Jaylan is a weird sleeper.

He stays in like one position and doesn't move around. Sleeping next to him was like I slept next to one of those giant trees that died and the whole stump felt over. God forbid if there was a fire, he wouldn't move. He slept in my favorite bed spot, so of course I was going to be all over him.

What's the point of having a bed size like mine and not move one inch?

But he is an amazing cuddler, better than Max. She fights in her sleep.

He has some serious competition with Lexi. His strong arms were surprisingly comfortable but not fluffy like Conor. He's like a big heater in addition to my warm, fuzzy, grey comforter. I felt like when he held me, he didn't want to let go like I would leave or something.

I would never... He was shirtless, how could I run away from that? Plus, his legs are twice as long as mine.

My eyes shamelessly gawk at his large mountains of arms. Not to mention his ink making it so perfectly making his jersey like an outfit.

He is so hot.

I know I know, I broke some rules and it was really impulsive of me but I think he needed a cuddle buddy. I didn't ask but know when someone needs cuddling. He wasn't being a pervert or naughty, his only touch felt like he needed reassurance I was there. He genuinely needed somebody beside him.

I know, he is a guy in my bed......

a really hot guy.....a sexy guy...

muy guapo...

I sink my teeth in my lower lip watching him bend down to tie his clown shoe. Wow, he has a nice conga drum.

I can't help but blush as I pick up my pharmacology book again, a innocent smile dancing on my lips

He went to sleep first, and I couldn't help but count his respirations and sorta kind of did a cardiovascular nursing assessment. I couldn't help it, and plus I needed practice for me to check off for the mock code blue simulation lab.

His jugular venous pressure was normal, no rapid or double wave heartbeat, I palpated for thrills and heaves and he was normal too but his apical pulse was slightly elevated. I was going to get my stethoscope to listen but he pulled me into a headlock after that.

I couldn't put my finger on why Jaylan was so quiet and lacking his normal level of teasing. I didn't question it but I could tell he just didn't want to be alone. He actually reminded me of myself, when I don't want to be alone with my problems and sneak into Lexi's bed when Stephen's not in my spot. Jaylan's sleeping face was sad and he slightly whimpered in his sleep. I cuddled up to him more and he kissed me on the forehead with a tap on my conga drum and told me, 'stop moving.'

While I wanted to know what was bothering him but through all my nursing courses, I've learned you have to allow room for your patient to feel comfortable enough to tell you anything with open ended questions.

But Jaylan isn't my patient, he's just, well.. My friend who's a guy with no label.... He is someone I've grown to care about and his unplanned, carefree acts and starting to make me have them too.

I actually gave him a one night cuddle coupon book that I saw in Seventeen magazine but its terms and conditions are once a week. So it can't be any more but if he'll listen to that then it will be a miracle.

I peak again from my book and smile down at him as he huddles with his coach, who is pointing at his ipad with a serious expression. The music of the area loudly echoes, blaring Get Ready by Joc Jam while the cheerleaders on both teams pump up the crowd. Testudo is really into it, doing the running man. Man, he is almost as good as Spencer.

I miss him, I wish he would talk to me.

A black camera zooms around the arena as the commercials are still playing for those who are watching it on TV. I can't believe I'm on TV right now.

I giggle, looking over at Max. She's pressing her lips, nodding with a smile, and watching Jaylan's coach get after Marcus while pointing at something on the court.

"Look Lizzie!" Lexi points to the screen and we're on the jumbotron.

Lexi, Max, and I wave for the best buds cam, then we hug together, making the crowd awe.

"You can mark that off your bucket list," Lexi teases.

And winning a shirt tonight by the T-shirt cannon, all thanks to Max. She nearly elbowed the guy in front of us but he gave up when she said this was my first game.

"Man, this commercial is longer than my games!" Max grumbles, folding her arms and I pat her leg for patience.

"Don't be jealous." Lexi pokes Max in the arm.

According to Max, Jaylan has scored more points during his whole career but Lexi said that wasn't true. She showed me his statistics so far, but I still don't understand that stupid math subject.

