Half an hour later, we were both sipping at the white wine Summer had picked out for us. We'd put the drink in mugs, deciding we were both too clumsy to be trusted with actual delicate wine glasses. It looked cozier, too, and I thought about how badly I wanted to recreate this a few months down the line, only with thick sweaters and hot chocolate instead of celebratory wine and end-of-exams excitement.
"There's another bottle, too," she added, and I nodded.
"Oh, for Nora? Or is David dropping by?"
Summer's eyebrows twitched upwards, and she took a big gulp of her wine. "Oh, I didn't invite them tonight," she shrugged, but something in her voice was off. "David had a thing and Nora said she was tired, so..."
Summer trailed off, but I wasn't sure I wanted to let her get away with it that easily.
"So," I repeated, copying her, "you get to have me all to yourself," I teased, accidentally dialing up the flirting.
Summer grinned back at me, her look shooting me right in the heart. "Man, it really is like Christmas, isn't it?" She laughed, little wrinkles creasing up the corners of her eyes. How had I been out-flirted already?
She flipped open her laptop and started scouring the menus of all the restaurants in the area that did delivery. We eventually decided on our old favorite pizza place and ordered up a large veggie pizza with a side of curly fries.
This, of course, was a totally responsible and mature decision, because we had to soak the wine up with something carb-y and delicious.
Summer decided that before we settled down to pick a film, it made sense to procrastinate until we had the food ready.
I agreed easily, because having actual quality time with her after all the stress we'd just fought through felt like a total dream come true.
With no Nora to distract me and no David to distract her, everything felt right again â like it was just us against the world (and I was betting on us).
She loaded up an old playlist we'd made and let it play in the background before leading me over to the couch.
"Let's take a selfie, hashtag besties, hashtag no more exams," she drawled out, putting on an over-exaggerated accent. "Get in here," she said, beckoning me closer with a twitch of her head.
I raised my mug of wine and tilted my head into frame, grinning widely as Summer snapped the first shot. That's where I would've probably called it a day, but I knew Summer all too well to think she'd settle for one photo. I put the mug to my lips and widened my eyes over the brim of the ceramic and Summer popped her mouth open wide in surprise as she took a second snap.
Finally, as I laughed and lowered the mug, Summer pressed her lips to my cheek and caught a third picture, more candid than the first two. It flashed up on the screen, my smile as true as I'd ever seen it and Summer looking like everything I'd ever wanted.
I sat back on the couch, sitting more properly beside her. I curled a leg up and underneath myself, angling myself towards her.
"You are too cute," Summer said, holding the display out to me as if I hadn't already tried to memorize every detail of the photo. "Like, who let you be this pretty? It's beyond unfair," she teased, tutting.
I was sure I was blushing, but we were both a little flushed. We were drinking on empty stomachs, after all.
"Um?" I began, raising my eyebrows at her. "Like you can talk," I said, rolling my eyes.
Summer pressed her lips together, trying not to smile. Something in her eyes was intense; fiery. It made my chest tighten.
"I love you, you know," Summer said.
I was pretty sure I'd just blacked out. I stared back at her, watching her watch me. She hadn't just said that. Except, she had.
"I know," I replied, because I knew she wasn't lying. She'd said those words, and they were totally true. I wasn't sure what kind of love we were talking about â whether she loved me like I loved her â but I knew it was true.
Nervousness fizzed in my veins. I couldn't say it back in case we meant different things.
"You're the worst," she laughed, her intensity switched for mirth. "Did you just Han Solo me?"
I shook my head even though I had, and I laughed right up until Summer kissed me.
The room was suddenly silent. Summer's palm was soft, cupped against my face. Her hand glided down over my cheek until she had only her fingertips at my chin. My lips were pressed against hers, and I was too scared to move in case I somehow scared her away.
She tilted her head and broke our kiss, but a second swiftly followed. My free hand found its way to the back of her neck, pulling her in deeper and holding her closer. There was no such thing as too close.
After a moment, Summer moaned, and I melted entirely against her touch. Her hand slipped to my collarbone, then just slightly lower, and I was sure she could feel the way she was making my heart race.
She pulled back, and I kept my eyes shut for a moment in case opening them revealed that this whole thing had been some kind of magic trick. It certainly felt like one.
When I finally looked, my eyelids flickering open, Summer was grinning at me.
Nothing had changed. She started laughing exactly like before and, of course, I started laughing along with her.
She put her mug of wine down on the floor, and I left mine beside hers, too.
I closed the distance between us on the couch, pushing up onto the leg I'd been sat on to pounce at her, kissing her again and knocking her lightly back against the couch. Her laugh grew lighter as she settled back and returned the kiss, and I could feel her hands on my thighs as I straddled over her.
"So like, will you say it again now?" Summer mumbled, in between kisses.
I drew back to look down at her, knowing what she meant and also totally not knowing what she meant.
"Again?" I asked, cocking my head.
"You already said it," Summer said, grinning annoyingly up at me.
"Mm, I'm not so sure about that," I sassed, leaning back in to press kisses along her jawline.
"You totally did," Summer replied, her right hand now tracing light, ticklish patterns onto my hip. "In the library. In between snoring," she teased.
"Wait--" I pulled away, and sat far back enough that Summer could shuffle herself upright, too. "What?"
"You said it, dude," Summer said, her beaming smile becoming super know-it-all. "You were asleep, but you said, I love you, Summer."
"You have got to be kidding me," I murmured, more to myself than her.
"It was, like, hella romantic," Summer chuckled, "but I still want to hear it from you while you're, you know, conscious."
"Oh my God," I said, definitely blushing now, and definitely not from the wine. "This is so embarrassing."
Summer cackled, and while I was feeling mortified, she was practically sparkling. Literally and figuratively. Her highlighter was catching the light, and I'd never seen her eyes so bright.
"It totally worked out though, you dummy," she leaned in close and pressed a kiss to my cheek. "I was just waiting until we could do this for real and not ruin our exams."
"So considerate," I mumbled, shaking my head, trying to come to terms with the fact that my dreams had continued to be both the bane and the catalyst of my romantic life.
Summer's doorbell sounded, and she kissed me on the lips again, already comfortably casual about something that was continuing to blow my mind and stop my heart. "God, I'm starving," she said, as she pushed herself to her feet.
I picked my mug of wine up from the floor and took a big swig, stopping only when Summer glanced back and me and spoke again.
"Hey, you know what this means, right?"
I raised my eyebrows, because it could've meant a million different things, and I didn't want to get it wrong.
"I'm your dream girl now," she laughed, before disappearing to answer the door.