Attention Runner-Up

Chapter 45 (NSFW)

I guess there isn't a whole lot left to say. Kenzie and I have been going steady for a little over a year. Things seem to be finally falling into place for me. It took me a while to figure out who I am and what I want in life, but I think I finally have the answers. And the answer is simple,

I want a partner.

A lifelong friend.

I want Mackenzie James Wilson to be by my side always and forever.

Hearing her adorable laugh makes me feel all warm inside. When I have her in my arms, when she cuddles up close to me and whispers conversations in my ear, I feel at home. It's like she has this essence, an aura around her that's contagious. I want to always bathe in her beauty and bask in her light.

Everything about this girl amazes me.

I love her.

When our eyes meet, and she smiles at me, I feel my insides melt together into a big pile of mush. There is just something special about her. Like the way she goes above and beyond to make sure I am happy, whether I like it or not. Or how she can lighten a room in seconds flat, always bringing a smile to my face and making me laugh. But I think what I like most about her is how strong she is, her silent resilience. She's a fighter in her own Mackenzie way. A way that warms even the deepest and blackest parts of my heart.

I could honestly go on all day about how in love I am with this girl.

I think I finally understand it now.

What it took for us to get to this point.

I had to go through all these tough and high-stake relationships to be ready for her. Life was preparing me for her. With Skylar I learned boundaries, with Lexi I learned co-habitation and independence, and with Aphrodite, I learned so, so, many things. Each of my relationships taught me something I didn't know I needed to know. Some more than others. Through each heartbreak and the following trials, I grew into a better version of myself.

Sometimes I didn't want to grow. Sometimes it felt like I would take one step forward only to end up three steps back. Sometimes I had to relearn the same lesson over and over again until it finally stuck. And even though at times I felt like the pain was pointless and I was angry at the world for putting me in those situations, I know now, it all had a purpose.

To prepare me for her arrival into my life.

Without those trials, I don't know if I would have known the right things to say or do when the time came. I don't know if I would have had what it took to take that leap of faith into her arm. Without those lessons, I don't think I could have made it work or last with her.

I would have been too broken and messed up.

So I am grateful for all my experiences.

After all, they led me to her.

"What are you thinking about?" Kenzie rolls over in my arms, nuzzling her head into the crook of my neck.

"You, us, how happy I am," I say equally as soft as her voice.

She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes, relaxing into me.

"Are you cold?" I pull the blanket tighter on our nude bodies.

"No, I'm okay." She says.

"You know," I turn to face her. "This is the third day in a row that we haven't done anything but have sex and sleep." I point out.

"That's what winter break is for, why do you think so many babies are born in the summer?" She counters.

I giggle and tickle her.