It’s a Love Story

First things first, I have to tell you about The Most Important Person In My Life. We’ll call them Coffee. They are my partner, my best friend, and the love of my life. Let me tell you a little bit about them.

First: description. My Coffee has brown curls that trail down their back, which they like to keep in a bun (mostly after showers) or a high ponytail (which I love) and sometimes in braids (also adorable). They have the sweetest smile I have ever seen, which has the ability to light up the world, and brown eyes that I get lost in. They’re a little bit on the shorter side of 5'1 and every moment with them feels like magic. They are a comedic genius, the kindest soul I have ever met, and somehow book-smart and insanely emotionally intelligent all at once! They love coffee flavored ice cream (hence the name), egg-shell white carnations, and The Hunger Games. Oh, and they also love me! We’ve been together for almost a year now, and I love them more every day. I don’t know how it’s possible, but somehow I fall in love with them over and over again - a word, or a glance, or a brush of their hand and suddenly I’m floating. You can love someone and still see their faults — you just love them more because of them and how they make your lover even more wonderful. Today I’m going to tell you the story of how Coffee and I got together.

It was January. A misty day. The sky was slightly gray and the clouds, single-looking, obscured the sun. That day we were auditioning for a musical. It was busy and warm inside the school building, filled with the blazing glow of lights and the giddy, cheerful sounds that was a staple of the school, laughter combatting the light gentle mist outdoors. But instead of being cozied up in a sweater, I was bundled with nerves, bunching together and squeezing me tight. It had to be today. I didn’t think I could wait any longer. It was time.

Coffee came up to me. “Do you wanna go for a walk?” they asked. “It’s loud in here and I miss you.”

“Yes!” Me, breathless. Nervous.

“I think I’ve figured something out,” I said as we travelled through the warm-but-not-stuffy school hallways. They had been asking me for a while now whether I had any crushes on anyone, if I liked anyone and I had been too nervous to tell them.

“Yeah?” Their eyes sparkled  with respect.“I think I’m bisexual.”

Everyone had suspected that Coffee and I were more than besties for the length of time we were attached-at-the-hip “just friends”, (I liked Luna since 6th grade just so you all know- Coffee) the type of friends who held hands and cuddled and ended every text with an “I love you!” “I love you too!” We told each other more than we ever told anyone. We became glued at the hip, as they say, and my fondest memories were of talking on the back sport court about anything and everything in both our lives and the metaphorical world, understanding each other the way no one else ever had before; their sweet fingers laced in mine; cuddling; supporting each other; taking photos; talking laughing crying. We had a seemingly simple friendship, yes, but in actuality it was the deepest and most wonderful thing I had ever experienced. And now it was time to be brave.

"Ooh, do you have a crush on a girl?" they asked. They'd been out as gay and nonbinary for a while, but this was the first time I had come out as bi to anyone.

"Something like that," I said, my mind and my eyes both fixed on the person next to me, lost in them. Their brown eyes, the way they made me melt, the expression in them. The curiosity, the care, the... nerves?

By this time our indoor lap had ended, with further conversation, and we pushed open the doors into the room, alive with the melodies of voices, of people. "Ooh," they teased us, buzzing around us. "How was your romantic walk?" 

I wish, I thought, face flushing.

I watched as Coffee's face flushed rosey and my heart melted for the umpteenth time.

---

I walked alone, the rain bearing down on me. It was light, not very wet at all. I sloshed around in the puddles it deserted, but no matter how wet my sneakers got they remained fresh and white as old sneakers could be. The side bore the Sharpie letters: I ♡ U. Drawn by Coffee. Did they like me? Did they not? Sometimes I thought, no, knew with all certainty that the did but other times, that creeping doubt would shadow my, the uncertainty, the slapping waves of anxiety. But one thing I knew to be sure. I loved them. And if I didn't ask how they felt about me I would never know. But if I did and they didn't reciprocate my feelings...would that be the end of our friendship? A tree dripped on my head. My white shirt was soaked through with rainspots, glistening with damp freshness. The birds whistled. The air was fresh. I breathed in.

"Luna! Luna!!!"

It was Coffee. Coffee, CoffeeCoffeeCoffee. Calling my name. My name!!! They fumbled with a borrowed umbrella before letting it drop, joining me in the rain which turned to dew which - 

"What are you doing? You'll get cold and wet!" I exclaimed.

"I'm fine. But what about you! You’re freezing!” They offered me their coat. I blushed. Coffee told me, "I wanted to be with you."

My heart swelled six sizes bigger, just as the Grinch's had done so long before. It had and still does that so much (I wonder how it doesn't explode from love when I'm around them).

"Please tell me who it is," they asked, their eyes shining and earnest. 

And suddenly I couldn't, my lips sealed. The enormity of the moment was too large, a single word would change our entire relationship to each other. And, while I wanted more, I didn't want to lose what we had. They were my best friend. They understood me and confided in me. I loved being around them and - and holding their hand. I flushed.

"I can't," I said quiet of tone though not of volume.

"Please," they asked. "Is it..." They began guessing names, but I shook my head repeatedly after each one. I flopped down on the wet grass, staining my shirt and banging my skull against the compact earth. "Luna!"

"I'm okay," I reassured them gently, smiling. Slowly, I rose onto my elbows, then back onto my feet.

"You can tell me," Coffee said, our eyes met. Electricity. They reached out their hand and I took it. "I promise nothing could ever come between us," they told me, so genuine and loving.

I drew in a deep breath just as they finally asked, tentatively - 

"Is it me?"

And slowly, holding in my lungs the air from that last moment before the answer, the knowing,

                            I nodded.

"Really?" they breathed.

"Yes," I was blushing hard, feeling their warm gaze on me. "Do you- I mean do-" I stammered.

"I like you too," Coffee told me, amorously, their eyes full of joy. They reached both beautiful hands out for mine, palms extended, offering a universe of trust and love.

I took them, feeling the warm trace of their fingers linked with mine, as our palms became one.

"Are y0u sure?"

"I'm 100% positive! I've never been more sure about anything in my life," Coffee said voice, full of love and pounding with conviction.

I pulled them close, holding them in my arms. I never wanted to let go. 

"I love you," I told them.

"I love you too."

And then, from my place against their shoulder I could see -

"Coffee, there's a double rainbow! It's so beautiful!"

"It’s amazing!" They smiled at me. "It was meant to be.”

"It feels like it came out just for us," I said my voice full of love, with a shy smile .

Coffee smiled back at me, our fingers wrapped together with all the warmth of a crackling fire in a house made home.

Later when we told the story of our getting together people would say, 'It was a sign!' and 'it was meant to be, that's magical!'

When we look back together, we always recall the warmth of the moment, the love beating forevermore in our hearts, the lovely blossoming flower of our love, and, of course, the beauty of the two rainbows nestled together against the blue-gray sky, bleeding iridescent diamonds of color as they cuddled close. And, we would always remark on how,

“It's just like us!” ♡