Baelison is her full first name but for me it’s too long, so once we became friends I started calling her Bae. We met in first grade, and we’re in each-others class ever since, we have stuck to one another as if we were glued to the hip. Late night calls about breakups, ice cream and pizza sleepovers when she’s down, and movie nights when I’m upset about losing a b-ball game. And now here I am at her doorstep, eleven years later, asking her father for his blessing to ask her out. We’ve slept in the same room before, as friends, she’s fallen asleep on my shoulder on countless different occasions, and I even helped her redecorate her room for her 16th.

I knock on the door and smell her Japanese cherry blossom perfume from Bath and body works, the one I got her for her seventeenth birthday a couple days ago. As soon as she opened the door my heart skipped a beat. Her smell, made me want to hug her and get a better sense, her long dirty blonde hair, dripping cold water onto the floor just made something in my stomach do a flip. Just as always when she gets out of the shower, she brushes through it still wet, and squeezes as much water out as possible before she puts her clothes on and let’s it drip down her shirt. I saw her hazel brown eyes fill with shock but also excitement as she saw me standing on the other side of the door with a bouquet of yellow roses in my hand- her favorite. She could have said something but I was standing there frozen taking in her beauty. We have loved each other for years, as siblings would. It was only recently I realized I love her in a completely different way.

My girlfriend Stacy- had just broke up with me, on my birthday- which also happens to be Valentines Day. So I was not only having the worst birthday ever, my Valentine had baled. I hadn’t told anyone so I have no clue how she knew…

Jai lays under the stars, on the ground, in the dark Valentines night. All alone, crying over Stacy when he heard a car drive up to him and flash their headlights. Jai got up and immediately recognized the car- it was Bae. Jai stands up, walks over to her car and opens the car door, and sat in the back seat. She gets out of the car and sits in the seat next to me.

“Hey, I know Stacy was some one you cared about, a lot but- I’m always here for you, you’ll never have to go through anything alone. Because I- I love you.”

“In what way?” He asked, because her tone is different from when she usually tells him that. Three little words, can change everything. And they did. There was a long pause before she replied.

“The way I’ve always loved you in.” Which Isn’t very specific. This just confused him even more. “But anyway,” she grabbed a bag that was on the floor by her feet. And handed him a box of chocolates with the words be mine in her handwriting and a single blue rose on top. “I would be your Valentine if you you want to be mine.” She has sparkles in her eyes, as if she ment it as something deeper than friendship.

“Why not.” He replied, blushing. He was slowly realizing how much he actually liked her, as more than a friend. She pulled a small box out of the bag as well, and then hands it to Jai.

“Happy birthday.” She hugged him and he broke down crying. He wraps his arms around her back and they sit there until he’s calm again.

He leans away and they’re staring into each other’s eyes as Bae’s hand falls from his shoulder to his lap. They both look down at her hand and he places his on top of hers, not thinking straight. Her eyes stay on his hand as he leans into kiss her, and he places his free hand on her cheek. He stops inches away from her lips, as she looks up, and closes her eyes. He leans in and closes the space between them.

She’s the first to pull away.

They make up the end.