Mia was over at Leah's, who lived right next door to Bill, and was helping set up her backyard for a party. Leah had a large in-ground pool which was usually the main draw whenever she invited the neighbors over. The sun was high in the afternoon sky, the temperature on the higher end of average for the season. It was bright, it was hot, it was a perfect day for a party by the water.
"Some of the neighbors are too shy to get in until they've had a couple of drinks," Leah said as she dragged out a few cases of alcohol.
"I'll get right in. I love swimming."
"Me too! When I was looking for houses for sale, the pool here was my main point of interest."
"Do you have pool parties often?"
"A couple times now. It was at my first pool party a couple months after I moved in where Jeffrey told me he liked me. It was cute."
"That is cute. You guys are cute together."
"Thanks!" Leah smiled. "You and Bill are cute together, too."
"We're all pretty cute, aren't we?"
Soon the two of them had everything set up. They then sat at the picnic tables they had pushed together to rest for a moment before the party guests would arrive. After a moment of peaceful quietness, Leah spoke.
"Mia, you're my best friend. I basically had to leave all my old friends behind when I moved here, so I'm really glad you and I met."
Mia was a little surprised by that; she hadn't realized she was Leah's best friend. But when she thought about it, she felt the same way.
Grinning, she replied, "You're my best friend, too. And I'm glad we met. It's so great you live right here."
Leah smiled. "Well, I was going to make an announcement at the party today. But because we're best friends, I wanted to tell you first."
Maybe it was because of Jackie's announcement those few months ago, but Mia anticipated what Leah was about to say before she said it.
"I'm pregnant!"
Yep, Mia was right. However, the news was still surprising and incredible. "Oh that's wonderful! Are you excited?"
Leah hesitated a little. "I am. It was kind of an accident, though...I sort of messed up my birth control without realizing it. I feel like Jeffrey isn't as excited as I hoped he'd be. I just feel nervous about it."
Mia placed a comforting hand on her back. "Hey, it's a big adjustment. He just needs time to get used to it. I'm sure he is excited underneath the nervousness."
"I hope so. It's hard to get him to open up to me sometimes, especially about this. He says he's happy but I can tell there's still a wall there…"
Leah stared out over the pool water, which was clear and sparkling under the sunlight. Mia could see the worry in her eyes. Mia didn't know Boomhauer too well, because he was rather reserved and quiet. But he was very attentive and loving to Leah, even in front of his friends. He was never too worried about anyone's perception of him when he would hold her or kiss her or say something sweet to her right in front of them.
Mia couldn't help but wonder how Bill would react if she got pregnant somehow. She was diligent about taking her birth control pill every day, for many years now at that. But if something happened by accident...would he be excited? Nervous? She couldn't picture him leaving, at least…
Hank had insisted on grilling, which Leah hardly had to ask because he loved grilling so much. It wasn't long until he arrived, rolling his grill to Leah's yard, and his three friends behind him bringing the meats to be cooked.
"Oh Hank, thank you so much for grilling for me," Leah praised.
"No problem, Leah. I'm happy to have the opportunity."
When Boomhauer arrived, he had immediately made a beeline to Leah, pulled her to him and kissed her forehead. Mia could see the same love in his eyes when he looked at Leah that she always saw. He certainly didn't seem nervous about anything. Hopefully he was coming around.
Bill also went over and kissed Mia, even though he had seen her an hour ago. He was always happy to see her, he always smiled at her and kissed her whenever they were together again.
Hank set up his grilling station while the other neighbors arrived. Immediately Bobby, Joseph, and Connie jumped in the pool to play. Nancy and Minh stretched out on lounge chairs to soak up the sun rays. Luanne sat with Gracie while she splashed in a little kiddie pool Leah set up for her. The men - Hank, Dale, Bill, Boomhauer, Kahn, and Lucky mostly stood around drinking their Alamo beers. Even though they stood around and drank beers in the alley every day, doing it beside a pool made it more special.
Mia and Leah were standing together when Peggy came up to them, holding a baking dish. She had prepared the usual apple brown betty that she brought to most gatherings.
"Leah, hello. It's such a nice day for a pool party. Oh and Mia - Hola!"
"Hola Señora Peggy," Mia greeted.
"Estoy embarazada," Peggy started to say. Mia did a double take.
"Uh...what?"
