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The soft warmth of the sun woke me up from my sleep and dreams of the night before. The sight of a beautiful Sunday morning greeted me as I opened my eyes, courtesy of the drawn curtains.

I slowly started to sit up, taking in the gentle sunlight as I reached for my phone on my nightstand to check the time.

A smile curled up on my lips—as it always did—once I saw my lock screen.

It was a photo I took of Colton from our first late-night Creamsicle Corner run, the one of him flexing his arm.

It was one of my favourite photos of him.

My smile only grew bigger when I noticed a glass of water sitting on the nightstand as well, covered with a lid.

One of the first things I always do in the morning is drink a glass of water.

Normally, I would’ve had to go to the kitchen to do so, but it seemed someone caught on to my little habit and brought the water to me instead.

I chugged the water as quickly as I could before taking a quick detour to my bathroom. Once I was done, I tried my best to be quiet as I opened my bedroom door, my eyes immediately set toward the kitchen, knowing that a certain someone was there.

I was met by the sight of my boyfriend cooking spaghetti, swaying on-beat to an ABBA song that was playing from the radio CD player I got for him as his Christmas present last year.

I still remember how hard it was trying to find a gift for him.

We were still just friends at the time—friends who had already been on two dates with each other.

While I was confident that we were entering into the relationship territory soon, I didn’t want to get him something that was too much.

But at the same time, I knew I wanted to give him a meaningful gift that he would love.

I didn’t realize how hard it was navigating the area of dating, when you’re toeing the line between friends and something more.

But as soon as I saw a radio CD player being advertised when I was Christmas shopping for my family, I knew it was the perfect gift for him.

He usually kept it in his apartment that he shared with Miles.

And it followed him as he moved to the baseball team’s house.

I remembered him contemplating whether he should move or not.

On one hand, he loved having his own space, but now that he was made the team captain, he figured it was better to live with the team.

The radio CD player has its special spot in his new bedroom. But on the few occasions that he slept over at my place, he always brought it along with him.

Nina went back to her hometown for the weekend for a family celebration, leaving the whole apartment to me and Colton.

He was spinning around when he finally caught me watching him, momentarily caught off guard, before a grin made its way to his lips. ‘Good morning, my beautiful partner.’

Matching his grin with one of my own, I said, ‘Morning, my handsome partner.’

I made my way over to him, intending to kiss him on the cheek, only to have him greet me with a passionate kiss on the lips instead.

A small squeak of surprise escaped me, which was quickly replaced by a contented sigh, as my arms immediately wrapped themselves around his shoulders. I pulled him closer to me, taking him in.

We both eventually leaned back from the kiss, both of us breathless—me more than him. Colton kissed me one more time, a sweet and gentle one, before fully pulling away. ‘Have a seat, breakfast will be ready soon.’

Pouring myself a cup of coffee, I took a seat on one of the kitchen stools and just admired my boyfriend preparing our morning meal.

After that night we had hung out in my apartment for the first time, Colton and I were back to what we were before: friends.

Meaning, there was no kissing involved. But that didn’t stop him from reaching his hand out to grab mine, his thumb softly rubbing the back of my hand, occasionally giving it or the middle of my palm a light kiss.

And I think most of the time, he didn’t even realize it. It was just pure instinct.

It was clear that we were more than ‘just friends’ at that point.

I couldn’t fully put the blame on him either, not when he had given me every opportunity to stop him.

But I never did. I didn’t want to.

Colton stayed true to his words of taking this newfound thing between us at my pace. He even asked me whether I wanted to go on the date after the whole semester ended and we stopped being partners for ASL class.

The logical thing would be to say yes—in case our first date backfired, and we weren’t as compatible as I thought we would be. But that was the fear talking, and I was done letting it hold me back.

So instead, I chose to trust Colton.

I chose to believe in us.

And so, our first date happened just a week after our first kiss, with a second one following two weeks later. At the end of our third one—a week after winter break—Colton asked for him to be mine and me to be his.

We’ve been together ever since.

But that didn’t mean we stopped having our ASL practice sessions.

Every Wednesday, we would still get our bubble tea and practice at ‘the spot’.

When the semester came to an end and we entered a new one, we held on to the tradition of hanging out there at least once a week.

With it officially being baseball season, it was hard sticking to the Wednesday part of the tradition as Colton’s schedule was packed with games and practices.

But he always made sure we didn’t go a week without spending time there, two bubble teas sitting next to us.

