Him

The late December aafternoon cast a cloudy, grey hue over the quiet streets of the neighborhood. A soft breeze rustled the leaves and left a chill in the air, I was meeting Reese. Reese stood at five foot seven, a little shorter than most of his friends but it never really mattered, at least not to me anyway It was a good balance to offset my taller stature. His dark brown eyes, warm and kind, had a way of making me feel at ease like I was being seen, truly seen, without judgment. His skin was a paler version of his usual sun-kissed tan, His black hair, usually neatly combed over was a little tousled, due to the hat he wore. I've known Reese since middle school, We were kids that didn't get along. Even still I had the fattest crush on him, In fact I recall his first words to me were "shut up" having said nothing to him prior. Later on in my sophomore year of high school we ended up having science class together. We never really spoke though until the last day, we had a full on conversation and I admit that I had kind of developed a slight crush on him. But after sophomore year that crush faded, but I still thought about him from time to time. Then came that fateful day we had unironically matched on a dating app. Knowing that we went to school together and already knew each other we decide to meet up. We ended up going to a nearby park and catching up. I kept playfully insulting him, he would crack a smile. That smile did something to me, his eyes smiling with him I thought to myself "what if I just kissed him right now" and then I spoke up "Can I kiss you?" I asked smiling and laughing nervously. I don't know why I wanted to kiss him now of all times but then he spoke "absolutely" then I leaned in and kissed him softly on the lips. He gently grabbed the side of my head and kept kissing me. It felt magical even if this was our first time hanging out, that didn't matter to me this boy was something else. Not long after we made casual conversation about music, how school was going for us, options for college. Then it was time for him to go to work. He dropped me off back at my house and I felt this urge like I needed to see him again. I was talking to someone else at this point in time and we had made plans to see each other that same day, but after hanging with Reese I knew that nobody else would even come close to Reese. So I broke it off without feeling guilty. Later on after his shift, he texted me asking how I was and I asked him "Is it bad if I want to see you again tomorrow?" to which he replied "not at all, I feel the same honestly" which made me beam with excitement. We made a plan to hangout the next day. We went out and to my surprise took me to meet his Dad and a few of his siblings, he came from a big family which made me nervous at first because I knew nothing of what a big family was like, let alone dealing with one. But I swallowed my fear and tried my best. Things went really well and afterwards we found a parking lot to sit and talk. We talked for hours and I opened up to him little by little. Reese had an unspoken way of making me feel safe. Maybe it was the way he listened. He carried kindness in the way he spoke, in the way he laughed, we climbed in the backseat and I rested my head on his lap, He gently caressed my hair while I told him everything. From my home life, the way I grew up, and what I went through. Hours passed, It was getting late, he told me he didn't want to take me home because he just wanted to comfort me in the ways that I should've been. and that was the day I felt that maybe I could find love.