Friday night confessions
1171 Words
Friday nights always felt strange to Jessica after dropping Carson off at his dad’s place.
The house became quieter.
Too quiet sometimes.
No cartoons running loudly in the living room. No little footsteps racing through the hallway. No random questions every five minutes about snacks or games or dinosaurs.
Just silence.
At 7:45pm Jessica finally pulled back into her driveway after the long drive there and back. Her shoulders ached from sitting in the car so long and she sighed while shutting the engine off.
Then she noticed someone sitting on the porch steps.
Aston.
Jessica blinked.
There he was in a dark hoodie and jeans, elbows resting on his knees while he waited like some nervous teenager outside a first date.
Aston instantly stood up when he saw her car lights.
She’s finally home, he thought immediately.
Then another thought followed right after.
Only been forty-five minutes. This better be worth it.
His stomach twisted itself into knots.
Because tonight mattered.
Jessica stepped out of the car slowly staring at him with confusion already written all over her face.
“No heads up?” she asked while walking toward him.
Aston rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
“Sorry love.”
That word still made Jessica weak.
“I just wanted to see you.”
“At almost eight at night sitting on my porch like a lost puppy?”
Aston laughed nervously.
“Something like that.”
Jessica reached the porch steps finally standing directly in front of him.
He looked anxious.
Very anxious.
She noticed immediately.
“What’s wrong?”
Aston swallowed hard.
Nothing suddenly felt smooth anymore. All the confidence he practiced in the car disappeared instantly the second she stood in front of him.
His palms were sweating.
His chest pounded.
Jessica tilted her head slightly.
“Aston?”
“I just…” He exhaled shakily. “I wanted to officially tell you that…”
He stopped.
Jessica’s stomach flipped.
“That…?” she asked softly.
Aston looked directly at her finally.
“…I love you.”
Everything inside Jessica froze.
Her heart.
Her thoughts.
Even her breathing.
For a second she genuinely forgot how to respond.
Because hearing those words from him felt different than imagining them.
Real.
Heavy.
Beautiful.
Terrifying.
Aston immediately noticed her silence.
And panic started setting in.
Jessica meanwhile was freaking out internally.
He loves me.
Oh my god.
He actually said it.
The man she thought about every night… the man she imagined futures with… the man she secretly already considered part of her family…
Loved her.
“You do?” she finally asked softly.
Aston nodded once.
“Since when?”
He smiled nervously.
“Since like Tuesday honestly.”
Jessica almost laughed from relief at how awkwardly honest he sounded.
“I was sitting at home thinking about you and Carson and your parents and…” He shook his head quietly. “I just kinda realized… wow. I really do love this girl.”
Jessica’s chest hurt in the best way possible.
“So I told you,” he finished quietly. “Just a week later.”
Then his expression shifted slightly.
Because she still had not said it back.
Aston’s shoulders lowered a little.
And Jessica saw it happen in real time.
The fear.
The doubt.
“Do you love me?” he asked carefully.
There was something so vulnerable about the way he said it that Jessica instantly melted.
She stepped closer to him immediately.
“I do.”
Aston looked up quickly.
"I really, really love you too, Aston.”
The relief that hit his face nearly made Jessica emotional.
His eyes softened instantly.
Like the entire world unclenched around him.
Then silence settled between them again.
But this silence felt different.
Comfortable.
Important.
Jessica smiled shyly while Aston stared at her like he was trying to memorize the moment forever.
Finally he laughed softly under his breath.
“You know I practiced that speech like twelve times in the car.”
Jessica burst out laughing.
“You’re kidding.”
“Nope. Forgot half of it immediately.”
“That’s actually adorable.”
“Don’t call me adorable after I confessed my love dramatically on a porch.”
“You were sitting like a sad raccoon waiting for me.”
“I was trying to look cool.”
“You failed.”
Aston laughed harder now, finally relaxed.
God he loved hearing her laugh.
Loved causing it even more.
Then suddenly he looked at her again with that softer expression she was starting to recognize.
“Wanna come for a drive down to the beach with me?”
Jessica lit up immediately.
“You know I do!”
Twenty minutes later they were driving down dark roads with music playing quietly through the speakers.
The windows were cracked slightly letting cool night air drift inside the car.
Jessica leaned comfortably against the passenger seat watching streetlights blur past outside.
Aston kept glancing at her every few seconds like he still could not believe she loved him back.
Jessica noticed eventually.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You keep looking at me.”
“I know.”
“Why?”
Aston smiled to himself.
“Because now I get to call you my girlfriend without sounding delusional.”
Jessica grinned.
“You’re such an idiot.”
“Your idiot.”
That made her blush immediately.
The beach was nearly empty when they arrived.
Only the sound of waves crashing against shore filled the dark night air.
Jessica wrapped her arms around herself against the cold while Aston walked beside her down the sand.
He eventually slid his hand into hers naturally.
Like it belonged there.
They walked quietly for a while just listening to the water.
No pressure to speak.
No awkwardness.
Just peace.
Finally Jessica looked over at him.
“You really scared me disappearing for those weeks.”
Aston sighed softly.
“I know.”
“I thought you stopped caring.”
“Never.”
He squeezed her hand gently.
“I think I care too much honestly.”
Jessica smiled faintly.
“Good.”
Aston stopped walking then turned toward her completely.
Moonlight reflected softly across the water behind them while wind pushed lightly through Jessica’s hair.
“You know what’s weird?” he asked quietly.
“What?”
“I used to love being alone.”
Jessica listened carefully.
“And now every good thing that happens makes me wanna tell you first.”
That sentence hit her harder than all the others.
Because it sounded real.
Not dramatic.
Not rehearsed.
Just honest.
Jessica stepped closer until their bodies nearly touched.
“I’m glad you waited on my porch tonight.”
Aston smiled softly.
“Me too.”
Then he kissed her.
Slow.
Warm.
Certain.
And standing there beside the ocean with cold wind around them and waves crashing nearby…
Jessica knew this was no longer just some online romance that accidentally became real.
This was love now.
Real love.
- Writer
