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"Gay." Connor said to himself in the mirror. "I am gay." It still felt weird to say it out loud after all those years. There was a knock on the bathroom door. "Connor, how long are you going to be in there? I have to shower before I go to work." Kevin's voice sounded through the door. "I'll be right out!" Connor chimed, combing a hand through his hair before unlocking the door. He was met with a very tired and very unkempt Kevin Price. "What were you doing in there?" Kevin grumbled as he slid off his shirt, turning the shower on. "Nothing." Connor lingered in the doorway, watching his husband. "Y'know, just getting ready." "Next time get ready after I get in the shower." Kevin huffed, giving Connor a kiss on the cheek before sliding into the shower. "Mmhm, whatever, Kevin." Connor smiled and headed to the kitchen. He usually was the one to make breakfast, while Kevin was the one to make dinner. It always worked out since Kevin left early for work and Connor always got home late. Just as he had finished making a second pancake, Kevin appeared in the kitchen, his hair still damp and clinging to his forehead from his shower. His tie was undone around his neck. "Smells great." Kevin smiled as he grabbed his plate. Connor hummed, tying Kevin's tie as he ate. "Do you know what today is?" Connor asked, smoothing out Kevin's tie. He looked nice all dressed up. "Um, Friday?" Kevin said, scrunching up his face as he looked at Connor. There was no way he could've forgotten any dates, Connor's birthday was the month prior, their anniversary wasn't until December, and they hadn't had any plans for anyone to come over- "It's gay pride day." Connor smiled. "Oh, that's awesome, Connor!" Kevin grinned back, giving Connor a kiss. Before he came home that night, Kevin stopped by a local shop to grab a couple of items. By the time Connor got home, he had had everything set up. A lovely rainbow flag hung on the wall over their bed, streamers were strewn across the ceiling, Kevin was covered in multicolored glitter and wearing the striped boxer shorts he had bought. Kevin made himself comfortable on the bed as he waited for Connor. After what felt like forever, he heard the front door open. "Kev, I'm home." Connor called, but Kevin stayed silent, biting his lip to ensure he would make any noise. "Kevin?" He heard Connor set down his bag and begin to walk through their apartment, checking rooms. Finally, he arrived at their bedroom. The door flung open and Connor stood there, wide-eyed, as he beheld the sight that was Kevin Price. "Happy gay pride day, sweetie-" Kevin purred, but he was soon cut off by Connor pressing their lips together. "I love you, Kevin Price."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Alana rolled over in bed to find her wife still sound asleep.
She sighed, of course Zoe would still be asleep, it was six in the morning. Alana can't get Zoe up at seven to go to work. The only reason Alana herself was up was because her biological clock had finally adjusted to waking up early for her job.
Zoe mumbled and pressed back against Alana, who wrapped an arm around her.
It was a nice, quiet Saturday morning. Their upstairs neighbors weren't making a ruckus trying to get their kids ready for school, the usual loud mass of cars driving outside were few, and a cool breeze was drifting in through the open window. Alana happily sighed into Zoe's hair.
"Why are you up?" Zoe mumbled into the pillow. "It's, like, midnight." Alana snorted, "Maybe in your world, but in reality it's six." "Jesus, what are you doing then, watching the sun rise?" Zoe teased, rubbing her eyes. "Damn it, now I'm awake." "Who's watching the sun rise now?" Alana chuckled and sat up, stretching. "What if we went out for breakfast?" "Why? We have plenty of food in the fridge?" Zoe flipped her hair out of her face and sat up as well. "It'd be a nice treat, you know?" Alana shrugged, crawling out of bed. "Sure then, I guess." An hour later the two were dressed and eating at a nearby diner. Alana had ordered French toast with scrambled eggs and Zoe had gotten blueberry pancakes. "Why don't we eat here more often, their food is great!" Zoe shoveled forkfuls of pancake into her mouth. Alana laughed. "I don't know, it's only been a block away from us the entire time." She scooped the eggs up with her toast. "Maybe it'll be a weekly thing." "Definitely, these pancakes are to die for." Zoe smiled, skewering a piece with her fork. "What to try it?" "Definitely." Alana hummed. Zoe reached forward with her fork so Alana could eat the bit. "Mm, you're right, it's excellent." "Of course I'm right, have you ever met me?" Zoe giggled. "You know I love you, right?" Alana smiled gently. "I kinda figured that when we got married." Zoe said, but her tone was gentle. She reached her hand across the table to grab Alana's. "I know, it's just, every day with you is amazing. You make going to the diner an adventure. I'm just so lucky to have you as my wife." Alana brought Zoe's hand up to her lips and pressed a long kiss to her knuckles. Zoe's eyes softened. "I love you too, 'Lana." Zoe mumbled. There was silence for a minute. "Remember on our wedding day when Connor was supposed to bring my something old, my grandmothers locket, but he forgot it at home?" "Yes?" Alana chuckled quietly. "You drove an hour just to retrieve it for me." Zoe smiled. "I cried when you returned." "Anything for you, love." Alana leaned across the table and quickly pressed their lips together. She sat back, grinning widely. "Truly, I think we're both kickass wives." Zoe smirked. "Spot on." Alana agreed.