"This morning I saw a girl with wavy dark hair at Mega Lo Mart, same height as you, too, and I said hello to her. When she turned around I saw it was someone else entirely."
Mia stood a moment, trying to understand the connection between the two statements she made. "Oh! You're embarrassed?"
"Yes, si, isn't that what I said?"
Bill scowled when he heard a familiar voice behind him yell out "Hola, pendejos!"
"Dale," Bill groaned under his breath, his eyes closed, trying to keep his composure, "Why is he here?"
"Octavio and I have a big investment opportunity I thought was best to discuss in the presence of a pool. We're going to rent out pools at houses where the owners have taken long vacations. Dip n' Ditch."
"Wait, the homeowners are gone on vacation and you let random people use their pool?" Hank questioned.
"Precisely-why waste perfectly good water? Our oceans are filling with plastic and trash, and something about acid rain, or climate change or something, you know the drill. Hey, Octavio!" Dale waved as he left the group.
"Fuck me," Boomhauer muttered, only loud enough for Bill to hear. Bill followed where Boomhauer was glaring, and, of course...John Redcorn was there, too.
"Leah, I hope it's alright I came to your party. Dale invited me." John Redcorn said as he approached her, his long black hair gently blowing in the warm breeze.
"Yeah, Dale invited me, too." Octavio added, a little less gracefully.
Leah smiled. "Oh, it's no problem at all. You two have to swim though."
"I brought my swim trunks exactly for that reason," John Redcorn said.
"Of course you did," Boomhauer mumbled to Bill.
"Hey señorita," Octavio greeted Mia, ignoring everyone else.
"Hi, Octavio. Did you get high before this party, too?"
"Just a little. I have to liven this whitebread place up somehow. You cool?" He covertly pulled out a small joint from his pocket and showed it to her.
"No thanks."
"Goody two shoes, eh?"
"I prefer coke."
Octavio looked taken aback, then realized from her grin that she was joking.
He shrugged, unfazed. "Hey, if you were serious, I could hook you up."
Bill, who was eyeing Octavio ever since he walked in, whisked up to Mia and put his arm around her. "Come on, Hank is done grilling now." He led her away, leaving Octavio to look beadily after them.
John Redcorn was talking to Leah until Boomhauer also ushered her away. Everyone made their plates and began taking their places at the tables. Once everyone was sitting, Leah and Boomhauer exchanged looks, and they got up to stand at the head of the table. Leah began to speak.
"Everybody, thank you for coming over today. It really means a lot to me that we neighbors are all so close to one another. When I moved here from Oklahoma, I left behind all of my friends and family. I felt very alone at first. But almost immediately after I moved in, you all came together to greet me and make me feel welcome, and like I really was a part of Rainey Street. You're all like family to me now, which means more to me than you could ever imagine. So I am excited to share big news with you all. Boomhauer and I are having a baby!"
Leah was beaming, Boomhauer was smiling, yet everyone else was completely silent, save for the music playing quietly from the speakers.
All at once everyone broke out into various degrees of congratulations, once the news started to sink in.
"I'm so happy for you, sugs," Nancy cheered.
"Oh Leah, if you ever need my motherly support, you know I am just right across the alley!" Peggy offered.
"Holy SHIT, Boomhauer, you're going to be a father?" Dale burst. "You actually got somebody pregnant?"
"Well, I'll be. A baby Boomhauer. That's something!" approved Hank.
"The baby will be half-hippie, half-redneck. It will loiter in the alley drinking all natural organic beer and drive a tractor that runs on recycled fryer oil," commented Kahn.
"Now Gracie will have a new baby to play with!" Luanne said, clapping her hands together excitedly.
Bill stared up at Boomhauer, still in shock. He should have seen it coming; Boomhauer and Leah had been inseparable for at least a year by now, but still...Boomhauer always said he never wanted kids. But he also did always say he never wanted to settle down with one woman, and yet he had come around on that.
"That's great, you guys. Congratulations."
Bill noticed Mia didn't seem surprised at the news; he wondered vaguely if Leah told her already. He also noticed John Redcorn hadn't said anything. His face was impassive and unreadable.
Leah was glowing. "Thanks, everyone! Your support really means a lot to us. Now...let's eat!"
Mia was seated between Leah and Bill, with Boomhauer on Leah's other side. John Redcorn and Octavio sat across from the two girls.
