He looked down at me with those beautiful soft brown eyes. It seemed as if they could go on forever, reaching places so vast and deep that I could never imagine. His intent gaze was just as beautiful as everything else about him: the graceful way he moved, the scent that came off of him, his low, raspy voice. My heart pounded at the sight of him or the sound of his name. Nobody noticed except for me. But tonight was my night, my glorious, wonderful night. Tonight, I was going to tell him the three majestic words that had fallen into my soul the first time I'd met him. It was the perfect time to tell him: the soft breeze, the bonfire on the beach, the setting was perfect. And so was my heart.



"Are you cold? Because I can take you home, if you want." His words rang in my ears as I shook my head.



"I'm perfectly fine. I was actually wanting to tell you something." My lower lip trembled. "Do you remember Valentine's day, last year?"



He smiled, then nodded. " Of course. Both of us had no one, so we gave eachother chocolate and watched horror movies to make a joke of it." He laughed his musical laugh, making the butterflies start to flitter. "Why?"



"Well..." I tried to concentrate on what I was about to say.



"Well, one of my friends has a problem. She really, really loves someone. But she doesn't know how he feels about her. They've known each other forever, but she is scared he loves her only as a friend. What should she do?" I looked down, afraid to hear what would come next.



"Well, she should tell him how she really feels. You have to take risks sometimes." His answer was honest. Suddenly, he frowned.



"Do I know this person?" I looked up, my body almost shaking.



"You might."



Then, without looking away from my face, he took a box out of the back pocket of his faded blue jeans. He swiftly dropped it in my hand, still holding his perfect gaze.



"Well, aren't you going to open it?" He pressed. I hesitated, the slowly lifted the lid. I gasped.



Inside of the little silver box was the most beautiful necklace I had ever seen. It had my birthstone, opal, in the middle with diamonds surrounding it. It was something I'd never dreamed of receiving from a guy, let alone the perfect one. I felt tears of happiness roll down my cheeks, and my mind rejoycing.



"It's... beautiful." I couldn't say anything else. Nothing else I might say would describe what I thought of it. His eyes lit up.



"You like it?"



"I love it."



"I love you." He had said it. The only thing I wanted in this world, mine at last. Everything I wanted and hoped for was finally coming true. Before he had to breathe, I blurted my thoughts out louds.



"I love you, too." He smiled, then leaned in closer, his face only inches away from mine. I slowly closed my eyes and felt his soft lips against mine, with a kind of passion only we could understand. My best friend, my shoulder to cry on, my soul was now my love.



Always and forever.