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"Rich! Stop messing with that!" Jake scolded.
Rich looked up from oranges, "I wanted some."
"That's fine, but you don't need to touch every single one." Jake sighed, holding the bag open so Rich could place the oranges inside.
The two were in the marketplace on a warm Sunday evening. Jake had suggested it when Rich was pestering him.
Truthfully, Jake had never seen himself as a market person with a spouse. When he was a teenager, he had visioned his Sundays would be spent hungover on some random person's futon. However, he was not complaining. He loved Rich to bits and didn't mind where he was as long as he was with him.
Rich got his assortment of oranges and two continued through the market. Jake grabbed Rich's hand and laced their fingers together, Rich absentmindedly swung their hands as they walked.
They reached a booth filled with tons of berries and Rich stopped to examine them. Jake stood behind him, resting his head on top of Rich's as he waited for the boy to make a decision.
"Jesus, are you gonna take all day?" Jake mumbled into Rich's hair.
"Fuck off, I'm looking." Rich retorted, reaching forward to put raspberries into a bag. He then paid the teller.
"Dude, after this do you want to grab a beer?" Jake yawned. "As much as I like it here, it's, like, illegal for me not to be drunk by seven."
Rich laughed, "You liar, the last time you drank was at Chloe's house-warming party last week. You didn't even get drunk, it was just one beer."
"Fine, fine, you got me. I've become domestic." Jake sighed teasingly. "Next thing you know I'll be taking an office job, we'll have a white picket fence, and you'll be a soccer dad."
"Me? A soccer dad? What makes you qualified to be the bread-winner of this family?" Rich jabbed him with his elbow. "Why don't you take care of the kids?"
"Because I work all day, goddammit! I get home late and tired, how do you expect me to have the energy?" Jake teased.
"You're such an idiot." Rich leaned up and pressed a kiss to Jake's cheek. "Ah, but I'm your idiot." Jake chuckled. The two rounded a corner and- Ah shit, that was a girl Rich fucked in high school and had never called back. Dammit. Rich prayed she wouldn't see him. "Rich!" The girl squealed, running over to them. Dear lord, Rich couldn't even remember the girl's name. "How have you been?" The girl bubbled, blocking their way on the side walk. Angela? "I've been okay." Rich scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. Alissa? "My life has been absolutely crazy since high school, you see I..." She didn't really cut off there, but Rich's mind cut her off. He was too busy wondering what her name was to listen to her story. Andrea? "-and then SHE told me-"
...Anna?
"Oh, silly me, you probably don't remember me!" The girl giggled nervously and fiddled with her purse. "I'm Danielle."
Oh.
"Well, it's really nice to see you again." Rich smiled, leaning on Jake slightly. He was surprised the boy had stayed silent this long.
"We should really grab some drinks sometime!" The girl pressed.
"Oh, yeah." Jake butted in, his usual casual tone lost. "My boyfriend and I would love to meet up for drinks with you. It'd be fun."
The girl seemed to turn a little pale, then fiddled with her purse more. "Oh, well, I better get going." She scurried off.
