I rolled over to see Jesse lying there. It was eighteen months later, on the day of our anniversary. He'd taken me out for a nice lunch on the water and a little adventure around Sydney's northern beaches. He was so good to me.
When I met him a year ago, I didn't think this would happen. I didn't think I would fall for him so hard. This whole 'relationship' thing was rather inconvenient, to be honest. I had goals to smash, and shit to do, and there I was spending time with someone who made me incredibly happy.
In the back of my mind, I always knew he was going to leave. I'd been living with him for most of the year, but I refused to unpack my little suitcase and use the drawers he had cleared for me. I'd kept a wall up, just waiting for him to pack up in the middle of the night and fly away to Europe. But he hadn't… yet. I'd fallen in love with him a long time ago, but never mustered up the courage to tell him. I didn't want to say it out loud because that made it real, and I didn't want it to be real. If it was real, then I could lose it. Love felt like a rock that could easily dissolve into sand and slip through my fingers.
But on that day, it just came tumbling out of my mouth. "I love you," I said as I looked into his sparkling eyes.
"I love you too," he replied, a coy smile curling at his lips. "But you already knew that, didn't you?"
Did I? Of course, I did. I'd known for a long time, but he was always so patient with me and my walls. I just wasn't sure I was ready to rip them down and expose my heart. What's that saying? Oh yeah. Love hur-
