝗜 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘀𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝘆𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗜 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀. 𝗜'𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗮𝗱𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂, 𝗜 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗻'𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗜 𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿.
𝗜'𝘃𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗿𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝘁. 𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲, 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝘂𝗹𝘁, 𝗺𝘆 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲. 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂. 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘄, 𝗜'𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗲𝗹𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗿, 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗺𝘁𝗵, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗜 𝗮𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝗼.
𝗦𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗿𝘆. 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝘃𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗱 𝗺𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗸𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗲𝗸. 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗮𝗹𝘁𝘆. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝘆 𝗺𝘆 𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝗳 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲, 𝗜 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗜'𝗱 𝗯𝗲.
𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝘆 𝗼𝗻𝗲.
𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲,
𝗡𝗼𝗮𝗵