"You know you didn't have to scare her off." Rich snorted, leaning his head on Jake,
"I know."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Zoe Murphy had been called "Straight" ever since she had started dating Evan, but that was definitely far from true. When she was a preteen, she had scoured the internet for what exactly she was. Some things didn't exactly seem to fit her. For a while she considered herself a Pansexual, in fact, but soon found that too broad. Then, she tried bisexual, but found that too specific. Then, one day during her usual internet searches, she stumbled upon a word that seemed the perfect fit. Polysexual. She could have a word for her attraction to males, non-binary people, and transgender females. That Monday had been a tiring, boring school day just like any other. Then, in fourth hour, Alana mentioned offhandedly to her that it was Polysexual Pride day.
Zoe had been thrilled.
She had spent forever wondering about her sexuality, and now it was being recognized.
At lunch, she practically tackled Evan when she went to hug him.
"Woah, what's up?" Evan asked her, scrunching up his face.
"It's Polysexual Pride day!" Zoe squealed, taking Evan's arm as they got into the lunch line.
"Oh hey, that's really cool!" Evan smiled at her. Zoe leaned up to Evan’s ear. “Come over after school, okay?” With that, she scurried off. Evan blushed and glanced around the cafeteria, hoping no one had heard her. Evan arrived at Zoe’s house right after school, just as she had told him, or, at least, as right after school as he could be; he had to walk everywhere. He was still too afraid to just let himself in, so he knocked on the door. Zoe answered a second later, her nails painted the color of the Polysexual flag. “That was oddly fast.” Evan chuckled, gesturing towards her nails as he went inside. “I’ve mastered the technique of nail painting, I’ve been doing it for ten years.” Zoe shut the door behind him. “That’s cool.” Evan lingered awkwardly. “What did you want to me to come over for?” “Can’t I just want to see my boyfriend?” Zoe teased, throwing her arms around Evan. “O-Of course.” Evan’s breath hitched as he looked at her. “I love you, Evan.” Zoe leaned up and pressed their lips together. Evan eagerly kissed back, pulling her closer. “It should be Polysexual pride day everyday if you’re going to kiss me like that every time.” Evan smiled as Zoe pulled away. “Shut up, you dork.” Zoe shoved him lightly. “Make me.” Evan said hesitantly, but it made Zoe’s eyes sparkle. “Oh, I will.”
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Connor had bought Jared a shirt with the pansexual flag on it and a pan for pansexual Pride day. Needless to say, Jared was less then impressed.
"Ha ha, I get it, because pan... and pansexual." Jared rolled his eyes and pretended to smack himself in the face with the pan.
"Shut up, I was being creative." Connor snorted. "Not really, but thank you anyways." Jared leaned over and gave the boy a kiss on the cheek. "God, I do something nice for you and you still act like a prick." Connor huffed, accepting the kiss. "It's very nice Connor, I'll wear the shirt and cook some eggs with my pan." Jared chuckled, sliding his shirt off and tossing it aside in favor of the new one Connor bought. Connor watched the boy pull the shirt on. "It does look nice on you." Connor hummed, admiring Jared. "I know." Jared twisted himself into a pose. "Idiot." Connor shoved him lightly and stood up, stretching. Jared shrugged, sitting up. "Oh, and keep that shirt on, I'm taking you somewhere special."
"Ooh, somewhere special, huh?" Jared smiled. "Where's that?"
"It's a surprise, now get your shoes on."
Once in the car, Connor had tied a scarf around Jared's eyes.
"Can you see anything?" Connor asked, tightening the makeshift blindfold.
"No."
"Would you tell me if you could?" Connor sighed.
A smile crept upon Jared's face, "No."
"Asshole." Connor started up the car and pulled out of the driveway.
"Are we there yet?" Jared leaned back in his seat.
"Honestly, I don't know why I even bother with surprises and gifts, you never appreciate them." Connor rolled his eyes, which Jared couldn't exactly see.