Jaylan is a great player, aggressive, dominant, and super hot. At one point, my throat dries up when the jumbotron flashes his million dollar smile, arrogantly taunting the Penn State players.

I lost all concentration with studying and partly because Max took my book away the first time and tucked it beside her. She got really into it, screaming at Marcus to open his eyes and doing subtle hints, like moving her coconuts, to make him clear up his plays. He plays good too, they all do, including Jordy. I'm not sure why everyone teases him but he is a really great player. I should have made a sign for him too.

"Look." Lexi nudges as my eyes peek up again. Jaylan shoots a wink at me again... for the tenth time tonight and it just keeps getting better every time.

"He isn't paying attention." I blush, putting up my book to block his view.

"He is just happy you are here. And put that way!" Lexi pulls it down for Jaylan's hot gaze to burn my face. His coach pushes him to focus and I giggle.

He is so hot.

Don't tell him I said that, he won't let it go. I already have to hear him mention his eight abs thing, all thanks to Lexi.

I still want to lick them from top to bottom, there got to be stuff you can add to make it even more yummy.

"Parker, pay attention!" Max barks and I giggle when he waves her off, nodding at something his coach said.

During halftime, Jaylan jumps up near me on the edge of our bleacher seats and kisses me in front of everyone because he had the winning shot at the end of the second half. I was so embarrassed but it kind of checked off one of my bucket list of kisses.

I did notice Ava and those mean girls dancing for halftime, more like exploiting their bodies and I guess dancing?

Lexi says she's glad she doesn't cheer anymore with them because they just never appreciated any input. It was Ava's way or the highway.

I remember in freshman and sophomore year, Lexi being so exhausted from cheer practice that she slept on our dorm floor.

Ava kept looking at me as they are dancing and I just feel super uncomfortable, so I excuse myself to the bathroom. At that moment, Jaylan found me and we shared a very long kiss in the middle of the concourse area and got me a corn dog with a lot of mustard.

Jaylan kissed it off.

Corn dogs are the best thing I've had in America.

Jaylan kept saying he was happy to see me over and over again. It's not like he didn't see me last night over face time Friday and saturday night and he forgot his little cuddle session Thursday.

He just looked so relieved for me to be here and kept telling me he missed me kissing me over and over again like Tom did with that pretty white cat in Tom and Jerry.

My cheek was so wet after that.

I've never had a guy tell me he missed me ever. You know, I always imagined Wilmer Vanderrama would when he opened his door to his big mansion, with his black robe, welcoming me into my new home.... Anyway, Jaylan says he missed me so much. He acts like I left for forty years to Neptune and came back while he got old and wrinkly.

I missed him too.

"Uhh, lookkkk! They are celebrating National Jello Week tonight!" Lexi squeaks, pointing at her phone at this flier for a nearby bar.

"Ooo, count me in." Max peeks.

"Do you think the guys want to come?" I shyly ask.

"Can't we leave them behind?" Maxine whines.

Lexi playfully hits her and she holds up her phone as we pose together, adding to our spontaneous road trip adventure. This is the only time because I told Max we have to plan, which earned me an eye roll.

"If she looks up here one more time, I'm going to kick her ass," Max scolds, looking at Ava pressing her lips at us, flickering her eyes, and turning to talk to one of her teammates. After Ava's lips move, her teammate also looks back up at us.

Max's not afraid to cuss right now because, well... I saw Fifty Shades of Grey Friday Night. Well, Lexi and her did while my eyes were covered. It was very umm.... Not Amor en La Calle trienta y tres in the slightest. But I did peek at a few parts, especially when they played pool or when he was about to show her the red room. The sound effects and dialogue made up for what I didn't see.

I don't think Jaylan has a red room.... Or does he? Jaylan has tapped my conga drum a few times. Would he -

The second-half buzzer causes me to jump, making Max laugh at the unexpected noise. Jaylan, Marcus, and Stephen stand around the center court with the other team. All these guys are big dinosaurs but Jaylan is the tallest.

He is so hot.

The referee blows the whistle and tosses the ball up. Jaylan immediately takes on a scary man and storms down the court, where all around us were cheering roars.

"COME ON PARKER! Speed up those feet!" Max shouts.

