It was a rainy evening in Okinawa, Japan, so my boyfriend wagged his tail a bit extra today, despite his calm demeanor. He loved the rain. I loved it immensely myself, probably more than anyone else I knew, but he just might've loved it a bit more.

  "Isn't there some place called American Village out here?" Armando asked, looking out the window. He was wearing one of his windbreakers today, a dark navy blue, almost black. But of course, he wore shorts, socks that floated above his ankles, and some matching sneakers. He hated pants, and windbreakers were his favorite. 

  I was looking for my own windbreaker. It was a soft, baby pink. "Mhm, you should see a Ferris wheel in the distance. That's where everything is."

  "Let's go, babe," he said. "I've never been."

  "I think you'll like it, especially since it's raining. Everything's ten times better when it rains, of course. Now, if I could just find my.." I looked around, eyes falling on him, who had my windbreaker wedged in his arm. His back remained facing me. 

  I walked over to him and kissed the back of his neck while slipping the jacket from him. "Ready?"

  He turned around to face me, smirking down at my lips. "Yeah."

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 Upon exiting the honcho, or taxi, Armando put his hand on the small of my back and looked around for my safety as we crossed the street. It excited me, to see him be such a gentleman, being dominant and caring. 

  "What's Goh-ba-wa?" he asked. 

  I paused for a moment, and then, "Oh! Gonbanwa! It means 'Good evening' in Japanese."

  "And what was that super long one?"

  "Domo arigatogozaimashita?"

  "Yeah, that."

  "Oh, it's like 'Thank you' but with a Superman cape."

  He laughed, interlocking our fingers, which sent chills down my spine. "Almost as sexy as your English accent."

  "I don't know what you're talking about," I said, whipping it out, which made him laugh again. He just looked down at me and smiled. God, I loved his smile. "We can eat first, or, we can go on the Ferris wheel and eat after. What do you want to do?" 

  He looked to the right and up. "Well, since the Ferris wheel is right here.."

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  We paid for a 15min ride. It moves rather slow. I decided to play some music that took us back to the 50s. A little Bing Crosby on a rainy evening never hurt anybody. We took a few pictures, some of us kissing, some of me buried in his chest. 

  "As pretty as you are, and you're still camera shy," he said, his nose rubbing against mine. 

  "You still make my heart race," I said in a small voice. "After all this time."

  He bit his lip. I knew he'd made a mental note of what I said. His eyes turned into a carnivore's, low, and steady on its prey. He lusted for me, and starved for my lips the way he did when everything else in the world seemed to have disappeared. 

  His lips crashed into mine, his phone hand swooping around to cup me under his body. I threw my hand up to caress his left cheek. It was hot. I always wondered how boys were able to keep warm under any kind of weather. It's like they had built-in heater systems in their bodies. I wasn't complaining. I was almost always cold, so it worked for me. 

  He moved down to my neck, and even a little lower to my surprise, and I got a little nervous. There weren't exactly any curtains on these things. "Armando," I said, weakness clearly present in my voice.

  He didn't seem to be listening, and secretly I didn't care either, I just didn't want to appear too outgoing for the soft spoken, modest people of Okinawa. He slowly made his way back up, his lips brushing my skin, leaving a gentle trail of saliva. His lips stopped just in front of mine, both of us breathing heavily. 

  "I love you."

  My eyes widened. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. He'd never said that before. He was always gesturing around it. We met up whenever we could, he covered me whenever I got cold, bought me food when I didn't want him to, listened to me whenever I needed to vent, was always there for me even if he couldn't be in the flesh, calling me to talk or texting me if he could get away with it. I could see it in his eyes, that he cared deeply for me, but, he never actually said the 'L' word.. about.. anything.

  I couldn't move, I couldn't think, I probably stopped breathing. Maybe I got lightheaded. I don't remember. I just remember the smell of his breath, minty, and the smell of his cologne, husky, and the heat between our bodies, and the feeling in my soul that everything was up in the air, floating, slow, peaceful, and arousing. 

  After a long silence, I pulled him into me, kissing him hard, startling him. He soon picked up what I was throwing, and grabbed my waist, his other hand around my neck. We breathed each other in and out, as if we were each other's source of oxygen. There was no way this kid wasn't meant for me. I could feel it all over my body, in every cell, in every hair follicle. This boy was mine in the last life, in the next one, and for now, this one. 

  I broke free and smiled, tears rolling down my face. He wiped my cheeks, a little confusion in his eyes, followed with a smile that settled for whatever girly moment I was having. He kissed my forehead and reeled me into a hug. 

  "I love you, too."