You are standing barely a foot in front of me and you have that small, almost shy smile on your face that tells me you know I'm staring. You don't seem to mind. You don't look away embarrassed and self conscious, you aren't fidgeting nervously as though there was somewhere else you'd rather be. In fact, you seem to be drinking in all the attention I can offer and still wanting more. Sometimes I wonder why you let me do that but today I wonder if you can tell I'm planning something. I don't think you suspect what's about to happen though, I think I'd see it if you did.

See, you are the bold one in this unspoken relationship. It's you who flirts first, you who offers pecks on my cheek, you who once took the drastic step of kissing me. Now, it's my turn. You smile just a little wider as I take the half-step closer and your eyes shine with anticipation. Perhaps I've underestimated you. Your eyes flutter closed as I lean in and I wonder if you know how much that boosts my courage. My lips press to yours, the moist softness is better than I'd dared to imagine.

You sense my hesitancy and uncertainty, but rather than pull away you begin to gently move your lips against mine. I respond in kind and feel you put your arms around my neck. You probably don't know how much this means to me, then again you might be able to taste it in my kiss. Either way I need you closer to me and wrap my arms around your waist, slowly pulling you in. You help, pushing your body against mine and I hold you tighter in response.

You are struggling now, I can feel it in your muscles. Your lungs are demanding air but you want to hold the kiss longer. Your lungs eventually win and you break our kiss to pant as you replace the spent air with fresh. You don't let go and even as I slacken my arms to make your breathing more comfortable you hold yourself against me. I squeeze you back into a tight embrace and you settle your head onto my shoulder, nuzzling my neck. Your breathing deepens as you slowly transfer your weight, allowing me to support you as you relax.

Are you falling asleep in my arms? It's late, that I have to give you, and studying for finals has taken its toll. You aren't asleep though, I can tell. You want to be held and I want to hold you. Time passes but I'm not sure how much. Whether it's been seconds, minutes or hours I neither know nor care. You are getting heavy in my arms but somehow, you've never felt lighter than you do now.

You shift and finally pull back, not enough to let me see your eyes though. Instead you move just enough to take your own weight back and, before I can miss the feeling of supporting you in a hug, kiss me again. You fill me senses completely as I respond with everything you taught me earlier. Eventually you again need air and we separate. This time you step back just enough to let me see your face and it's difficult to comprehend how much more beautiful you look. Our eyes meet and I see that words will never be enough to describe how I feel about you. I try anyway and whisper "I love you."

You blink once and look like you're wondering if you've heard correctly. Strangely I'm not worried, you're eyes are every bit the window into you that mine are to me.

You are standing barely a foot in front of me and you're staring at me. Not that I mind, you have a tendency to get lost in my face or my eyes. I like it better than the way other boys stare at me, you and you alone make me feel truly beautiful. So I stand and bask in your attention, though I'm hoping for more. Slowly but surely you've been getting past the paralyzing shyness and I know better than to try and force too much too fast. That never stopped me from wishing, though tonight I think I see what I've been waiting for.

You move closer and I know my smile brightens a shade. You are normally the timid one, too shy and reserved to make the first move. So I've quietly encouraged you, flirting and offering affection even if you aren't quite able to return it. Now, as your face approaches mine and you tilt your head I know that my patience is about to pay off. My eyes flutter closed and I focus on my senses, I don't want to lose any part of this. Your lips are soft as they finally meet mine and I feel as though I'm living a dream.

You don't have a clue what to do from here, do you? I'm actually not mad or even disappointed. You learn fast and I'm more than willing to teach though I know almost as little as about this you do. Slowly and carefully I begin to caress your lips with mine. It doesn't take you long to respond in kind and I know I've made the right decision in waiting for you. I want more so I wrap my arms around your neck. You put your arms around my waist and begin to pull me closer, but it's not enough. Though physically impossible I want no space between us and push my body into yours. You hug me tighter in response.

You can hold your breath an awful long time, maybe I need to take up swimming with you. I doubt you'll mind if I ask. I break away, controlling my lungs to manage a light pant as I gulp fresh air. You slacken your hold but I don't want to pull away from you, nor do I need to. I want to kiss you again but I want to hug you closer than that will allow too. I decide on the hug and nestle my head into your neck and shoulder. You'll let me kiss you again after the hug, of this I'm certain.

You feel so right, your warmth and smell invading my senses and letting me relax as I stand in your arms. It feels like the first stages of sleep but it's so much better. You're supporting my weight. I don't want to burden you but don't want to move. You don't want me to move either I realize, I'm not a burden or a weight to you. Now I need to kiss you... but not quite as much as I want to be held like this.

You can feel me shifting my weight and loosen your grip, giving me the freedom to adjust my position. I move only enough to get my lips to yours. There's no hesitation or uncertainty as you kiss me back and you perfectly fill my senses right up until I need to break for air. Our eyes meet and you look deeply into them, I know I'm looking just as deeply into yours. I can see everything you feel in those crystalline blue wells that seem to stretch into your very soul. I hear you say the three words that have eluded us for so long.

I'm stunned for a moment, briefly unable to respond. I recover and answer, "I love you too." You don't look relieved, then again you had never looked worried in the first place. But now I understand your tone of voice, those three words don't cover what I feel. Yet somehow they're still enough for both of us. Maybe that's because we have better ways of expressing our mutual feelings to one another. Maybe that's what had been stopping us from saying it before.