"This is lovely, baby, thank you." Jared blindly leaned over the middle console to give Connor a kiss. He ended up missing Connor’s cheek and planting a wet, sloppy kiss to the boy’s neck. Connor smiled and took a hand off the steering wheel to playfully ruffle Jared’s hair. “Alright, we’re here.” Connor parked the car and Jared bounced eagerly in the seat. “Take the blindfold off!” Jared demanded, swinging his head around. “Patience, Jared.” Connor chuckled, slipping out of the car and helping Jared out on the other side. Jared stepped out of the car and dragged forward for a second before he felt Connor start to untie his blindfold. “I already love it.” Jared whispered. “I bet it’s something sexy... please let it be sexy.” “You might want to shut it.” Connor pressed a kiss to Jared’s ear and completely took off the blindfold, revealing all their friends standing around a cake. “Surprise!” Alana shrieked. “Since it’s the first Pansexual Pride day since you’ve been out, we wanted to celebrate!” Evan chimed. Jared stood there for a second, stunned, before tears started to well up in his eyes. “You guys are the best.”
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"Hey, 'Miah, come in here!" Micheal called loudly, leaning over his laptop. From downstairs came a loud groan.
"I've told you before and I'll tell you again, that weird thing on your back isn't a bug, it's a mole!"
"No, not that! It's something else!" Micheal yelled back. He heard Jeremy get up from the couch and begin to climb the stairs. "...but while you're up here will you check it again?"
Jeremy rolled his eyes as he stood in the doorway, leaning on the frame. "You wanted to see me?"
"Today's Omnisexual Pride day!" Micheal beamed. “Okay?” Jeremy scrunched up his face. “And I’m omnisexual!” Micheal continued, gesturing.
"Wait, you are?” Jeremy asked, moving over and crawling into the bed with Micheal. “Yeah, I’ve been doing some research and I thought it suited me the best.” Micheal wrapped an arm around Jeremy’s waist, tugging him closer. “Sounds good to me, babe.” Jeremy planted a wet kiss onto Micheal’s cheek. “I love you, Jere.” Micheal tilted his head to the side so Jeremy was instead kissing his lips. The two stayed like that for a while until Jeremy pulled away, rubbing at his eyes. “When you called me you interrupted me from a nap.” Jeremy yawned, leaning his head on Micheal’s shoulder. “Go ahead and nap, then.” Micheal wrapped sweatshirt-covered arms around the smaller boy. “I’ll keep you warm, don’t worry.” “I had no doubts about that.” Jeremy smiled sleepily, shutting his eyes and letting Micheal gently rock him back and forth as he rubbed his back. Soon, Jeremy fell asleep. Micheal loved sleeping Jeremy because sleeping Jeremy was a lot cuddlier than awake Jeremy because awake Jeremy was always nervous. Then again, there truly was nothing like making awake Jeremy flustered. The blush that always crept upon his cheeks when Micheal flirted with him never failed to make him smile. “I love you so much.” Micheal whispered to the sleeping boy. The sleeping boy cuddled closer in response.
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Jared swung the hammock gently with his foot, Alana asleep on top of him. They had had a long day of fishing and swimming. He had decided just to let them sleep for right now.
Jared began to hum a tune, staring up at the sky as it got darker and darker. Soon, Jared could feel Alana start to shiver on top of him.
He gently shook them awake, "Ready to go in?" He asked sweetly, and Alana nodded, rubbing their eyes.
With a yawn, Alana rolled off of Jared and stretched. Jared got up from the hammock and slipped an arm around their waist. The two headed toward their cabin, they had rented the place out for the summer and took a long vacation from work, they both had needed a break, Alana with their hard lawyer paperwork and Jared with his long hours working in I.T. Jared slipped inside the cozy cabin and held the door open for Alana. “We could tune into the news, it’s almost eight.” Alana suggested, plopping down on the couch. They only got one channel out in the middle of no where and most of the time it played reruns of church services. Jared got to work on the fireplace in the center of the room, their only source of heat in the dingy cabin. As nice as it was to get away from the stress of everyday life, sometimes Jared wished he could just watch soap operas and set a thermostat. “No, I’m tired, I think I’m just gonna go to sleep.” Jared got the fire going and stood back proudly. When they had first arrived they had gone a few nights without heat. “Suit yourself.” Alana laughed, patting the couch they were laying on. “But you have to come cuddle.” “Fine.” Jared climbed onto the couch and laid his head in Alana’s lap. He shut his eyes as they began to comb their fingers through his hair. The news flickered in the background, but Jared couldn’t care less about what was happening elsewhere. Right now, he was here with Alana.