"My sister is pregnant, too," Mia said to Leah as they ate.
"Really? How far along is she?"
"Four or five months, I think. I'm not sure how many weeks specifically."
"Is this the first baby in your family, then?"
"A few of my cousins have kids, but out of my siblings yeah, she's the first to have one!"
"My oldest brother has two kids. They are so sweet."
"I'm so excited to be an aunt. I've been around my cousins' kids a lot, even babysat some of them, but I feel like being an aunt is different."
Dale and Octavio began to discuss their latest get rich quick scheme.
"Wait," Leah interjected, "You rent out people's pools when they're not home without them knowing?"
"More like we don't let the earth's last dregs of fresh water go to waste, but yes," Dale responded.
"I hope you don't think you're going to use my pool for that."
"Wouldn't dream of it," Dale said, but didn't sound sincere.
Leah and Mia started talking with Luanne who was diagonal from them, with Gracie sitting on her lap. She and Leah talked about pregnancy and birth techniques while Mia mostly played with Gracie or made silly faces to her to make her laugh.
"Sorry, John Redcorn, to talk about these things right in front of you," Leah apologized with a shy smile.
"It's no problem at all. Growing a human and bringing it into this world is the most cherished thing a woman can do. My people have always looked to the mothers and matriarchs as the wisest and most powerful beings."
Dale gave his response loudly across the table. "And Boomhauer, on the other hand, finds motherhood disgusting."
Leah turned to Boomhauer in surprise. Boomhauer glared at Dale.
"I could never find such a natural and beautiful occurrence 'disgusting,'" John Redcorn said to Leah, looking directly into her eyes.
"I don't know what Dale is talking about," Boomhauer denounced heatedly.
"Remember when you said-"
"Shut up, Dale," Hank advised him.
"I think MILFs are hot," Octavio told everybody, as if anyone asked.
"These burgers are very good, Hank," Mia called down the table. Everyone murmured in agreement.
Everybody finished eating in relative peace. Mia could hear Boomhauer whispering to Leah, sounding sweet and comforting. He was probably assuring her Dale was just being a jackass.
"Are you going to swim?" Mia asked Bill.
"Um...probably not." Despite losing a lot of weight, and even gaining some muscle with the new outdoor hobbies he had been getting into, he was still self conscious about his body. He didn't even want to get in with a shirt on.
"Okay. I'll miss you!" She smiled, and kissed his cheek before dashing off to join Leah. Bill always appreciated that she never pushed or pressured him. Whenever he gave an answer to something, she just let it go without pressing him further.
The tables started to disperse, with everyone going off to their own activities again. Leah and Mia pulled off their swimsuit cover ups, which looked like short, flowy dresses, and got into the pool. Bobby, Joseph, and Connie were already swimming when Leah tossed in a beach ball.
"You guys said you'd swim!" Leah called up to John Redcorn and Octavio.
John Redcorn took off his shirt, revealing his six pack abs and rippling biceps, and got into the water. Nancy and Minh lowered their sunglasses to watch him as he did so. Boomhauer hadn't fully planned on swimming, but once John Redcorn got in next to Leah, he clearly had changed his mind.
"We need another player to even out our volleyball game!" Leah told Octavio.
Bill watched Octavio rub his stupid handlebar mustache, pretending to consider if he wanted to get in or not, when his eyes rested on Mia.
"Alright, gringos, let us latinos show you how it's done." He tugged off his shirt, revealing a sizable tattooed portrait of Rob Zombie on his chest, and jumped in near Mia.
Leah, Boomhauer, John Redcorn, and Joseph were on one side. Mia, Octavio, Bobby, and Connie were on the other.
"All the tall people on one side is a disadvantage!" Mia yelled to the other side.
"Joseph should switch with Octavio," suggested Bill from the picnic table.
"No way, my team is going to kick ass!" Octavio pounded his fist into his hand.
"Just jump really high, Mia!" Leah laughed, "I'm serving!"
She hit the ball into a high arc in the air, which Mia managed to send back over. Each team was doing well, and their points stayed relatively even.
Bill watched Mia as he sipped his beer with the rest of the guys. The sun overhead shone off of her cheekbones and collarbones, and cast her golden complexion in a radiant glow. She looked so beautiful, gleaming from the sunlight, smiling and laughing, and, notably, in a two piece swimsuit… Unfortunately, it was difficult for him to just relax and enjoy it, because Octavio was making him anxious.
