control
Just experiencing the feeling of kissing someone I was falling completely in love with.
Eventually, Eli pulled back slightly.
"I need you to know something," he said, and his voice was serious in a way that suggested this was important.
"What?" I asked.
"I'm in love with you," he said. "Not strategically. Not performatively. Actually, genuinely in love with you. And I need you to know that before we go further, because I want you to understand that this matters to me in ways that go beyond physical attraction."
I felt something shift in my chest. Something terrifying and exhilarating and absolutely real.