Pov y/n

Once again my finger hovers over the send button, debating if I should send the message I just wrote.

Would it be too much or unnecessary? I mean, we're not quite friends yet but I kinda want to tell her.

My head falls back onto the pillow before I look at my phone again.

I mean, what should happen if I send this one text? The worst thing would be she ignoring me. With a deep breath, I send the message.

Y/n: Hey, I got a job at the aquarium. Thank you for the tip. :D

Okay but, is the smiley too much? Or too less? Should I have sent more than one?

After all I'm really, really happy about it. But would a second smiley make it better or make it seem desperate?

God, here I go again with the overthinking. I should just put my phone down and distract myself. And that's what I do.

At first my eyes dart over to the phone on my nightstand but soon I'm occupied with sorting out apartments.

Some of them are a little too far away or too expensive and in the end I narrow it down to three. I write an application email to all of them, hoping I can get at least one of them.

When my phone vibrates, I shortly look over but concentrate back on finishing up the last email before grabbing my phone. My heartbeat quickens when I see it's from Scarlett.

Scarlett: Congratulations! That deserves to be celebrated. Do you have any plans tomorrow?

Y/n: Thank you. And no, I just wanted to work my shift at the coffeeshop but I'm free in the afternoon.

Scarlett: Great, how about 3 pm at the lake we were with Rose the other day?

Y/n: Sounds good, see you then.

Scarlett: C U :)

My heart is racing right now, I'm going to see her again and she didn't seem to be annoyed by my text message. Joy bubbles up inside me. We will meet tomorrow and I get to spend some time with her alone.

Wait, alone or will Rose be there as well?

I scroll through our chat. Scarlett didn't say anything about Rose. Maybe she's still in school?

Wait, no tomorrow is Saturday, there's no school then. Maybe it's obvious that Rose will be there too?

I slowly nod, agreeing with myself. I will just expect to see Rose as well and if she isn't there, that's also okay.

Wow, Scarlett really got my mind spinning. I sigh and fall back into the pillow.

The rest of the night is calm, I just watch a little Netflix before falling asleep.

It's a little hard to concentrate on work the next day because I'm excited to see Scarlett again. But since it's Saturday, Jesse doesn't work today.

I really like him and talking to him but right now it would just make me even more nervous if he asked me about today.

He would ask if it was a real date today and that's something I don't want to think about because I'd just get my hopes up and when it turns out it's not a date, I would be disappointed.

So, I'm ignoring that thought and concentrate on brewing coffee.

Since it's the weekend, we have more customers and I have my hands full with work. In my short break I look at my phone and get excited, one of the apartments owners answered and suggested a day for me to look at the apartment.

It's in the morning and I have to see if I can get a few free hours from work but it's amazing news.

So, in my next break I go to speak to Ms. Miller and she gives me the day off to go see the apartment. I thank her with a huge smile and go back to work. It's all slowly coming together and that makes me genuinely happy.

After work I quickly go back to the hotel to freshen up a bit and brush my hair again. It doesn't look bad, just a little messy and I want to make a good impression on Scarlett. She did see me twice already but I still want to look good for her.

When I check the mirror, I'm satisfied with how I look and grab my keys, wallet and phone before leaving my room.

The way to the park isn't that long and I arrive a while before we said we'd meet, so I just sit down on a bench and watch the water. A little smile tugs on my lips as I look at the railing, remembering how Rose sat on it, watching the fish. I go down memory line further until I'm brought back by a person that steps into my sight, it's Scarlett and my smile widens. The effects this woman has on me after this short amount of time is amazing.

"What were you thinking about?" She asks and tilts her head in question, smiling at me as well.

"About how we were here a few days back and how Rose and I played together." I admit and feel my face heating up at the confession.

Hopefully it doesn't sound creepy that I thought about her daughter.

But Scarlett doesn't seem to find it creepy at all, it's the opposite, a sparkle appears in her eyes and she nods.

"You were really cute together and Rose had a lot of fun. She talked the rest of the night about how much she liked playing with you. But she also got tired quickly and was easy to put to bed, so thank you for that." Scarlett winks at me and I laugh and get up, not sure where we will go.

She leads us away from the lake and I just follow her.

"Speaking of that little sunshine, where is she?" I ask casually and watch some kids play with a frisbee.

"She's with her dad this weekend. She visits him, mostly, on every other weekend." Scarlett explains and I nod.

"But you're not sad she isn't with us, right? I'm just as much fun as her." She jokes and I turn my head to look at her.

