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I will never forget the overwhelming feeling I had the first time he said it.   

I remember that summer night like it was yesterday.  The weeks that led up to it he would often text me things that so carefully hinted  his desire to say it.  We would write poems back and forth about how we felt; his were always amazing, mine mediocre. I admired him for it.  In many of his poems he would say the actual words, but me?  Well, I’d never said them to 

anyone besides my close friends and family.  I thought that was farther off in my future.  But—as usual—I thought wrong.  I guess life sometimes arrives sooner than you expect.  Though, in this case I’m quite alright with that.  I’ll admit I was a little nervous.  He made me feel so amazing that I was afraid saying those three words would only end in disaster and heartache—still, I longed for them.  I longed to hear those words, to physically hear them, and not just read them

It was rather late one night and we were up talking on the phone.  He soon realized I was drifting off and it was--unfortunately--time to hang up and get some rest.   He whispered “Goodnight” after which was a long pause.  I was wide awake now.  My heart fluttered.  I’d never wanted to hear something more than I wanted to hear those words at that moment.  I waited.  Then I softly heard the gentle words I’ll never forget.  “I love you.” 

He said it.  Yes, he said it.  He told me he loved me.  My heart pounded within me.  I felt something I’ve never felt before, something that truly can’t be expressed with words.  It is a feeling only those who have had the breathtaking opportunity to feel can understand.  It is the feeling I get every time I’m with him—every time he says those three words to me.  It is complete happiness.  I remember thinking to myself no one has ever said it to me like that before.  Then, through my quiet tears of joy, I said back to him tenderly, “I love you too.” 

        At that moment I knew.  I knew what those words meant.  The feeling was undeniable and incomprehensible.  That is what it feels like to be in love.  I knew I was young, but I also knew that there was simply no way it could get any better than that.  But I was wrong, because it did get better.  From then on, every day with him became my new favorite day, and now today I look back remembering that feeling and I grasp the vast distance we’ve traveled since.  I love him more with every passing moment, and at that precise instant when I know there is no possible way I can love him more, I realize…I’m wrong again.

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