XPLR | Colby Brock

~70~

I don't know what to think. Colby held my hand as we walked down the beach towards the old mansion. If anything came of this, I want to be attached to him more now.

"I'm assuming you're going to stay the night?" He asked as he kissed my cheek. I nodded.

By now we were already at Cavenaugh. We didn't go in though, we sat outside in the sand together, staring at the stars.

Colby held my hand, our fingers intertwined. For once his hand wasn't sweaty or nervous, he's calm. He looked over at me, rubbing my hand with his thumb. I was still staring at the stars, but he was staring at me.

"You know there's supposed to be a meteor shower tonight, right?" I asked, almost excited as I looked over at him. He smiled when our eyes met. "Yeah. I wish we'd brought a telescope," he said as he leaned over and began to kiss my neck.

I let him. I knew better, and so did he. He smiled at me. "I can't believe I met you. Much less got to be with you," he said and smiled at me as he wrapped his arm around me and pulled me closer to him.

"Why do you like me so much," I say rhetorically, chuckling. When I looked up at him, it was like his eyes sparkled. He's excited to tell me about it. I know this because he sat up and so did I.

"Why wouldn't I? Who wouldn't?" He smiled, placing his free hand on my waist. "Have you seen yourself? You're the most gorgeous girl I've ever seen. You're so beautiful. Your hair frames your face and your personality so perfectly, and I just want to touch you every time I see you. Hold your hand or kiss you..." He said, searching my face before he pulled me in and kissed my lips.

When he pulled away, he grinned at me. "And you don't talk like all the other girls do. You don't listen to their music. You don't care about makeup or looks. You're a musician, that's what you love. And it shows when you talk about it, or when you play... God, I could watch it forever. You're amazing, Rose." He smiled. "I love you."

I looked over at him as he said that. "W-What?" I asked with a nervous chuckle, but then he cut me off. "Wait. Wait," he said with a smirk as he reached into his back pocket. He took out a small box.

"We passed by this place called Cartier's. It reminded me of you. The man at the counter told me that Cartier wanted to live on fifth avenue back when New York was just getting started, and his wife wanted a necklace that the shop owned. So he bought the necklace with the building," he said and handed the box to me. I smiled at him, and his eyes shone as bright as the stars.

There was a moment of silence as I hesitated to open the ring box. He grinned and said, "Plus, I planned to bring you something from New York a long time ago. You mentioned you always wanted to go there," he said.

I opened the box, and a glistening rose gold ring glimmered in the dim light of the moon. The shape of a rose. Of course it would remind him of me. I guess he read my mind because he said, "Granted, you were all I could think about at the time."

I studied and admired the ring as he took my hair and pushed it behind my ear. He leaned into my ear and whispered, "I love you, Rose."

I couldn't think of anything else, so I just said, "I love you too."

Maybe I am gullible. Maybe he is sleeping with a bunch of girls on the side, I've never been in love. I've never seen two people in love. But seeing Colby like this, the shine in his eyes when he looks at me... this feels like love.

This is the honey moon stage. I know that. I don't care. No one has made me feel like Colby does: important. Special. Loved.

So I don't care if I'm gullible.

He didn't call it a promise ring, but I don't care. Knowing him, he probably wants it to be. He put it on me though, leaned in, and kissed me passionately.

After he pulled away, he looked in my eyes before saying, "I want to tell everyone about you. I mean everyone."

The fans. The fourteen year old girls who would tear him limb for limb if they got the chance. There are probably a few sane ones... but they're not the ones I'm worried about.

And so just like that, we went home. To his house. He gave me one of his t shirts and a hoodie and went to set up his camera.

I sat next to him on his sofa and he put his arm around my waist. "Ready?" He asked with a smile as he looked down in my eyes. What he didn't tell me was that he had already started recording. I nodded a bit, rubbing the bottom of the ring in my palm as he leaned down and kissed me. "Alright, gorgeous."

"What's up, guys. Today's video is a bit different because I wanted to introduce you to... the greatest person I've ever met," he said and smiled at me. I froze up. He just smiled more as he searched my face and he said, "Rose Romano."

I don't care about any far away school offers I get. I don't care if I'll regret it in the future. Right here, in Colby's arm, is exactly where I want to be.

Forever.