I was actually quite scared, considering Jaylan's ankle still looks like it could hurt him. I guess I could wrap it after the game. Jaylan gets to the basketball hoop, jumping up and making everyone stand on their feet and shout for his crazy jump. How did he get up there? How is that even possible with physics and gravity?

"AND TWO points for Jaylan Parker again, destroying the defense," the announcer excitedly shouts on the overhead.

Cheers and screams echo through the gymnasium from our section. Testudo does a backflip with the cheerleaders and runs down the sideline with a Maryland flag. He's fast for a turtle.

"Let's go let's go let's go let's go let's go Terps!" The cheerleaders egg on the crowd. There's so much going on, my head couldn't wrap around it.

What is going on?

"Come on, Baby!" Lexi screams as Hollis spins around an opponent, passing the ball to Jordy, who makes a quick move spinning around and passing it back to Marcus, who storms down the court again.

Max stands up, pushing her coconuts again, when Marcus sidesteps to the right and makes a clean shot from the line. Max gives a half smirk as if he listened to her. She sits back down, crossing her legs as Marcus points at her, making her cover her face. Lexi and I snicker in to her because this was her main idea to come in the first place.

"Shut up!" Max muffles in her hand.

Apparently Marcus called frantically to Max about coming up to Pennsylvania to help him tonight with the game. Knowing Max doesn't want the guys' record to be better than hers, she swallowed her pride and found the quickest hotel nearby and we were on the road. I protested, screamed, and hid underneath my bed to study but Max and Lexi pulled me out with security and got me dressed to come tonight but I'm a sucker for road trips.

They really don't want me to study to save their life.

Oh, car karaoke, the fun pit stops at weird gas stations, Max earning a ticket for speeding, seeing the beautiful agriculture from Maryland to Pennsylvania made for an interesting surprise trip up here.

I catch Jaylan looking at me again, making me cover my face. He mouths 'Beautiful' to me and I look down, blushing but catch sight of Ava looking at the exchange between us and pressing her lips at the both of us. She flicks her eyes up and down at me and swipes her blonde hair, with a piece falling a bit.

"Does she really think no one sees her extensions?" Lexi chuckles.

Shifting my gaze at her as she dances to the music and twirls her conga drum for the basketball players' attention with the rest of them. Interestingly enough, no one is looking at her except the other guys on the opposing team.

"Ugh, I wish I could burn her at the stake." Max crinkles her nose at Ava, who swipes her blonde hair over her shoulder as she bends down to tie her shoe.

"She is trying wayyy too hard." Lexi laughs because Ava is standing right in Jaylan's view, who crosses his eyes at me to be funny while he's in the huddle. My eyes catch a glimpse at Ava, who looks at me and whispers to one of her friends. I saw her face has the number eleven on her cheek too.

I wonder if it took her four hours like mine? Seriously, writing eleven evenly on my face is so time-consuming. Lexi scolded me not to wipe off again before I made us late.

The whistle blows again and the black camera is flying around so fast around the court. Photographers get in our way on and on the court, getting photos of the action.

I catch a glance at Ava again and she mouths slut and I look at Max and Lexi, who are too into the game. I really don't like the feeling of how she can do mean things without my friends looking.

That doesn't make me feel safe at all.

I look away back at the game, where Jaylan is dribbling the ball. I hold Max's arm in fear because a guy the same size is blocking him viciously.

"ELBOW HIM PARKER!" Maxine holds her hand over her mouth and growls.

The two look like they aren't having a nice conversation, a lot of pushing. "PARKER!" Max growls. "Two steps, bro steps," she grumbles, stuffing her face with popcorn.

She never encourages Jaylan this much.

"Don't mind her, she's having flashbacks from her game," Lexi says and I snicker.

"Stephen looks so hot," she gushes, looking at him resting his hands on his knees with sweat dripping from his face.

So does Jaylan.

Look at his conga drum!

The Penn State guy steals the ball but Jaylan knocks it out, making Marcus catch it and our crowd go wild. He passes it back to Jaylan and he aggressively spins with ease and gets out of the hold, going full speed down the court with three seconds left on the clock. He shoots it and makes it clear with ease from the half court.

