“What is it?” I asked, my brows pulling together in a combination of anticipation and confusion. I wanted to know, desperately, but I was also afraid of what he might say, because I knew, no matter what, his words were about to change everything.

He took a deep, shuddering breath. “I love you.”

In that instant, it felt as if all the air had been stolen from my lungs. I was breathless in a way I’d never been breathless before. From the sincere and slightly frightened look in his eyes, to the sentiment of his declaration, I was absolutely beside myself as a plethora of emotion consumed me from the inside out. I had been in love with Nash Harris for years. Maybe even since we were 9 years old. He was my first love. I’d given him everything: my first kiss, my virginity, my heart and soul. I loved him more than I ever knew it was possible to love another person. And now, he loved me, too. He’d said so himself. My smile got the better of me. As did the tears pricking at the backs of my eyes.

“Are you crying?” he chuckled, nudging me playfully.

I ducked my head, burying my face into the crook of his neck, feeling his laughter as it rumbled through him, causing his chest to vibrate against mine. With a fortifying breath, I forced myself to look up, meeting his eyes, and he offered a small, knowing smile before leaning in and pressing a kiss to my forehead. I wrapped my arms around his neck, my fingers raking their way up into his hair so I could guide him closer, our foreheads touching. For a moment we just stood there, in the center of the clearing, with nothing but the crickets and the fireflies keeping us company. Just us beneath a blanket of stars. It was a perfect moment. The best moment.

“I love you, too,” I whispered, breathing him in and looking deep into his eyes, searching them. “But I have a feeling you knew that a long time ago.”

He smiled, ducking in closer until his lips finally brushed against mine in a kiss so all-consuming, I knew I would remember it for the rest of my life.

I look up from the beer can in my hands. The memory of that night alone brings a faraway smile to my face, butterflies swarming low in my belly. But when I find Nash watching me intently, his blue eyes a little dazed, something passes between us. The air around us shifts, thick with a tension that isn’t awkward or uncomfortable, just obvious and quite possibly a little inappropriate. My heart stammers in the center of my chest, and I’m almost sure he can hear it.

“I’ll never forget that night,” Nash says in a whisper so soft I almost miss it.

And it’s right at that moment that I realize just how much closer we’ve become in the last few minutes. He’s leaning into me and I into him, the distance that had been between us is long gone, and we’re in dangerous territory. My eyes flit between his, watching them darken right before me, and I’m completely overwhelmed by everything. The beer. The memories. The scent of his cologne which, even after all these years, remains the same. It’s as if we’re right back in that clearing, just the two of us, and it feels as if everything is about to change, and my stomach clenches.