A/N: songs to set the scene:

- Wrecked by Imagine Dragons
- Our Time Now by Plain White T's
- Rhythm of Love by Plain White T's
- 1, 2, 3, 4 by Plain White T's
- Hey There Delilah by Plain White T's

*above picture is what Jamie is wearing

________________________________________________________________________

September 19, 2021

Jamie's POV

My screeching alarm jolts me awake. I feel a weight on my chest and see Emily cuddled into me. I wipe the sleep from my eyes and get Emily's arms unwrapped from my torso to get up. Today is hard for all of us, and we're not looking forward to it. It'd be harder if we had an actual service for our mom, but we don't have the money to do that and she didn't want that.

I go to the bathroom and get my morning routine out of the way. Emily and Kim helped me figure out the perfect multipurpose outfit to wear to the beach and then to the Plain White T's concert later. They wanted me to look, and I quote "Irresistible for Sofia." Last night we kept our messages short, only letting each other know we had arrived at our destinations safely and that we were both equally excited to hang out again. I don't want to get attached too soon since she won't be here much longer, but I also would like someone to share this life with.

I head out to the living room, and find Kim in the kitchen sipping a cup of coffee. "Mornin'," I say barely above a whisper as I make my way towards the coffee maker. "Morning," she responds, not moving her eyes away from a spot on the wall. "We should leave in about thirty minutes to make it to the beach before sunrise," I say, pouring me a cup of the hot, brown liquid. She hums and walks to the sink putting her mug in it. I finish the hot liquid, and follow suit.

I watch Kim close her bedroom door, and head back towards my room to wake Emily up. I stop and peek inside EJ's room. I hear faint snores and decide against waking him yet. I quietly shut the door and walk towards my bedroom door. When I walk inside, I see an empty bed and some light coming from under the bathroom door. I walk to my nightstand and look at the time on my phone. I surprisingly have a notification from Sofia on my phone.

Sofia
Good morning
I remember you
saying you'd be up
early, and wanted
you to know that I'm
here for you ☺️

I smile at her message and gather myself to respond. As I'm about to start typing, the bathroom door opens. Emily walks out drying her hair with a towel. "Morning," she says softly. I give her a small smile, "Mornin'." She takes a seat on the bed, still drying her hair, "What's got you smiling this morning?" I take a seat next to her and show her my phone. "Someone is a bit smitten," she giggles and I take back my phone. "She's just being nice. We're not reading into things, alright?" I state, but Emily isn't buying it. "Jay, tell me: do you like her?" She asks and I don't even need to think about it. "Yeah, I do, but we barely know each other. She'll learn more about me, and it'll go downhill from there," I sigh, and watch the disappointment in Emily's eyes.

"Jamie, I say this because I love you, you need to trust that Sofia isn't like any of the others who have come along. You're a great human being, and a better man than any other I've ever met. She'll like you for the person you are," Emily's words bring a tear to my eye. She knows the struggle I've had with dating. I've had one serious girlfriend and she was great, she just couldn't handle the military life anymore. All of the uncertainty each time I'd get deployed was too much for her, and I didn't hold that against her. "I'll give it a chance, okay?" I sigh and she nods her head. "I'm going to get EJ up and moving. Are we leaving in twenty minutes?" She asks as she walks towards the door. I nod and look down at my phone.

Jamie
Morning!
I appreciate it,
and I'm looking
forward to seeing
you today 😊

I send the message and grab my wallet from the nightstand. I look over myself once more and head out to the living room. I hear Jonathan and Kimberly talking in the kitchen and faintly hear Emily in there with them. "Mornin' Sarge," John greets me and I grimace at him a bit. "Don't call me that. You know I hate when people try calling me Sarge," I run my hand over my eyes still trying to wake up a bit. "EJ almost ready?" I look at Emily and she nods as she takes a sip of her coffee. "Yep, he was actually already awake and just needed to brush his teeth," she says, putting her now empty mug in the sink. "Alright, and your parents know where to meet us?" I ask another question wanting to make sure the morning goes flawlessly. "Yes, and they have the urn with them too. They texted me five minutes ago actually telling me they were headed to the spot," I nod at her and slowly make my way towards the front door.

I hear EJ's door open and see him glumly making his way towards me. He throws his arms around me and I can hear a quiet sob leave him. I rub my hands over his back trying to soothe him. I know our mom passing is really hitting him the hardest since he has so much left to accomplish that our mom will never get to see. I hold him tight, "It's alright. I have you." His breathing slows and the quiet sobs silence. I look up at Kim and she walks towards us engulfing us in her arms.

