Raine
It had been three weeks since our first official date and kiss under the fireworks.
Three weeks since I promised myself I wouldn’t keep love at arm’s length anymore.
And I hadn’t broken that promise.
Not once.
In those three weeks, I found something I never thought I’d have—ease. Warmth. Laughter that didn’t feel stolen. I found it in the way Jahlani smiled when he saw me walking toward him across campus, in the way his fingers always found mine when we sat too close, not to touch.
Some days, we’d take our textbooks out to the big maple tree near the science hall, its leaves blazing with autumn color. He’d rest his head on my lap while I read, occasionally pretending to snore just to make me poke him in the ribs.
We had late-night study sessions that didn’t always end in much