For a few seconds I see insecurity in her eyes before it's overshadowed with a jokingly expression.

I have a feeling she is genuine with this question and overplays her worry with a joke. But I don't know her that well yet and her face tells me she's just joking.

"No, I was just wondering because she isn't with you and I highly doubt you would let her alone at home. And don't worry, I also like spending time with just you." I assure her and Scarlett's face and body relax slightly.

It's almost not noticeable but she let's out a small, relieved breath.

Did she really think I would just spend time with her because of Rose?

I mean, I like playing and drawing with Rose but Scarlett is great to be around to and I like talking to her. Somehow she gives me the feeling of genuine care and interest and for some reason the feeling of safety.

"I also like spending time with you." She says with a smile and our eyes meet for a few seconds before I look away, feeling my face starting to blush again. Why does she have this power to make me blush with just looking at me?

"You're cute when you get flustered." She smirks, which makes my heart skip a beat but also makes my face heat up even more.

"Thank you." I mumble and try to go back to a normal color.

For a few minutes we walk in silence, just enjoying each other's company. I watch a dog running after a ball, trying to catch it. Underneath a tree there's a family with three children having a picknick and I smile, I hope that will be me someday.

Scarlett seems to notice my gaze.

"They look happy." She observes and I hum in agreement.

"Do you want to have kids?" She asks and I peel my eyes off the family and side glance at her before looking back at the road in front of us to not bump into someone.

"Yeah, I always wanted to have kids. I don't exactly know why but I just do. Maybe it's the joy they bring into your life or how you get to explore the world with them and see them through children's eyes once again. I want to love and raise children, cuddle them and make them happy. I want to watch them play with each other or with friends, hear about their days and laugh with them when something funny happens." I start to ramble and get a little lost in my words. Another glance over to Scarlett shows me, that she's smiling at my words.

"Yeah, children see the world with different eyes and it's amazing seeing them grow up. They give you so much love and sometimes even heal you when you feel broken. They don't know that but they do, just the way they will cuddle you and tell you to not be sad or when they draw you a picture to make you feel better." Scarlett almost continues my rambling and we both stay silent, hanging after out thoughts.

"Do you have someone you want to start this family with?" She asks in a casual tone but I can almost feel her eyes looking at me as I shake my head.

"I once had a girlfriend back at home for like a year but that's two years ago. Ever since then there never was anyone else. And I'm okay with that because it would have made moving to New York a little more difficult if I had a girlfriend back at home." I shrug.

"Wait, a girlfriend?" Scarlett asks, a little confused. I look at her and nod, trying to see if she is against it or not. For a few seconds she doesn't say anything.

"So, you like women?" She asks, as if she needs to be sure if she understood correctly.

"Yep." I say, popping the 'p', my eyes still on her. She nods, taking in the information.

She doesn't seem opposed to that yet, which I take as a good sign. Somehow it makes me nervous to wait for her reaction. Not because I'm not out or because I'm not comfortable with my sexuality, I just...I'm scared she won't want to hang out with me anymore now. It may sound silly but that thought scares me a little.

"Cool, that's cool." She says, processing.

I let out a small breath that I didn't know I was holding. So, she doesn't has anything against it, that's a relief .

"Sorry, I don't really know how to react to that but I want you to know, that I don't judge and support that." She shares her feelings and a tiny smile tugs on my lips.

"It's okay, knowing you support it and won't insult me is all I need." I reassure her and she nods before she frowns.

"I honestly don't understand why people insult other's because of who they love. It's a shame. Why can't everyone just love who they want?" She says, annoyance in her voice. She really seems to care about this topic and as dumb as it may sound, it makes my heart lighter.

"I don't know." I sigh. "I don't understand why my love life is other people's business. It's not like I'm hurting them with being gay. All I want is to love the person I love but apparently some people have a problem in understanding that."

I look to the ground before looking up again. Scarlett is in her thoughts for a few seconds before answering.

"It shouldn't be anybody else's business than yours. I mean, you also don't go to straight couples and tell them that it's disgusting."

I almost have to hold back a chuckle because there are times where I actually would like to do that. But not because they are straight but because they seem to eat each other's faces while kissing. I would also ask a gay couple to maybe turn it down a nudge.

"It's nice to hear you say that, you know. It's always nice to meet people who don't judge your sexuality." I say, speaking the truth. Scarlett looks at me with a little smile.

"Yeah, I can imagine. It's not easy." She says and I hum in agreement.

We continue our walk and now I have no clue where we are anymore. Obviously we're still in the park but I wouldn't know in which part. But I just trust Scarlett that she knows where we go.