We take a few minutes just to ourselves before we make our way out to Jonathan's large SUV. I watch the still dark sky pass by as we make our way towards Oceanside Harbor. I feel my eyes slowly closing and lean my head against the window.

~Dream~

I feel the soft, warm sand under my bare feet as I walk along the shore. The waves crashing against nearby rocks fills the quiet air around me. "This is so peaceful and wonderful," a voice says beside me. I look to my right and see a figure I can't quite make out. The person is blurry, but they aren't too far out of my reach. "Jamie, are you okay?" The mysterious figure asks, and I hear a raspiness to their voice. I follow the figure to a blanket on the sand. The blurry figure takes a seat and I hesitantly join them.

I look out towards the setting sun and feel a hand on my knee. "Jamie?" I look over at the figure and finally see her. Sofia is sitting next to me. I take her hand into mine and intertwine our fingers. "I'm great, especially now," I kiss the top of her hand and pull her down with me onto the blanket. She rests her head on my chest and I trace small designs on her bare arm. "Can we stay here forever? Away from the world?" Sofia's soft voice reaches my ears and it sounds like heaven. "Yes, please," I answer and look down at her.

Sofia props herself on her elbow and traces her finger over the scare on my eyebrow. I can't help but look over her features. Her beautiful brown eyes. Her perfectly, plump lips that I feel myself lingering on. "Kiss me," I hear her say. I look at her eyes, "What?" She smiles at my slight baffled response. "Kiss me, Jamie," she repeats and we slowly lean towards each other. Before our lips can meet I get pulled away. I look around me and I'm surrounded by darkness.

~End of Dream~

"Jay, wake up," I hear Kim's soft voice and her gently shaking me. I sit up and take in my surroundings. We're parked near the beach. "You okay?" Kim asks and I nod my head. I wipe my eyes and step out of the car. Kim and I catch up to the group, and we slowly make our way towards the shore. Once we reach everyone, Kim takes Jonathan's hand and I shove my hands into my pockets. "Jamie," I hear a voice come from behind me. I turn around and see the last person to be here.

~
~
~
~
~
~
~

Sofia makes her way towards me and I see her soft eyes looking over my features. "Hi," she says softly and I can't help but feel several different emotions. My body is flooded with happiness since Sofia is here with me, but it's also sad because today we're doing a proper send off for our mom. My brain wants to let the happiness cloud everything, but the reminder that this is about celebrating my mom and being sad is okay takes precedence over the happiness.

She pulls me into a hug and I look around behind her only to find she came alone. "Sof, don't take this the wrong way, but what are you doing here?" I ask as we pull away from the hug. She keeps her hands on my forearms and I feel goosebumps slowly rising. "Kim mentioned to Paulina why you guys were coming to the beach so early, and I wanted to be here for you. Listen Jamie, I know we don't really know each other that well, but I like you, and want you to know that I'll always be there for you," her words send warmth throughout my body and I can't help but pull her into another hug. "Thank you," I barely get out without my voice betraying me.

I take her hand and walk us both down towards the shore. Sofia hugs Kimberly and EJ, and they both thank her for coming. They look at me shocked and I just shrug at them. Sofia stands next to Emily, and Emily introduces her parents to Sofia. We continue to hold hands as we take a seat in the sand. "How much longer until the sun should rise?" EJ asks from next to me. I glance at my watch, "About fifteen more minutes."

Sofia leans her head on my shoulder. Out of instinct, I kiss her hairline and catch Emily watching me. "So cute," she mouths and I flick her off with my free hand. "What was your mom like?" Sofia quietly asks and I keep my gaze fixed on the horizon. "She was great," EJ answers from next to us.

I feel my eyes filling with tears just thinking about her. "Vickie was a great mother. I remember when we first met at the middle school open house. Emily kept talking about this person in her class who was her science partner and was really smart. When I walked into that science class and met the woman next to me I knew our family would be friends forever," Claudia says, while Emily and I laugh at the memory. "Jamie and I became best friends instantly. What he could do in science and math, I could do in English. We were equally bad at history," Emily adds to her mom's memory and I scoff. "I wasn't bad at history, I just had a hard time remembering the dates," I retort.

"Anyways, Vickie and I were convinced Jamie and Emily would get married. They were practically conjoined at the hip. Vickie was just as much my best friend as Jamie is Emily's," I hear Claudia get choked up. "No one can replace the woman she was," I hear Edwin add.