The five sections of Maryland fans roar with screams and shouts. I smile super big when Jaylan pauses and everyone crowds around him in pride. Marcus tugs him in, hugging him for a long time.

Warmth spreads across my chest at the exchange but it's short lived with Max gags. I guess this is what Jaylan means about brotherhood. Yes, they have to work together as a team but they seem to have a close connection that even I can see in my first game.

"They just secured their Big-Ten playoff spot." Lexi beams, looking at her phone about Maryland taking the lead on some ranking thing.

I still don't understand.

I didn't know what was going on but all I know is everyone was very happy at this moment. I sink my teeth in as Jaylan makes eye contact with me but gets pulled away by his coach hugging on to him.

"Come on," Lexi pulls gently on my arm.

UMD fans make their way down to the court, pushing past security while Testudo leads the way with the Maryland flag, bombarding the opponent team walking off. It's a little claustrophobic but we manage to get into the court.

Hollis spins Alexis around, making her squeal. And Marcus ignores Max's rotten behavior, smooching off his victory. I smile at both of them until a familiar pair of strong muscular hands attach to my waist like a magnet. I spin around to see Jaylan's face relaxed but still has the expression of sadness hanging in his eyes. I cover my mouth and he leans down to kiss my hands.

"Come here" He groans, his eyes darkening almost like Christian Grey, and moves my hands, kissing my lips softly.

"Thank you for my surprise." He strokes my cheeks.

"You're welcome." I dip my chin down as he presses his sweaty forehead by mine. He dips me down and I wrap my arms around his neck. "Thank you Lizzie, seeing you here means a lot," his voice cracks a bit.

"It does?" I hum

He sighs with relief, "it does babygirl."

Our eyes flicker, looking back and forth at each other.

He leans down to kiss me but I put my hand up to stop him. "I want a confetti kiss, not right now," I tease and he groans, his sweaty body lifting me up in the air.

I squeak at how tall I am and clutch onto his slippery shoulders. "Is your ankle okay?"

He breathes out a chuckle, taping my thighs. "It's alright, Doc McStuffins."

He presses a finger into my belly, making me wiggle in the air and I giggle. "Well, don't be crying to me if it hurts."

"So rotten." He squeezes my thighs again, causing a sensation that makes me blush.

"I'm not rotten, I'm sweet," I remind him.

"Right," he replies dryly.

"Can we take a photo while I'm up here?"

He chuckles, swinging me around on his neck and making my squeal echo through the gym. Lexi giggles, holding on to Stephen's hand. She holds up her phone. "Lizzie, hold up the number one."

I shake my head. "Not until April."

Jaylan sucks his teeth and pats my knee playfully. "Lizzie, stop being extra and take the photo."

I huff making them all laugh, we take the photo together.

"Did you enjoy the game?" He laughs,lowering me down. I feel so short among all these giants, like a tiny mouse.

"I don't understand a lot of the game," I genuinely say when Jaylan's coach claps his hands together loudly.

"I'll teach you." He winks.

"I-"

"Alright, listen up! I know we are all excited about this match up tonight. We secured the spot in our division. With that being said, workouts bright and early, I'm proud of you! Don't act stupid tonight."

"But it's Jell-o night!" Jordy whines pointing at the same flyer Lexi showed me earlier.

"Coach." One the other players whine to like a little kid.

Jaylan's coach shakes his head as the players hot on his feet to the locker room. My shoulders bounce and Jaylan breathes a chuckle in the crane of my neck.

Jaylan's eyes meet mine. "Did Max educate you?"

"Not really, all she did was yell for you to elbow the guy," I admit.

He laughs as we make our way to the seats where we were at. "She does that, and that's why she gives up the scoreboard."

"She is a good player though," I remind him as we climb up a few rows, to our seats.

"That is true." He sighs deeply.

I study my eyes on him as his smile relaxes, turning into a frown. He sits down on the chair Maxine was sitting in, rubbing his hurt ankle. I huff and shake my head, sitting down next to him. He takes up so much more room than she did, his knee bumping the back of the seat in the row ahead.

