He tried to take it slow. And he really did. Because he's serious about her. It's been over a year and he's only fallen more in love with her.

He gets warm when he hears her name. His stomach does a flip when she simply falls into the same room. He's down bad. It's nothing like him, but he doesn't even mind.

It's been a year. And he's gotten incredibly lucky. Because she likes him too. They've kissed, made love, not had sex, made love. He could call her his girlfriend and she'd be fine with it.

So now he wants to say it. He's bitten his tongue for so long. Caught himself almost saying it. But they're at a beach in Amalfi now. And he thinks it's time. So by the time the sun set, and it got dark, and they were all alone. He put his hand on her cheek, pressed her forehead against his. And he said something he never meant as much as anything else.

"I love you."