"Our mom was a super mom. She worked hard for us to have the best life possible. It wasn't until she got sick that I decided to be a nurse. I want to give others comfort the way I wanted her to receive it," Kimberly wipes a year from her cheek and John wraps his arms around her shoulders.

"Our mom was our rock. She supported everything we wanted to do, and I only hope to support EJ the way I know she'd want to," I wrap my free arm around EJ's shoulders and pull him into my side. I rest the side of my head on top of his and take a deep breath. The sun is starting to peek over the water and a slight breeze fills the air.

"She sounds like an amazing woman. I'm sorry she was taken from you so soon," Sofia's words warm my heart and I feel a tear fall down my cheek. "Who wants to do the honors?" Edwin asks, now standing in front of us. I look over at Kimberly and then at EJ. "I'll hold the urn, and we each take a handful?" I ask my two younger siblings and they both nod their heads. I look at Sofia who gives me a sad smile before wiping the few escaped tears from my cheek.

I wipe the sand off my pants and lead the three of us to the shore's edge. I hold the urn and we all reach inside to grab a handful of ash. "This feels weird," EJ says, and Kimberly and I chuckle. "It does," I add. "Mom, we miss you and know you're always watching over us. Keep us all safe, especially Jamie wherever he goes next," Kim's words flow from her mouth and meet the brisk, morning air. "We love you mom," EJ adds, and I let the rest of the ash run through my fingers.

The three of us look over to Emily, her parents, and Jonathan. They get the hint of us wanting them to join us. They each grab a handful and look out to the sun rising. A gust of wind swirls around us and I smile, "Hi mom." The words are barely audible. I grab another handful of ash and so does Kimberly and EJ. We toss it towards the incoming tide so she gets taken out to sea.

I glance into the urn and see only a little bit left. "Claudia, do you guys want the rest? Kim and I talked, and if you truly want to keep the urn at your home, we'd be happy to give it to you. We know you two were like sisters," I don't look away from the urn as I ask Claudia what she'd like to do. "She wanted to be left on the beach, so that's what we'll do. We'll keep the empty urn," Claudia rubs my back and I give her a smile. I walk further towards the incoming tide and dump the remaining ash into the water. "Bye mom. Thank you," I say as the ash gets washed away.

I feel a hand on my back and see Emily in my peripheral. "She's still here, don't worry," she says, reading my mind. . "How'd she even know to come here?" I keep my eyes fixed on the water watching the sun's reflection. "I told her. I figured if she came that would show you that she's interested in you," I hear a hint of playfulness in Emily's words and feel a smile tugging on my lips. I turn to face her, "Thank you." I pull her into a hug and turn my head to see Sofia. She has her eyes on me, just watching. She smiles and I swear my heart soars knowing that she's smiling at me.

"Who's ready for breakfast?" Jonathan asks, breaking me from the spell Sofia's eyes have over me. There's a collective 'me' from the group. I walk towards Claudia and Edwin to thank them for coming and to give them the urn. "She was very proud of you, Jamie," Edwin pulls me into a hug and I let my shoulders deflate. "I just wish I could've spent more time with her," I step back and look between the only two people I have left as parental figures. "She understood why you didn't come to see her, and she constantly talked about the letters you wrote her," Claudia's words trigger a few tears well up in my eyes. "Don't close yourself off, Jamie. That girl over there looks ready to pick up whatever pieces, as long as you let her," Edwin adds, and he's right. Emotionally draining events tend to lead to me closing off from others.

~~

Since Jonathan had parked in between the beach and our breakfast spot, Stratford, we decided walking the ten minutes wouldn't be too miserable. Sofia and I lingered towards the back of the group, and although we weren't talking, the silence wasn't awkward. "Thank you for coming," I break the silence. "It's the least I could do. I couldn't imagine losing a parent, but I know I'd want someone there for me," Sofia's voice is gentle and smooth. Her being at the beach this morning was actually the nicest thing someone has ever done for me. Well, the nicest thing someone I barely know has done for me. "You still didn't need to come. We barely know each other," I glance over and can tell that my words hurt her a bit.

"Jamie," Sofia puts her hand on my forearm, stopping us on the sidewalk. "Look, I know we don't know each other very well, but I want to. I like being around you and how you don't treat me differently," her eyes search mine. "I'm sorry, Sof. I really appreciate you being here. I know us not knowing each other for very long shouldn't stop you from being there for me," I divert my eyes towards the ground. I feel a hand against my cheek and instantly melt into the touch. I close my eyes and focus on Sofia's thumb rubbing against my cheek.