He laughs, sitting back with his arms around both chairs, propping up his ankle over his other knee. He runs his fingers over it, a vacant look coming over his eyes. His shoulders slump lower the more he silently sits.

"YO, YOU COMING?" Jordy shouts, waving at him.

"I will." Jaylan nods him off and Jordy looks sad slightly. "Just need a moment."

"You did a good job Jordy!" I beam and he smiles at me with a lot of brightness. He comes running up and Jaylan grumbles. I playfully hit him and Jordy hugs me with his sweaty self. "Tiny tot, I'm glad you are here."

"What is with all these nicknames?" I furrow my eyebrows.

They both laugh and Jordy pats his hand on Jaylan's shoulder, almost like an 'everything will be okay'. They do a cool handshake, making me jealous because I want to do that. Jaylan playfully touches under my chin with my fake frown. I crinkle my nose and pull out the ace ankle wrap, twirling it and making him chuckle at me.

Silence fills around us but light chatter and news reporters linger. Jaylan tips his head back slightly and sighs as he shuts his eyes. His chest starts heaving slowly. I can't help but take notice of how he looks like he's internally battling.

Maybe he misses his mom.

Before he could protest, I take off his shoe. His shoe is bigger than my head, soaked with sweat, and smelly. I marvel at his shoe size and he laughs with his eyes closed. I reach into my backpack because I refuse to touch his sweaty sock.

No way, plus germs.

I squirt my hands with pineapple mango hand sanitizer, rubbing for twenty seconds like a good nurse, singing ABCs quickly, and pull down his sock. He makes a few sniffing sounds and chuckles, peeking one eye open at me.

"What? I have to have standard precautions, Jaylan, every nurse does," I grumble, pulling off his sock all the way off. He softly chuckles.

"Didn't stop you on Thursday," he teases, there it is.

I grumble with a smile on my face and lift his heavy leg up onto my knee. "Geez," I tease back.

He wiggles his big toes and I giggle, pulling one and making him squirm a bit. "Lizzie shi.. Damn.. don't do that!" He laughs as I tickle the end of his foot.

I couldn't control my giggles as I tickle his foot and he becomes squirmish. It's always nice to have a few tickles when you feel sad. Silence fills us again as he relax again with a sigh

"Do Aunt Lisa and Uncle Steve not come to away games?" I ask, beginning to circle the arch of his foot.

He peeks his eyes open up at me, looking lost in translation and lets a soft smile. "Uncle Steve hates Pennsylvania drivers.."

I giggle but kind of feel sad at the same time that no one's here for him during away games. I pull the bandage diagonally from the bottom of his toes across the top and circle around his ankle. He wiggles his toes again doing the exercise necessary to keep perfusion like I asked.

"Do they ever come to away games?"

"They do but not all the time. They have to stay around in case of an emergency call for any kids, which could be any time," he softly says.

"Oh." Aunt Lisa and Uncle Steve hearts are just gold, with no rust in what they do to help the children of Maryland. It takes real love to love someone else's kid like your own.

"Yeah."

I sink my teeth in my lip as I continue to wrap his ankle. He clears his throat, rubbing his chest as I get to his ankle bone. Making sure the wrap is secure, I continue to wrap around his ankle and foot in a figure eight, moving toward the heel on the bottom and toward the calf at the top of the eight just like in the book. Trust me, you don't learn this over night but with Maxine injuring herself all the time, I have had much practice.

"Jaylan, you did really good tonight," I say, maybe cheering him up.

"Thanks Lizzie," he replies quietly.

I feel like I don't know what to say and I'm afraid to ask but I know he wants to say something. "Did you do a Sudoku today?"

"Five actually."

He chuckles and I crinkle my nose. He must know because he touches my nose. I finish up his ankle wrap, grab his soaking wet sock out of his hand, and put it on his foot along with his shoe. I tuck myself in and hug him, knowing it may look like he needs it. Even though these chairs are hard plastic, somehow he makes it comfy, wrapping his arm around me. His eyes are still closed, so I touch his face and he kisses my hands.

"What are you thinking about." I touch his furrowed brow.