"Have you found anyone in New York yet?" She asks, playing it casual but there is a tiny change in her tone that I didn't miss and I wonder what that's about.

"No, not really." I shrug and she nods not saying anymore to that topic. And I'm not sure if I just imagined it or if her smile really grew a tiny bit.

My attention is pulled away from her, when I see water in front of us and I don't mean another lake.

There's the sea in front of us. I almost start running to take a closer look but contain myself and walk along side Scarlett until we reach the beach.

Well, it's not quite the sea, there's another island before the sea really starts but still.

My eyes wander over the water and I listen to the sound of the waves. For some reason, I always found that soothing. I could literally sit and listen to the waves for hours without getting bored.

When I feel Scarlett's eyes on me, I look at her just to see her smiling softly at my happy state.

"So, you got a job at the aquarium?" She asks while we just watch the waves break. I smile widely and nod.

"I did, thank you for suggesting it. I will start Monday." I tell her, my eyes glued to the water in front of us.

"Sounds great, what will your job contain?" She asks further, also watching the waves.

"I'll be a tour guide, feed the animals and look after them a little." I explain and feel the excitement bubble up again.

"Seems like the perfect job for you." Scarlett agrees and I nod.

"It does and in total it will make enough money for me to rent an apartment." I share and she turns to me in excitement.

"Oh my god, that's amazing! I'm so happy for you." She exclaims and goes to hug me.

I'm a little surprised by that but gladly accept it.

Her hug feels warm, comfortable and safe. I almost get lost in the feeling but catch myself before I can do so.

We pull away and it feels like my whole body is tingling from the feeling of being hugged by her.

"Do you have an apartment in mind already?" She asks and sounds so genuinely interested, that it warms my heart.

"I actually do. I have three in mind. I messaged all of them and one already replied, I will look at that apartment next week. Hopefully I can also sign a contract soon after that." I tell her and we slowly start walking along the beach.

"That's really cool, I'm happy you found something you like and got an answer. I wish you luck that you will get that apartment. I assume it's close to the coffeeshop?" She wonders out loud and I nod.

"It's only a few streets away from the shop, yes. It's not huge but big enough for one person and everything they need. It would be great if I got that one and I'm gonna be optimistic about it."

Scarlett smiles at me.

"That's always good and I am optimistic too. Definitely keep me updated on how that goes, please." She says and again there's this warm feeling inside my chest that she gives me.

It may sound weird but I feel seen when she's with me and cared for. Even though she doesn't do much but listen to me and show interest but it feels good to talk to someone who seems to genuinely care about you.

And on top of that, she also makes me feel safe. I don't know what it is about her but she does and I like that.

Not that I'm not feeling safe when I'm around other people, it's just a different kind of safe, an inner feeling of safe, maybe. I don't really know how to describe it otherwise but I know it's good.

"I will keep you updated." I answer and she smiles at me in response.

We fall into silence again and walk along the beach.

It's not an uncomfortable one, it's comfortable and feels right. We don't always need to talk when we're next to each other and I appreciate that.

At some point we sit on a bench and only then I notice that the sun is slowly starting to set.

The sky slowly turns orange and I watch it in awe.

I never saw the sun go down over the sea but it feels magical. A quick glance to Scarlett tells me that she's also watching the sunset, her eyes shining in the light of the setting sun.

Her skin almost glows in this light and she looks even more beautiful.

I can't help it but shuffle a tiny bit closer to her before looking back at the sky.

In the corner of my eye I notice her also shuffling closer to me, until our legs almost touch. It feels as if that skin heats up, companied by an excited tingle.

I take a deep breath and just decide to enjoy this moment, not letting it be destroyed by my thoughts about how close I actually am to Scarlett.

The sky changes color and a light shade of pink mixes into it. Not long after, the sun dips behind the island in front of us and we can't see it anymore.

"That was beautiful." I whisper, not wanting to disturb the quiet moment.

"It really was. Watching the sunset is one of my favorite things to do." Scarlett admits and turns to me with a sparkle in her eyes.

"Yeah, I totally understand that." I say and hold the eye contact.

We stay like this for a little while and I get lost in the green sea of her eyes that I would like to get to know just as much as I want to get to know the actual sea.

Maybe one day I will get to know those wonderful eyes better.

And maybe, just maybe I am starting to fall for the woman in front of me.

A/n: Off my upload schedule but here's a new chapter.

Tell me what you think so far and maybe what you would like to read in this book. :D

Thanks for reading and love to you all