"Jamie, look at me," Sofia's soft voice pulls me to look at her. As soon as our eyes meet, the world around us disappears. I've never felt feelings for someone so quickly, and it's kind of scary. I soon realize that we've become incredibly close. I glance down at her lips and remember Emily's words from earlier. When I move my eyes back up to Sofia's, I notice she's glancing between my lips and eyes too. "Sof," I say softly as her eyes meet mine. "Kiss me, Jamie," her words cause my breath to hitch. I close the space between us and place my hands on her waist.

Both of her hands find the side of my face and she closes the final inches of space between us. When our eyes were locked, the world disappeared. Now with our lips touching, time stood still. Her lips were soft, warm, and tasted sweet. We keep the kiss slow, savoring the moment between us. I can feel my head getting lightheaded with the lack of oxygen. We both stop the kiss, and Sofia rests her forehead against my chest. Even with the slight bustle happening around us, all I can hear is the deep breathing we are both doing to catch our breaths. "Wow," I barely get out, but I feel Sofia chuckle a bit. "I have to agree," I look down and Sofia smiles up at me. "We should catch up to the others," I state and Sofia nods her head. "But first," she stops me and puts her hands on my chest. She gets up on her tiptoes and meets my lips again. It's a quick kiss, but it still sends shivers down my spine.

~~

We reach the others, who are all waiting outside of Stratfords. Sofia's sister, Paulina, and their friend, Zach, have joined the group too. I see Paulina look up and spot us. She nudges Emily, who is sitting beside her scrolling her phone. Emily wiggles her eyebrows at me and I shake my head. Sofia and I are very close right now. She's got both arms wrapped around my left arm and practically leaning her entire body weight against me. We walked like this the entire time, and I'm loving every second of it. "Where were you two?" Kimberly asks, sliding her phone into her small bag. "Uh," I stutter a bit and Sofia pats my stomach. "Jamie and I got distracted watching the rest of the sunrise," I smile at her excuse. I look back at Emily and Kim, and they look a bit skeptical.

"Well, our table will be ready soon, so you guys got here just in time," John looks up from his phone. "What did we miss?" I ask, looking between Emily and Kim. "Nothing really. Paulina and Zach were here before us, and we just went over the plan for today," Kim says as she keeps her eyes fixed on me. "Cool, you guys are still okay with coming to the Plain White T's concert later?" I direct my question to Paulina and Zach, and they nod their heads. "Yep," Paulina pops the 'p'.

Everyone fell into smaller conversations until we got called for our table. We each took a seat around the pushed together tables. Sofia sat next to me and Paulina sat across from her. I had Emily on my other side and I could tell she had a question burning to get out. I lean closer to her, "Just ask." She pulls away and looks at me. She gets closer to whisper in my ear, "What happened between you two?" I smile and she looks at me waiting for my response. I get close to her ear, "Might have gotten the courage to actually make a move." She leans back and smiles at me. She nudges my shoulder and I shake my head at her silent dance party happening in her head.

The waitress comes over and takes our drink orders. Since it's so early, I stick with a cup of coffee and water. Everyone is having various conversations, and I'm merely observing. I feel Sofia's hand squeeze my thigh, gaining my attention. "Jamie, have any ideas when you'll get deployed next?" Paulina asks, and I look over at her. I hear everyone else's conversations stop to listen to my answer. "Not sure yet, but I'm sure I'll know soon," I say with ease, but notice Paulina looking at her older sister. "What do you do in the Marines, Jamie?" Zach asks, and I turn away from Paulina. "I lead a squad of about eight soldiers when we go out on missions. I've been leading Echo company for the past three years now. I do everything from make sure they're physical fit for battle to making sure everyone gets home safe once we're deployed," I feel Sofia tense up next to me as I talk about my job. I know what I do can be daunting for people, and it still affects Emily and Kim whenever I talk about it.

"Wow. As intense as that all sounds, it also sounds exciting," Zach continues, and I wish I could agree with him on the exciting part of my job. "Don't get me wrong, I love going to new places but I wish I didn't have to put my life in danger to do it. Every time my feet touch that tarmac is one less time I have to do it," I state. As my words leave my mouth, I feel Sofia relax more. "When do you think you'll get out?" Paulina asks and I just shrug. "I don't know. This is all I've ever known, and I don't even know what I'd do once I retire from the Corps," I put my hand on Sofia's and rub her knuckles. Talking about my job as a soldier isn't easy, especially now that I'm falling for someone. Whoa did I just say I'm falling for her?

