I Love You

We were only supposed to talk to each other and get to know each other as friends who had just met were supposed to do.

We had been standing on this street corner, staring at each other without saying anything for less than a minute. I couldn't help but stare into his deep, green eyes. Desperate for him to kiss me, though we had only just met. I started counting the seconds, knowing I shouldn't be doing this yet. My heart was beating faster every time he returned that stare.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5

We were staring at each other again; a passionate flame burning in our eyes as we looked deeper. We could see the spark of that flame igniting and burning brighter and brighter.

6, 7, 8, 9, 10

My legs had become jelly, and I could barely feel my feet touching the ground. My heart and stomach felt like they were bursting with a thousand hearts that were being released into the sky.

11, 12, 13, 14

We were moving closer together without realizing it. His arm brushed against mine, and we looked at each other with startled expressions as the electricity between us shocked us.

15, 16, 17, 18

Our faces were so close together that our lips brushed against each other. Startled by this reaction, I jumped back and shook my head. This was moving too fast. We had only just met. I felt the situation was starting to get out of control, I felt as though I couldn't stop it. He just stared at me and held his hands up in protest.

19, 20, 21, 22

I felt awkward so I moved further away from him, but I still couldn't take my eyes away from this handsome man in front of me. There was something mysteriously alluring about him that drew me in. He smiled and nodded, gesturing for me to stand closer to him. I shrugged my shoulders and shook my head solemnly, with tears in my eyes. I wasn't sure that I wanted to start a relationship this way. We had only been talking beforehand for less than a minute, then we just stopped because the conversation between us was becoming difficult, and the more we talked the more we felt, so we decided to remain conversationless.

23, 24, 25, 26

He must have felt as uneasy as I did because he almost walked away. At first, I thought that maybe I should let him walk away; maybe it would release the tension between us. However, as if on automatic-pilot mode, I moved fast and grabbed his hand, almost as if I was begging him to stay. I think he got it, because he stayed, although he frowned in frustration as if he didn't know why I wanted him to stay.

That was okay because I didn't know either.

27, 28, 29, 30

We stood side by side. He put his hand into mine. This time, I didn't flinch. The warmth of his hand in mine was overwhelming, and with my mouth wide open; I could only stare at him again, but in complete shock.

31, 32, 33, 34

I couldn't take any more of this silence but I refrained from speaking because I knew that saying anything would worsen the situation. He attempted to mouth some words, but I put my finger on my mouth to signal that he must be silent, though I really wanted us to talk.

Talking would only make the situation harder.

35, 36, 37, 38

Our lips brushed again, but this time we kissed full-on. The kiss went on for a few seconds more than I desired. I suddenly realized what we were doing, and I shook my head hard and pushed him away. He put his head down in shame, while I put my hand over my mouth and felt tears welling up in my eyes.

39, 40, 41, 42

We attempted to distance ourselves again, only to find our hands locked into each other. Neither of us could move. Suddenly, he put his hands on my chin and lifted my face. I looked deeper into his eyes, and touched his face; then I let go, recoiling in fear of something happening again.

43, 44, 45, 46

The temptation was growing stronger. We both had feelings for each other, but we were afraid that it was too soon to start a relationship. We hadn't known each other long, and we had strong feelings for each other already, we were afraid.

Afraid that if we showed too much, we would ruin our friendship.

47, 48, 49, 50

We tried to move away from each other again, but something kept us in place. At that moment, we realized we were in love, and afraid to do anything about it.

51, 52, 53, 54

We felt frustrated. The fire within us was just burning brighter, and we were both longing to be together, yet at the same time, we kept resisting each other, whilst pulling each other back.

We didn't know how much longer we could cope with the situation.

55, 56, 57, 58

One final time, we stared deeply into each other's eyes. We tried to walk away from each other, but our hearts became overwhelmed, and we ended up walking back into each other's arms.

59, 60

With tears in our eyes and a fire in our hearts that could not be put out, we stared at each other intensely, and then we finally kissed each other, deeply and passionately.

That is when he silently mouthed the words,

"I love you."

And finally, I mouthed the words back.