He knew he had nothing to worry about. Octavio wasn't someone he was jealous of, really. But perhaps it was more of what Octavio represented, which was anyone in general. Anyone out there who would take notice of Mia, and try to impress her, or flirt with her, or anything that might wake her up and make her wonder why she was still with Bill. It didn't help that Octavio kept complimenting Mia and standing closely to her. Whenever she would hit the ball back he would cheer, and every now and then he would say something in Spanish that would make her laugh.
Dale stripped down to a Speedo and cannonballed in next to Octavio.
"To run a successful pool-based business, I must become one with the pool," Dale said sagely, and fished his floating hat out of the water and plopped it back onto his head.
Lucky shrugged and got in as well, standing with the other team. The game was more heated now that there were more players. Dale and Octavio were especially obnoxious together than when they were apart, and they kept splashing each other and shoving each other out of the way.
When the ball flew over to their side Dale jumped backwards dramatically, which made him slam into Mia who was behind him, and in turn she fell back against Octavio.
"Oy!" Octavio exclaimed as he put his hands on Mia's back to hold her up. "You okay, chica?"
Bill was up in a flash, barely able to stop himself from jumping in. "Alright, get your hands off of her," He commanded from the pool edge.
"Settle down, man. It was an accident."
"Mia, are you okay? Do you want to come out?"
"I'm fine, Bill. It's no big deal. Dale's ass is pretty bony, though."
Octavio laughed as Dale shrugged. "Come on, Twiggy, send the ball back over!" Octavio said to Dale, and the game resumed.
Bill continued to stand at the side of the pool, keeping a close eye on Octavio.
"Come back, Bill," Hank said, and Bill reluctantly took his seat back at the picnic table.
"Are you worried she's going to fool around with Mustache behind your back?" Kahn asked in a jeering tone.
"No, but he doesn't need to keep touching her and getting in her space."
"You jealous?"
"No," he scoffed, "But would you be okay with him being like that to Minh?"
"It would be a compliment that he would find my wife so desirable."
Bill grumbled, "I don't need his compliments."
"It's alright, Bill," Hank said, trying to calm him.
Leah suddenly cried out, "Oh! I'm so sorry!"
Everyone's attention snapped to the pool. John Redcorn stood with his hand clasped over his nose, and Leah hovered next to him, profusely apologizing.
"I'm so sorry!"
"It's fine, doesn't even hurt," John Redcorn assured her, yet when he took his hand away from his face, his nose was pouring blood.
"Oh no! Come on, let me get you cleaned up." They left the pool and she led him inside her house. Boomhauer climbed up to dry land and stared after them, looking conflicted.
"Who wants to play chicken?" Dale asked, and started to climb on Lucky's shoulders.
Octavio looked at Mia, locking eyes with her.
"I don't think I'd be able to carry you," she joked it off with a laugh.
"Yeah, yeah. I get it. Jealous boyfriend."
"Hey! I'm not jealous!" scowled Bill from the picnic table.
"Come on!" Dale ordered them, wobbling above Lucky.
Mia laughed, "I'm out," and went to climb out of the pool.
"Do you need help?" Octavio asked behind her.
"I can help her, thanks," Bill said sharply, and steadied Mia as she pulled up onto the pool edge.
Mia dried off with a towel, which Octavio didn't miss much to Bill's aggravation. She put her coverup back on and sat down with Bill at the picnic table, where Hank, Kahn and Boomhauer were also sitting. Boomhauer was at the edge of the table seat, fidgeting nervously as he kept glancing at Leah's house.
Mia held Bill's hand under the table, which made him feel a little more at ease.
Finally Leah and John Redcorn came out of the house, to which Boomhauer breathed a sigh of relief.
"I'm going to sit with Luanne before she leaves," Leah said to the table, and Mia hopped up to join her. John Redcorn's gaze followed Leah, until his eyes landed on Nancy who had gotten into the pool. He shrugged and got back in again. Nancy, Peggy, and Minh decided to get in the pool now, with the three teenagers, Lucky, and Octavio still swimming. John Redcorn's eyes landed on Nancy in the pool and he got back in again. Lucky, Octavio, Bobby, and Joseph were competing to see who would hold their breath underwater the longest.