The coffee cup being placed in front of me breaks my sudden thoughts. "Is everyone ready to order?" The waitress asks and we collectively nod our heads. She takes our orders and walks away. "Do you guys know any good nightclubs in the area?" Paulina leans to ask Kim and Emily. "Yeah there are a few good ones. We go to Boar Cross'n a lot," Emily spouts out.

Sofia interlocks our resting hands that have been on my lap since we arrived. I look at her and smile, feeling a wave of happiness wash over me. "Alright, I'm addressing the elephant in the room," Paulina blurts out. "What's going on between you two?" Sofia and I look at each other, and I just shrug. "Right now, we're just enjoying each other's company," I give Sofia a smile before turning towards Paulina. "Well, don't break my sister's heart. If you do, I'll break you, Soldier," Paulina says seriously, and I try to stifle a laugh at how intimidating she's trying to be. "I'm sure you would, but I don't plan on it. I'll stick around until I'm told to leave," I feel Sofia squeeze my hand, and I brush my thumb over her knuckles.

~~

After everyone finished eating, I handed the waitress my card and felt Sofia lightly smack my arm. "You didn't have to pay for us," she whispers and I just place my arm behind her to pull her towards me. "I wanted to," I place a kiss on the side of her head and feel her release a sigh. "Let's go. I can't keep watching this mush fest in front of me," Paulina fake gags and Sofia throws a straw wrapper at her. We all let out boisterous laughs as the waitress hands me my card back. Everyone gathers their things and heads out of the restaurant. Sofia and I stay towards the back, enjoying each other's company. "They're going to think I've stolen you away from them," I gesture towards Paulina and Zach. "They'll be fine. It's either I actually spend time with you or they have to hear me talk about you non-stop," she says, and I look at her surprised. Her cheeks fill with a crimson color.

"You talking about me, Ms. Carson?" I nudge her shoulder and I see her roll her eyes. "Don't flatter yourself, Sergeant," her smile grows. "If it makes you feel any better, I've thought about you every day since Emily and I were used as extras," I smile down at the ground and feel her turn her body to look at me. "Are we moving too fast?" She quickly asks. I stop us and pull her to the side so people can pass us. "Look Sof, we can take this at your pace. People in the military never know when their last day will be, and if we want to see where this goes," I pause and point between the two of us, "I'm willing to jump into the deep end." Her eyes search mine and I'm worried I overstepped. "Are you okay with the craziness of my life?" She quietly asks, and I take her hands. "Sof, I think I should be the one asking you that. You'd be signing up for months of not seeing me and sometimes not hearing from me for weeks at a time. You'll never know how long we have, especially since I can get deployed with my unit at a moment's notice," I take a deep breath and keep my eyes glued to hers.

She remains silent for a few minutes, and I'm worried I've blown it. "I want whatever comes along with you. Of course it terrifies me that you'll be over there fighting, but I've never felt this comfortable with someone so quickly and I don't want to give up just because it gets hard," her words bring comfort to me and I feel my body relax. I pull her towards my body and connect our lips. It's a short kiss, but I put enough emotion in it to make her feel the happiness and love I'm feeling in my chest. I rest my forehead on hers, breathing in her scent. "I'm all in if you are, Carson," I open my eyes and find her smiling. "I'm all in, Hamilton," she pecks my lips again. "We should really catch up with the group," we chuckle and she nods her head.

~~

We reach the group, and I honestly can't explain how Sofia changed my mood. This morning I was sad, hell I've been sad since Wednesday, but Sofia showing up this morning brought me comfort I didn't know I needed. She barely knows me, but is being kind and loving towards me. I know saying that she's loving me is strange, but the way we've been all weekend has felt like we're a couple. If this is what it's like to be with her then I'll choose this over being single any day. I just hope that this isn't short lived once I'm deployed again.

"Nice spot!" I pat EJ and John on their backs. "We couldn't get shitty spots for Plain White T's. They need to be able to hear us," John replies, and I nod my head. I hope I don't make a fool of myself singing along. "Hey, there you two are. I feel like we keep losing you," Kim walks up to the group with water bottles in hand. "We stopped to talk, but we knew where all of you would be," I shrug and see the skeptical looks from Emily and Kim.