"Everything." He rasps. The pain wearing on his face tells me there is something about to abrupt like a volcano but I need to tread lightly. I caress the side of his face and his lips meet my fingers.

"Can you open your eyes," I whisper softly.

"I can't," he mumbles quietly but the sadness that seeps into his voice hurts my heart.

I pause for a moment, biting my lip, then gently press, "Why not?"

Jaylan sits silently for what feels like a long time. I study him, the way his eyes are tightly closed, creasing lines at the inside corners on both sides of his nose. When he does finally speak, guilt has joined in his sadness. "Because if I do, I'll be back in reality."

His unusual sorrow hits me hard but I am glad that he's being open. "Of what Jaylan?"

He rolls his lips inward, licking them gently. The entire time he's speaking, his eyes stay shut and his voice strains when he admits, "Of my mom not being here."

My heart melts like ice at his confession, making me touch his face, kiss his fingers, any contact I can give him. "I'm sorry, Jaylan," I whisper as tears well up in my eyes , blurring his face. Because I truly am sorry, from the bottom of my heart.

Nobody ever is prepared for when their Mamà dies, no matter how old they are. Not having your Mamà present is very hard. I may not understand what he is going through but I definitely know for sure what it's like to not have anyone here at all.

"Don't Lizzie." He clenches his eyes tighter but his voice struggles

"Don't what?"

My heart breaks for him when he rasps out, "Don't make me open my eyes."

"Then look at me," I softly say.

It takes him a minute, maybe even two, before his eyes flutter open, looking at me with his light brown honey mixtured eyes soaked in pain. We lock our eyes with each other, his glossing over, making them even lighter than I've ever seen. He presses his head against mine, shutting them again and releasing a tear over each cheek.

My heart hurts, sending my own tears over my cheeks but I wipe my fingers over his and cup his face in my hands.. "Jaylan."

His head shakes fast. "Lizzie, please."

By the pain in his voice, he's not asking me to stop him from talking, but stop the pain from hurting him. "Just look at me when you are ready."

He clears his throat and exhales heavily. I climb into his lap and get even more cramped but he needs someone, he needs to feel like someone is there for him.

A helper needs to be helped.

We clasp our hands together and he rests his head right on my mangoes but honestly they're the best crying place. I know, I cry on Maxine coconuts when I miss my Mamà.

I caress his head in both my hands and he lets out a soft cry, the sound vibrating my chest. Soft tears trail over his cheeks and dot onto my chest with a few soft drops but I ignore them.

My cheek presses against the side of his head. I rub his back softly and he continues to cry. His soft cries invoke my tears. Mine roll in hot trails over my cheeks and fall right down on to the back of his head.

"I'm here, Jaylan," I softly say and his shoulders shake violently.

Silence fills around us as he continues to cry softly, just quietly so no one hears but me. He just keeps saying he misses her, crushing my heart into little pieces. It's almost like he's been holding that in for a very long time.

My eyes lift up to see Marcus, Maxine, Hollis, Lexi, and the rest of his team come around him, including his coach. But when they see me, they mouth 'thank you,' dropping their heads and slowly stepping away. Lexi slowly grabs my things as I stay with Jaylan as he just cries.

Jordy pauses and just looks at me with appreciation, before looking away like he's about to cry. They walk away and Jaylan just holds on to me like he's not wanting me to go but I'm not going anywhere.

"Jaylan," I whisper and press my lips gently into his forehead.

He looks up at me with teary eyes. Without any more words, he kisses me hard, like it's his last kiss with me. Tangling his fingers in my hair, the kiss is warm and damp, mixing our tears together. He takes all the air out of me and, by his sharp breath in when we break apart, I took it out of him.

"Sometimes crying is the only way your eyes speak when your mouth can't explain how broken your heart is," I offer and wipe my hands over his wet cheeks.

Jaylan's eyes stare at me with a flicker of a new emotion in them. "Elizabeth Maria Lucero, you wreck me."

Not understanding his words, I flick my eyes up at him "I.. I'm sorry, I didn-"

His mouth stretches into a smile but it doesn't go any higher up his face. "It's okay, Lizzie."

Since he seems slightly calmer and his tears slow, I ask, "What happened?."