Hank, Bill, Boomhauer, Dale, and Kahn were left at the picnic table, drinking their cans of beer. Boomhauer watched Leah sit with Luanne and Mia with Gracie in the middle of them.
"How are you feeling about being a father, Boomhauer?" Hank asked him.
Boomhauer hesitated. "Don't know. Never thought I'd be one so I never prepared myself for it."
"What happened?" Kahn laughed, "Pull and pray method didn't work?"
"I can unequivocally say that it does not," Dale nodded towards Joseph.
The following silence was awkward, but Dale didn't notice.
"Well, I think you'll be a great dad, Boomhauer."
"Thanks, Bill."
"What do you think, Bill? You've always wanted to be a father," Hank said.
"Yeah. But Mia and I have only been together a few months. I'm not really thinking about it yet."
"You better get her pregnant before Octavio does."
"Dale, I'm going to fucking kill you."
Dale laughed.
"Alright, simmer down." Hank said with finality.
Luanne had gathered up Gracie to leave, as she was starting to fuss for her nap time. Lucky got out of the pool and headed with them, and they said goodbye to everyone as they left.
"Congratulations again, Mr. Boomhauer!" Luanne told him before leaving.
Mia and Leah went back to the picnic tables again.
"I think it's really great that you two are so nice to Luanne. She doesn't have many positive female influences in her life," Hank told them after they sat down.
"Luanne is a very nice girl," Leah said, and Mia nodded.
"You two have certainly turned Bill and Boomhauer around too, I tell you what. Never thought I'd see them as happy as they have been since you guys came along. Especially you, Bill, I reckon you look almost like how you did back when you first enlisted."
Bill and Boomhauer smiled. A compliment from Hank meant a lot, as he didn't often dole them out unless he truly meant them.
They all talked together for a while until everyone who was left in the pool got back out again. John Redcorn dried himself off slowly. Octavio didn't bother putting his shirt back on. The picnic tables filled back up as they all came to sit down.
Fortunately for Bill, Octavio had to sit on the end, and not across from Mia.
The women began talking with Leah about pregnancy and babies again, with fervent excitement. John Redcorn mentioned that he was certified to give specific pregnancy massages. Boomhauer gave him a dark look.
Octavio said something to Mia in Spanish from across the table.
"English, please," Bill irked.
"That's racist, man."
"You know I'm not being racist. I'd just prefer to understand exactly what you're saying to my girlfriend."
Plainly, Mia explained, "He said he wondered if John Redcorn had a pregnancy fetish."
"Yes, that's exactly what he said," Peggy nodded.
"Admiring a woman's ability to create and carry life is not a fetish," John Redcorn spat as he stared daggers at Octavio. Octavio shrugged him off.
"Leah, when you're ready for your baby shower, I would love to help you plan it. We can even throw it at my house." Peggy's eyes were bright with excitement.
"Wow, thank you, Peggy. I think that would be a great idea!"
Slowly the party thinned out as the neighbors headed back to their homes. Mia helped Leah clean up and put her backyard back in order.
"Thank you for having me. I had a very nice time," John Redcorn said to Leah as he came up to the two of them.
"Of course. I'm so sorry I hit you!"
"It's nothing, really. It was just an accident. I-"
"Yo, Redcorn!" Octavio yelled loudly, "You leaving?" He sauntered towards the group.
John Redcorn sighed in annoyance. "Yes. Cash or grass if you want a ride."
"Cheapass." Octavio muttered. "Adiós, mamacitas." He waved his goodbye to Mia and Leah, glancing for slightly longer at Mia before turning away with John Redcorn.
"Jeez, they're something else," Mia said quietly to Leah as she watched them leave.
"They bring a...unique energy with them."
Mia agreed.
She and Bill said goodbye to Leah and Boomhauer before they went next door back to Bill's house. They both settled in and sat on the couch together to unwind after the long day. Bill felt unreasonably drained. Keeping Octavio in his line of vision all day was exhausting.
Mia could feel Bill was acting strangely. He was terse in his replies, his body language was wooden.
"Are you okay?" she asked him.
"I'm fine."
Mia cozied up to him and playfully batted her lashes. "Are you sure?"
He couldn't help but smile. "Yes. I'm just tired."
She kissed him slowly, and for a moment he felt nothing else but her. He almost forgot the stress he was feeling. When they broke apart, she gazed up at him with that look she always gave when she wanted him. He always wanted her, and welcomed the implication, but the impending distraction from his thoughts was an added benefit. He kissed her again and led her away to the bedroom.
