Am I into girls?

There was a warm breeze in the air that pulled my hair from my shoulders gently. It was finally summer and I had just graduated high school. Finally ready to be on my own at college, no parents, and nothing tying me down. I was going to be attending college at UHV and living on campus. I was nervous to be without my parents for the first time. I’d actually be alone. I walked down the beach and let the warm, salty water brush against my feet, and the sand squish between my toes. There were several families set up for camping, but one family stood out to me. It was Jades family. Jade has been my friend since we were in the fifth grade. She moved our freshman year of high school, and it broke my heart. We didn’t really speak after that, but here she was, with her whole family. A sense of nervousness ran over me as I passed her younger brother who was much bigger than I remembered. All I could think about was where she was, just as the thought crossed my mind for the third time, she stepped out the tent zipping it behind her. She was tan and slim, her long black hair fell carelessly, but somehow so perfectly. Her eyes brown, and anything but boring. In the warm sun they reminded me of pools of honey. She was perfect. As I stood there thinking about all the memories we had shared before she left, her mom called my name and motioned for me to come over. Her mom always loved when I spent time at the house with them. As I approached Jades mom, Tiffany, she ran to me and gave me a tight squeeze. Jade came over and looked at me with a bit of confusion, but as I began to speak, she nearly jumped into my arms. I missed her. We always had a different type of connection. When I was with her it was like the whole world stopped and I wanted to stay in that very moment. I spent the rest of the afternoon catching up with them and told her family I had to go home for dinner. Jade and I exchanged numbers and I left. As I walked home I noticed I was a bit more giddy than normal. Seeing her did something to me, I just didn’t know what. When I got home I told my mom all about it and she seemed happy. After dinner I cleaned the kitchen, took a shower, and finally laid in bed after a long day. I seemed to sink into my bed and just as I dozed off my phone buzzed beside me, it was Jade. She told me it was good to see me and she wanted to see me again before they went back home. I replied and let myself fall into a deep sleep. When I woke up, I went back down to the beach and found Jade. She told me she wanted to take me somewhere so I willingly followed her down the beach to a trail. It was a sandy trail with golden rays through the palm trees from the sun. We finally got to our destination, a little hut made from palm trees. She led me inside and told me to sit down. Jade proceeded to tell me this is her favorite place to be when they go camping. As she was talking, it dawned on me that she’d been here so many times and I didn’t even notice. All this time, I could've had my best friend back. My thoughts were abruptly interrupted by Jade moving to sit next to me. She continued to get closer until her knees were brushing up against mine. She had a different kind of look in her eye. Like nothing I’d ever seen before, and she was looking at me. Of all the beauty around us, her eyes were locked on me. We sat in that hut for hours catching up on old memories and new ones we made without one another. Everything felt so right with her. Just me and her sitting alone talking and gazing into one anothers eyes. Eventually I had to go home and tell her goodbye. As I walked home I wondered what it felt like to be in love. Was this it? Was this my first love? The thoughts soon turned to anxiety. What if she isn’t into girls? What if I’m not into girls? What will our parents say? That night laying in bed, I thought about texting her and just as I talked myself down, my phone vibrated. I didn’t want to look at it, but I knew it was her. She told me she had a great day and wanted me to be around more. I hesitated sending “are you into me?” but did it anyways. As I waited for a response, all I could think about was her reaction. Was she smiling and replying, ignoring it, or telling me I’m crazy? Her text finally came through and I couldn’t help but smile. “I thought taking you to the hut with me was a for sure give away.” I was amazed, and went to sleep with a smile on my face. The next few days were the same, we met at the beach and went to the hut and stayed there nearly all day, and on occasion late at night. I soon realized that my feelings for her had developed into much more than a little crush. I loved her, but did she feel that strongly about me? I decided that it would be better to discuss it in person. One day at the hut when she ranting about an argument she had with her mom a few months back I blurted “I love you” she stopped dead in the middle of a sentence, looked me in the eyes, and kissed me. I’d never been kissed before, but this, if this is what it feels like to kiss someone you love then I didn’t ever want to stop. She pulled away, laid her hand on my cheek and whispered “I love you too.” We sat looking in each others eyes for quite some time, getting lost in the color, sinking deeper into one anothers souls. This was love. This was the love from a storybook or a romance movie, and it felt so write. Sitting with Jade, in that little hut made me realize that true love was real. It does come to those who wait and when it does come it’s the most amazing feeling. People often say you can’t see love, but Jade was radiant. Love isn’t easy, it takes fighting, rebuilding, and forgiveness. It gives you seemingly impossible obstacles, but in the end, fighting for love makes the world go round.