Page 103 of Some Things Never Change

“It’s just a regular T-shirt.”

“But it was mine.” His voice was a soft whisper.

I turned to look into his pretty, light eyes staring back at me.

Under the soft moonlight peeking through the covered garage window, he looked inhuman and ethereal like a mystical being straight out of the depths of an imagination. His eyes were more green under the cool light of the moon. But despite that, I could still see the golden flecks in his eyes reminding me they were there. Even his skin seemed to take on a cool undertone when it typically had a golden warmth.

Under the rays of the sun, he radiated like the sunshine. But under the luminescence of the moon, he glowed like stardust.

I reached out to let my index finger trace the outline of his sharp jaw as I did the first time after our first date two months ago. Looks were deceiving. He looked like a frosty god, but he breathed like the hot-blooded human he truly was. Under my fingertip, his skin was completely human—soft, smooth, and scorching.

“You’re so beautiful, Andy,” I said. “And so loving and caring.”

He swallowed thickly and then let out a long breath. His hand came up to bring my finger to his warm lips. He gave it a single kiss before opening his mouth to bite down the tip of it sharply. I gasped as he tenderly held my hand in place, licking the mark he left behind. He gave my finger another quick kiss before returning my hand back to me.

Then his finger reached out to do the same to me as he lightly traced my features. I giggled under the ticklish lines he drew on my face.

“You’re just as beautiful, Julie. And, just as lovely and wonderful.”

I didn’t bother biting and licking his fingers back. All I wanted was for his fingertips to stay lingering on my skin for a little while longer, and he did as I silently requested. His breath became heavier, and he swallowed hard when his gaze caught mine.

“I’ve always wondered how differently our lives would have been if I had just taken the courage to confess to you the summer before I started college,” said Andy, quietly. A smile danced on his lips as he stared into a distant past. “Even if we felt the same about each other and got together then, it would’ve still been hard. I was away at college and you were here. It wouldn’t have been easy, but I’m certain we would have still made it work out. Some way, somehow.”

“Of course,” I said. “But we were young and dumb. There was no doubt we would’ve had major arguments and misunderstandings.”

He laughed, nodding in agreement. When his laughter died out, he let out a long sigh as he leaned into his seat. He turned to me with a soft, wistful smile.

“Is it alright if you let me live out my teenage dream of confessing to you like how I originally planned?”

I smiled, now curious. “Of course.”

I shifted closer to him as he sat up straight. I took his hand in mine and the smile he wore now turned sheepish, with pink dusting his cheeks. He was being shy again. He let out a soft chuckle that sounded like a giggle and cleared his throat. He turned to me, being all cute, giddy, and bashful.

“Don’t expect much, alright? I was seventeen when I wanted to confess this to you.”

“I keep forgetting you and Anthony were still seventeen when you both graduated. That’s what you get for being born in October, I guess.”

He scoffed. “Don’t remind me. If there's one thing I hated the most was how late Anthony and my birthdays were. And, it’s not our fault we were born later in the year, alright?”

“Okay, I get it. I’m sorry for making fun of you for being a baby when you graduated. So, about your confession? Do you still remember it?”

“I knew I was going to mess up my confession, so I forced myself to write it out and memorize it. And, if I couldn’t say it at all, I’d give it to you.” Andy pulled out a folded up, crumpled piece of paper from the pocket of his shorts. I reached out to grab it, but his long arms held it far away from me. “Not so fast. Let me read it first and then you can keep it afterwards.”

I leaned back against the seat with a smile, eager to hear what he had written so long ago. With a voice soft and shy but filled with emotion, he read out his heartfelt words.

“Julie,

“I know you have never liked how honest I was about how much I loved you when we first met as kids. I loved you then because I saw my lifelong friend in you from the moment I met you. Call it ‘best friends at first sight’ if you like, but that was what you were to me. I’ve always known you’d always hold a special place in my heart. But, over the years, this friendship I see in you has developed into something more.

“You’re smart, beautiful, and you always know how to brighten up my day. You’re my best friend and you’re the girl who’s always on my mind, who I can never stop thinking about. I’ve thought about telling you how I feel a million times before, but I was always too scared. I didn’t want to risk losing our friendship, but now I realize that not telling you is the biggest risk of all. So, here goes nothing again, just like the first time. I love you, Julie. I have always been hopelessly in love with you for as long as I can remember.

“Always and forever yours, Andy.”

As he finished, he looked up at me with a nervous smile, waiting for my response as if we were just kids again in the back of his first car on a summer night. I felt my heart swell in my chest at his words as I smiled back at him. I probably would have cried if he confessed this to me that hot summer when I turned sixteen, before his college days.

“I have always loved you, too, Andy.”

I reached across the way and kissed him. His lips met mine eagerly, pulling me close. We giggled into each other’s mouths as we kissed and kissed. Andy handed me the paper he wrote his confession on afterwards. It was crumpled up just like the other letter he gave me, confessing how much he was going to miss me by being away at college.

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