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When Alana had first met Connor, she had felt the same feelings for him as she had for anyone else. She was excited for a potential new acquaintance and lab partner.
Then, she had stared spending more time with Connor and found out what a fascinating person he really was.
Connor wasn't like other people, he was very blunt with Alana, which she enjoyed, as she had never really been one to pick up on social cues. When she was rambling on, Connor would tell her. He made sure he got just as much word in as she.
Thus, for the first time in her life, Alana had truly learned about and became friends with a person. She got to hear about all the books Connor read, that his favorite book was Slaughter-House Five. She even took the time to read the book after he mentioned it and found Connor was a lot more intelligent than he let on.
She told Connor about her life, and he returned with stories of his life. In the end, the two found that they were more similar than they had thought possible.
That's when Alana started having strange feelings.
Never before had she felt like that about a person. It just wasn't something she had felt before. She had read about it, sure, but never really felt it.
So, she had decided to ask Connor out. She had always been a bit more daring than normal and figured that the only solution was to confront the problem head on, as she always did. That next day, she strutted up to Connor during lunch, gingerly tapping him on the shoulder. “Yeah?” Connor turned his head away from his BBQ pork sandwich to look up at Alana. “Oh, hey.” “I was wondering if you would like to go out with me.” Alana said bluntly, pushing her glasses up with trembling fingers. She cursed herself for it, normally she didn’t show such a weakness. Connor shrugged, “Sure, sounds good.” He turned back to his sandwich and took a big bite. Alana beamed, turning away and quickly heading to her student council meeting. The next time she saw Connor was after school, he met her in their usual meeting place, the flag pole just outside of the school. Alana bounced over to him, not really quite sure what to do but overjoyed to do whatever it was. Connor scratched at the back of his neck as Alana neared and gave her a crooked smile. Alana beamed back, stopping in front of him. “Did you really mean what you asked?” Connor asked quietly, eyes trained on the ground as he played with a pebble with his foot. “Of course I did, have I ever lead you to believe anything that wasn’t true?” Alana teased, nudging Connor lightly with her elbow. Connor chuckled with her, letting out a sigh. “I suppose not.” He admitted. “See, you got it.” Alana scooted closer. Connor nodded and took a deep breath. “So, you wanna go out for some ice cream?”
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It was not very often that Kevin Price felt sexual attraction. Even when he did, he just didn't acknowledge it. It just wasn't very Mormon-like, in the words of his family, church leader, and pretty much every other Mormon he had ever met.
However, that day had been one of the few days in a year that he would feel such feelings.
It had been a normal day like any other in Uganda, in the fact that routine had run its course as usual. Kevin always got up first to shower and get ready and as usual when he went into the kitchen the other Mormon boys were still in their temple garments, not able to shower yet since Elder McKinley always showered second.
However, that morning, Kevin hadn't been able to shake the weird feeling he had. It made him feel uncomfortable and frustrated.
When he walked into the kitchen, all the boys were giggling, gathered around something Elder Church was holding.
"What do you have there?" Kevin asked, running a hand through his still wet hair. All the boys froze, each looking up at Kevin with red faces.
"It's nothing-" One of the boys started, but it was no use, once Kevin had put his mind to something, he was going to get what he wanted.
"Let me see." He reaches a hand out and snatched the picture from Elder Church, bringing it up to look at it.