Sometimes, we talk and catch up. Sometimes, we brush up on our ASL. But my personal favourite is when Colton lays his head down on my lap, taking a much-needed nap after a few long days, while I read a romance book, occasionally playing with his hair.

Because, sometimes, no talking is necessary; our presence was enough.

Our ASL class also gave me the opportunity to meet the reason why Colton had joined the class in the first place.

You guessed it, I got to meet Phillip.

The partnered-up assignment that Mr Albert gave the class was to meet up with the Deaf community and converse with them; it didn’t matter which age range it was.

We decided upon meeting with the younger kids, and that was when I got to meet the sweet boy who was the catalyst for bringing Colton into my life.

Seeing the eyes of the kids lit up as we introduced ourselves in ASL was something I’ll never forget, and I knew I wanted to continue learning, which was how I ended up taking a class at the Deaf centre the next semester and levelled up when I entered my senior year.

It’s been one of the best decisions I’ve made. On par with the other decision that was currently serving up breakfast for me.

Once he was done, Colton placed a plate of spaghetti and meatballs in front of me. He put his plate next to mine, before settling into the only other kitchen stool in the apartment.

We both ate our breakfast in comfortable silence, as we always do in the mornings when he comes to stay over the night before. Content with each other’s company, our mind slowly wakes up to seize the day—with only the sweet sounds of ABBA hung in the air between us.

When we were done eating, I was about to stand up and grab both of our empty plates to put them in the dishwasher. But Colton stopped me before I could, engulfing my hand in his instead. ‘Dance with me.’

‘What?’ I said, amused by his request.

‘Come on.’ He got out of his stool and got me out of mine, pulling me into him as we softly swayed to the music. My hands around his neck and his hands on my waist.

It wasn’t until the chorus that I realized what song it was.

It was ‘Andante, Andante’. The song that I had dedicated to him on one of our dates at his aunt and uncle’s bar, just a little over a month ago.

The date that I had surprised him by going onstage by myself to sing on my own.

While I was extremely nervous, I thought Colton would appreciate the gesture.

The awe-struck look on his face—forever captured in a photo, thanks to his aunt—made the whole thing worth it.

I could tell Colton was remembering the same thing from the fond look on his face.

‘Are you remembering my sweet serenade to you again?’ I said to him, my voice teasing.

He grinned back at me. ‘Can you blame me? It’s not every day your girlfriend dedicates and sings a song to you at a bar.’

I just giggled at him, Colton joining me with a small laugh of his own.

As we continued to sway to the song, the playful look on his face started to sombre, replaced by a serious one instead.

I furrowed my eyebrows at him. ‘What?’ I said, suddenly nervous.

He shook his head, trying to avoid eye contact with me. ‘Nothing.’

I put my hand on his cheek and lifted his head to me. ‘What is it?’

Colton was quiet for a moment. Then, taking a deep inhale of breath, he gently grabbed my hands that were around his neck. Dropping it at my side as he took a few steps away from me.

I merely stood there, confused at what was happening.

And then he started signing. Slowly. Taking his time between each word.

There were only three.

Three words we’ve been floating around on but have yet to say to each other.

Just as he signed the last word, I was already launching myself into his arms. I wrapped my legs around him, as I placed my head in the space between his neck and shoulders. He stumbled slightly at the sudden impact, but with his arms around my waist, he held me tight.

I love you.

He signed ‘ I love you ’ to me.

I pulled back slightly, just enough so I could see his face.

He told me again, this time out loud. ‘I love you, Clara.’

I pressed my lips against his and whispered, ‘I love you too, Colton,’ meaning each word wholeheartedly, with every inch of me.

Falling in love can be scary.

Especially since you don’t know what lies ahead.

But if you look at it a bit closer, you realize that falling in love is a series of steps—a series of choices that you have to make.

The choice to open your heart to someone, the choice of who to let into it, and ultimately, it’s the choice to keep falling in love with the same person every single day. Through all the good days and the bad days.

So yes, falling in love can be scary. But with each moment that I get to spend with Colton, I learn that falling in love can also be easy when you choose the right person to do it with.

And with Colton’s arms wrapped around me, standing here in my college apartment’s living room, I couldn’t be happier with the choice I’d made. My heart filled with so much happiness that this boy never fails to bring me each day.

Even if he is a cliché love interest and the curse might be real, I’m choosing to embrace it.

Yesterday, today, and forever.

And you can’t forget, in every fairytale story that starts with a curse, it always ends with the curse getting broken.

And who knows? Maybe we’ll be the ones to break it.

Well, that’s what I’m choosing to believe in.