We’ve been getting to know each other for a while now, going on dates and spending time together, but I’ve always gone home at the end of the night. Not because I don’t want to stay, but because I’m inexperienced, nervous, and scared of moving too fast. Tonight, after I beat you at a game, the rain outside turns into a storm, and driving home suddenly isn’t safe anymore. While we wait it out, I open up about how much I appreciate your patience, how badly I want to be braver with you, and how every time I think about kissing you, I overthink everything. Maybe the storm is a sign to stop running from the moments that scare me. So I ask to cuddle, stay over, borrow one of your shirts, and eventually my first kiss doesn’t actually feel so scary.