Moonlight fell in through the large bedroom window. They slid off their clothes while their hands and lips brushed against each other's skin. Bill was becoming more forceful and rough as they went on. He gripped her more firmly than he normally did, and pounded sharply into her. Somewhere in his mind he kept thinking about Octavio's presence around Mia. Octavio kept ogling her today, and was sure to keep close to her. Bill kept thinking about how Octavio would make her laugh and smile...and he even put his hands on her…
Mia yelped in pain, which cut through his stormy thoughts.
"Sorry," Bill panted. He hadn't realized how hard he was grinding into her.
"What's wrong? You're extra aggressive tonight." She looked up at him questioningly as he was poised overtop of her.
"Sorry."
He rolled off of her and onto his back, and threw his arm over his eyes in defeat.
"What's wrong?"
"I don't know."
Mia sighed and slid against him. "Can you tell me?"
Bill wavered, torn between wanting to be honest but not sound like he was controlling or jealous.
"Are you mad at me?" Mia asked quietly. Bill swiftly removed his arm from his eyes.
"No, why would you think that?"
"I don't know. You didn't seem happy about the whole Octavio thing."
Bill sighed. "It's nothing you did. I just felt like he gets too close to you and was toeing the line of flirting."
Mia thought a moment, thinking back to everything Octavio said or did to her earlier. "From my perspective, I didn't feel like he was doing anything inappropriate, or anything to make me uncomfortable. If he ever did I would have said something to him."
Bill kept going. He needed to say everything on his mind now that he had already started. "He kept talking to you in Spanish. And you kept laughing or smiling. I didn't know what he was saying to you."
Mia frowned and shook her head. "It was mostly dumb jokes. He wasn't hitting on me or anything."
"God, and when he put his hands on you I wanted to wring his neck."
"Come on," Mia chuckled, "You act like he was groping me. You saw that Dale smashed into me and I fell backwards."
"I guess."
Mia looked at him with a softened expression. "To me, he's just a guy that your friend is friends with. I don't feel like he was flirting with me or anything, but if you feel like he was then I will stay clear of him."
Bill shook his head. "No, I don't want you to do that. You can talk to whoever you want. I just, I don't know. I don't like that he thinks you're an option to him. It's not enough for him that you have a boyfriend. Or that it's me who is your boyfriend..."
"I'm not an option to him. I'm not an option to anyone. No one could ever take me away from you."
Bill gave a small smile.
He had already known the reassuring answers she gave. It was just hard to consider them when his mind was automatically choosing the worst case scenario. He had been living the worst case scenario for most of his life now; he wasn't used to any good outcomes. And anything with Mia was always a good outcome...
Had it been Lenore, she would have flirted with Octavio right in front of Bill. Probably would have fucked him too at some point. And she still would have diminished Bill's feelings and told him he was being the unreasonable one.
Mia hoped Bill's doubts were assuaged. He had touched upon his past experiences with his ex-wife and ex-girlfriends cheating, so she understood why he might feel uneasy. She also understood he had issues with low self esteem which is why someone like Octavio was getting to him. Bill wasn't often around women who weren't his friends' wives, so Mia hadn't gone through a role-reversal of the situation. But she felt so safe with him, so assured that their relationship was on the path to the long-term, she didn't think she would feel insecure if someone would give him attention the way Octavio did with her. She knew he wouldn't feed into it, and would shut it down if it started to cross the line.
However, somewhere in the corners of Mia's mind, where she kept her most troubled thoughts tucked away, she wondered if she was good enough for Bill. She wondered if he might eventually prefer someone who was different...someone who was more confident, or more delicate...maybe even someone who looked different than she did… She wasn't good enough for Aaron, the person she gave seven years of her life to, so could it be she just wasn't good enough for anyone…?
Still, Mia could rarely fully develop those disparaging thoughts, not when Bill time and again proved them wrong. He made her feel cherished and appreciated, and that it was okay to be unapologetically herself. Any anxious thoughts that unsettled Mia would evaporate when Bill would brush the hair from the side of her face and kiss her. She truly felt like she loved him, and maybe soon she would find the right opportunity to tell him.
But for now, they spent the night holding each other, laying together in the moonlight.