His face went red as well. In his hands he held a picture of a very naked Elder McKinley. Kevin felt his mouth go dry as he looked at the picture. He looked up at the other boys, who were suddenly looking very guilty. “Shame on you all!” Kevin scolded, quickly tucking the photo into his pocket. “Did Elder McKinley allow for you all to be looking at this photo?” Kevin always preferred Elder McKinley to Connor. With that, the boys cleared out of the kitchen, leaving Kevin to make himself some breakfast. As he poured milk into his cereal, Kevin’s mind began to drift to the photo that was currently in his pocket. Obviously he should give it back to Elder McKinley, that was the right thing to do. In fact, that was what he would normally do. But that day was not like other days, Kevin had an odd craving to look at the photo again. Surely it wouldn’t hurt, he was just accessing what the other elders were looking at. Carefully, he slid the picture out of his pocket and stared at it, biting his lip. Holy fuck. Just then, the door to the kitchen opened and Kevin jumped, making the picture flutter to the floor. Elder McKinley stood in the doorway, towel still hung around his neck from the shower. “Oh hey.” Elder McKinley smiled, not noticing Kevin’s panic to try and get the photo, which was now laying by Elder McKinley’s foot. “Hey.” Kevin chuckled, inching closer while hoping the boy would continue into the kitchen. Instead, he just stood there. “How are you this morning?” Elder McKinley asked. “Just peachy.” Kevin sucked in a breath and tried not to stare at the photo, which was face up. “That’s good.” Elder McKinley caught Kevin’s gaze and glanced down at the floor, paling as he saw the photo. Kevin shrunk back, wanting to get out, but the other boy was still in the doorway. Elder McKinley leaned down and picked the photo up off the floor, staring at it in shock. “How-How did you find this?” He demanded. “I didn’t, I swear.” Kevin stood up straight, biting his lip, but the other boy’s voice suddenly took a different tone. “Were you snooping through my stuff, Elder Price?” He teased, moving forward and brushing his fingers along Kevin’s shoulder. Kevin froze, unsure of what he should do. Then, Elder McKinley’s lips were pressed against his, wet and firm. At first Kevin just stood there, not kissing back. He’d never done anything of that sort. Slowly, he began to gently kiss back. After a second, Elder McKinley pulled away, grinning. “Next time you want to see me naked, just ask.” He winked, turning around and flaunting out of the kitchen.
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Christine had walked into drama that day wearing a purple and gray shirt with black pants. On both of her cheeks was the asexual flag and her nails were purple, gray, black, and white too. She had flaunted up to Jeremy, showing him her nails as she giggled, "Guess what today is!" "Uh, guessing by the everything you're wearing right now, asexual pride day?" Jeremy smiled playfully. Christine nodded enthusiastically, throwing her arms around Jeremy and almost knocking the boy over, "Yep! Today's going to be awesome!" Jeremy laughed with her, "It definitely will be." After rehearsal, Jeremy treated her to dinner. As they sat in the restaurant, she smiled dumbly at him, just appreciating his presence. She’d heard it all from every person, how are you going to find someone to date if you’re not going to have sex with them? And what about your partner’s needs? Jake was nice, but he hadn’t understood anything about her. He liked sex, he knew most women liked sex, so why didn’t she? It had made her feel somewhat broken. However, with Jeremy, she didn’t feel pressured to do anything she didn’t want to do. He just excepted her for who she was. And she truly loved it. “This is excellent.” Christine grinned, shoving a fry in Jeremy’s face. “Try some!” Jeremy laughed, barely managing to catch the fry in his mouth, “It is delicious, you’re right.” He said in his high voice, wiping away the grease the fry had left on his face. “I told you, I’m always right.” She flashed him a smile, taking another bite of a fry. She reached across the table and took Jeremy’s hand. The boy across from her nearly melted. The bill came and the two went out walking, taking in the fresh summer air. They held hands as they walked, not needing to talk. Christine felt warmth and calmness in her chest. She could’ve walked a million miles as long as Jeremy was there next to her. “You know, you’re pretty cool.” Christine admitted. “Who? Me?” Jeremy faked surprised. “No, no, surely you have the wrong man-“ Christine giggled, “Oh I see, calling yourself a man now?” “Ouch.” Jeremy laughed along with her. “Fine, you caught me.” They stopped in front of a small bookshop that had already closed hours earlier. Christine simply stared at Jeremy, admiring him. No, he wasn’t beautiful by typical standards, but there was still beauty in him. His long, slender limbs and bony hands were soft, always gentle to the touch. The freckles on his face seemed to spell out constellations. Sometimes, when he was sleeping, Christine would take a pen to his face and play connect the dots. It was especially fun when he wouldn’t notice when he woke up and went about his day. Jeremy leaned down and pressed a kiss to Christine’s lips, kissing her gently. She kissed back, her hands playing with his hair, which desperately needed a haircut. After a minute, they pulled back. Jeremy smiled at her, “I love you.” “I love you too.”