One of his large hands wipes his cheeks, then rubs his jaw. "Just today... Uhh, it always hits hard with me... I mean, pretty much the whole week does."

A heavy sensation sinks into my stomach. "What's today?"

His eyes close again but thankfully just for one deep breath. "Today's the day my mom left me."

I hug him again and he kisses my forehead. "I'm sorry, Jaylan," I mumble into the side of his neck.

His throat tightens as he swallows, and his voice waivers as he chokes out, "I can't say it's okay... It never gets easier."

"Is this why your number is eleven," I ask, touching the spot on my cheek that's probably a smudged mess. When he nods silently, I can only offer, "I'm sorry, Jaylan, i-"

"Don't." His eyes open and he offers that sad smile again. His thumb brushes over my cheek. "It's beautiful on you."

I pause, biting my lip at the helplessness that washes over me. My throat squeezes in on itself as I fight to find the right words, the perfect healing encouragement words, but the longer I study Jaylan, the quieter I get. His handsome features are marred in pain and I realize that even if I say the perfectly reassuring words, he doesn't need them.

As I cast my gaze downwards, he gently lifts my chin, urging me to meet his eyes. "Jaylan, I struggle to find the perfect words, but I want you to understand that I will always be by your side."

With a tender touch, his fingers caress my cheek, and he offers me a bittersweet smile. "I understand," he whispers softly.

He needs to know he's not alone and that however he feels, that it is okay. "How are you feeling right now?"

"It's not good," he admits with a shake of his head. Silence fills us again and he lets out another sigh. "I didn't me-"

"Jaylan, it's okay." I place my palm right over his heartspace or if you are nursing student. The sweat from his game has evaporated but his jersey is still soaked. "It's part of you."

Guilt and doubt trade places in his eyes. "But we just started to get to know each other and I really didn't want to spring this on you like that."

"Jaylan, we all need someone to listen." I pat his chest a few times. "You have people who care about you."

His chin lifts and he brings his lightened eyes to mine. Almost like he wants to know if he could trust my answer or believe if it's true, reminding of the candle making place. "Do you really care about me?"

I feel like he's asking me an unfair question but in my gut, I just feel like maybe he didn't really have someone to really trust to do this with. I know I'm not much but I know, as a friend, I would want someone to be there for me if I ever lost my Mama. And I would want them to be consistent with it too.

"I will care as much as you will allow me to," I answer honestly because that's all I have. "Even if we are just friends, I can't not care about you."

The tension lines that etched Jaylan's face earlier smooth over, and he looks at me with a new intensity that makes my lower lip tremble a bit. His eyes fill with almost a sense of awe, like he doesn't want to believe me.

I wrinkle my nose at him and he chuckles quietly. "Sorry, you're just too good to be true, Lizzie."

"I'm not perfect, Jaylan," I remind him, look down at his chest and trace my fingers over the white 'Maryland' capital letters on his red jersey. "No one is, we just... deal with it."

With one finger, Jaylan lifts my chin up. "In my eyes you are."

The butterflies squeak in excitement at his sweet nectar of words to them.

"Jaylaaaaan," I tease softly.

"Lizzie." He keeps looking at me strangely, his eyes roaming over my face like he's discovering I'm a new person or something. It's unfamiliar but I kind of like it. No, I really like it.

I pat the big dinosaur's chest gently. "I'm here for you, Jaylan. As much as you need me to be."

He licks his lips, then nods. "Thank you, Lizzie."

Since he seems like his weighted sadness has been lifted at least a little bit, I offer him a smile. "You know what I do when I feel sad?"

He tips his head back and studies me. "What's that?"

"Eat Jell-O."

He closes his eyes for a moment, then chuckles. The quiet laughs relax my shoulders. "I should have seen that coming."

With a slight lean forwards, I softly press the tip of my nose into his cheek. "It's National Jell-O Week, Jaylan."

"Happy National Jell-O week Lizzie."

I may not have all the details figured out just yet, but I am determined to ensure that Jaylan experiences the most incredible start to Jell-O Week tonight.

He truly deserves nothing but the absolute best.

Edited by still_just_me