Carter took me back to his apartment where we've been kissing and touching all night.

He made us ice cream in cones and we attempted watched a movie on his very soft couch. But I took one look at that gorgeous face of his, sat on his lap, and kissed the shit out of him.

Not that he's complaining though. He's had his fair share of touches all night. The amount of times I've traced his abs with my tongue alone is uncountable.

Now, his sexy muscles flex as they make me a hot latte from his coffee machine.

"Stop staring at my ass," he remarks.

"But it's a very cute ass," I say back. It really is. It's adorable and plump. "Does it really dent your masculinity that badly?"

He chuckles and hands me the glass coffee mug, "maybe. Maybe not."

I smile as I take a sip of the delicious coffee. His eyes stare at me from where he stands in front of me, the counter in between us.

"What?" I ask. I try to hold back a smile but the blush on my cheeks is enough to show his affect on me.

"You're beautiful," he says.

Small butterflies dance in my stomach and sparks shoot from my heart to my core. My hair is a mess from the snowy wind outside, I'm still only wearing my pj pants and my sports bra so I certainly don't look beautiful. But I feel it. I love it when he compliments me.

He says it so admirably too. Like he's seeing me for the first time. Like I truly take his breath away.

"I don't know what I did to deserve someone like you, Carter," I admit. It's the truth. I don't know how someone like him just came into my life and wanted me the way I am.

"You do," he reassures me. He comes closer and brushes a strand of my dark hair out of my face. "Just as I deserve you. We deserve each other, Mandy."

I stay silent and suddenly find myself lost in those eyes of his. I wonder who he got them from. His mother maybe? Their so breathlessly beautiful and I can't stress that enough. I could easily stare into that infinite ocean forever.

"Mandy," he whispers. He grabs my hips so I stand up from my seat on the barstool and moves me to sit on his lap like earlier.

"Can I tell you something?" He asks.

I nod.

"I love you," he whispers.

Suddenly, my heart beat quickens alongside my pulse. I feel so dizzy I could almost faint into his arms.

"You," I pause. It's hard for me to even comprehend. "You love me?" I ask in disbelief.

His teeth show through his chuckle, followed by a smile, "yes, Amanda. I'm in love with you."

He cups my cheeks and kisses my cheek, "I know it may be a bit soon but I can't hold it in any longer."

Tears prick at my eyes. Carter loves me?

This feeling... this overwhelming feeling... is love.

The safety I feel in his arms. The way his lips perfectly mold to mine. The butterflies I feel at the mention of his name. The concern that pulls at my heart when I worry about him.

This is love. I love Carter.

Holy fucking shit.

The tears slowly fall from my eyes and I laugh, "I don't know why I'm crying," I sniffle. "I guess I just thought that," I look down at my hands trying to form the words, "I just never though that someone with a heart like yours could actually care for a broken one like mine."

"Don't say that," he whispers softly. His thumb wipes away one of the tears before it stains my cheeks.

I don't feel weird crying in front of him. I feel comfortable. I feel comfortable being vulnerable in front of him. Especially in his arms.

"It's true. I was lost. So lost for so long, Carter," I cup his handsome face in my hands, "I was so lost until I found you. And I never understood what it was, never wondered that this was what I felt."

Carter's eyes glow with kindness and love for me. He examines my face. The tears, the swollen cheeks, the puffy lips from his kisses. He simply takes me in with a small smile, as if nothing could ever be as peaceful and beautiful as myself to him.

"I love you, Carter," I admit. I finally admit it to myself too.

His thumb and pointer finger grip my chin and he lifts his lips to mine in a tender kiss. One that isn't hot and consuming, but gentle and passionate.

It's a kiss that ignites everything in me. A kiss I never knew I needed from a man I'd love. The man I love.

I know what my mother would say. "You're too young for love, Amanda. You don't even know what love is."

But you know what? She's wrong.

This is love. This wholesome and kind warmth inside me, that intertwines Carter and I, is love.

I love him. And he loves me. And not even my mother, will break me apart from him.

He breaks the kiss before leaving a soft peck on my lips. I smile and leave a small kiss on his nose. Without another word, he lifts me up from underneath my thighs, carries me to his bedroom door, and takes us both inside.