"Toots, can you come with me to find a bathroom?" Paulina asks her older sister. "Sure," she turns to me and without any hesitation pecks my lips, "I'll be back." I smile, "I'll be here." I watch them walk off and feel eyes on me. "Okay, what the hell was that?" Emily nearly yells. "We might have talked about how we both have feelings for each other, and we're not going to hold back," I say nonchalantly, and receive a slap to the arm. "Don't you think that's moving a bit too fast?" Kim adds and I shake my head. "Listen, we all know what it's like for people in the military. Feelings need to be explored and accepted since we never know the last time we'll be home. We'll keep getting to know each other, and she said she's willing to be around through the difficult times ahead," I state and don't see changed expressions on either Kim or Emily's faces.

"Let the man breathe! He knows what's best for him, and Sofia is an adult too. Let's just enjoy Jamie being happy for once," Jonathan sides with me and I throw my arm around his shoulders in thanks. "What's going to happen when she finds out you're transgender, Jamie? I can't watch you go through that heartbreak again," Kimberly adds and I hear the concern in her voice. "I appreciate you worrying about me, but we'll cross that bridge soon. I'm not going to wait to tell her and have my heart strung along," I move away from John and pull Kim into a hug. "Thank you for caring about your big bro, but I'll be okay," I feel her nod her head under my chin.

"So you two kissed?" John breaks the sad tone surrounding us and I laugh. "Yeah," I can help my smile grow. "And?" EJ joins in and I shove his face away. "It was a good kiss," I shrug it off, trying to downplay the situation. "Whatever! You kissed a celebrity and say it was 'a good kiss.' I don't buy it," Emily crosses her arms and I laugh. "It was really good, and I'll keep kissing her as long as the feeling is mutual," I poke Emily and she finally breaks the serious mask with a smile.

"We're back!" Paulina yells, and I feel Sofia wrap her arms around my waist. "Hi," I softly say, looking down at her. I put my arm around her, holding her close. She smiles up at me and keeps her head against my chest. "Get a room," John yells over his shoulder at us, and I smack my face with my free hand. "Sorry for his childish behavior," I apologize, but hear Sofia chuckle. "It's alright. It's what best friends are for right? To give you a hard time," she states and I nod my head. "Yes, very true," I kiss the side of her head and pull her in front of me.

She presses her back into my front and I drape my arms over her shoulders. She holds onto both of my forearms while I rest my chin on top of her head. I feel her let out a content sigh and relax into my body. We watch the stagehands finish preparing the stage and I notice De'Mar Hamilton getting ready at his drum set. Now, we may have the same last name, but we are not related. Although that would be cool if we were.

"Hello Oceanside!" Tom Higgenson says off stage, and the crowd goes wild. John and I exchange a look, and both join the crowd yelling at the top of our lungs. I see Kim jumó a bit since she and John are so close. Sofia swats my arm and I squeeze her in my arms. "I'm sorry," I apologize and she turns her head to peck my cheek. "It's okay, just warn a girl," I smile and nod.

The rest of the band takes the stage and immediately jumps into playing 'Our Time Now.' John and I immediately sing along, and feel myself moving to the music. Soon our entire group joins into the fun. Plain White T's is in my top five favorite bands, and surprisingly EJ remembers all of the words too. They get close to the end of the song, and do a great transition into a slower song.

'Rhythm of Love' fills the air and I watch several couples nearby swaying to the music. Sofia wraps her arms around my torso and we soon join those couples in swaying. I start singing along and just watch Sofia the whole time.

When the moon is low
We can dance in slow motion
And all your tears will subside
All your tears will dry
And long after I've gone
You'll still be humming along
And I will keep you in my mind
The way you make love so fine

Sofia looks up at me and beams her beautiful smile at me. I kiss her forehead and she leans her entire body into mine.

~~

"How we doin' today?" Tom yells at the crowd and we all scream. "That's good! This next song is for all of those love birds out there. If you know the words, you already know we wanna hear you," he takes the acoustic guitar from the stagehand and starts strumming the chords for '1, 2, 3, 4'. John and Kim peck each other's lips, and I smile at the pair. "Jay," Sofia's voice near my ear pulls my eyes to her. "What's up?" I ask, and she just pulls me towards her lips. It blows my mind that she's open about kissing me with so many people around us. I'm not against public displays of affection, but her being a celebrity just leads me to believe she'd want to keep her life private. "You keep kissing me like this in public, you'll have fans upset with me," I say against her lips and feel her smile. "I just like you a lot, but I agree. We'll keep the kissing to a minimum in public," her raspy voice sends shivers down my spine.

This girl has me wrapped around her finger, and we've really only known each for three days. I wrap my arms around her and pull her closer against me, if that's even possible. We sing along and sway to the music. I catch Emily, Paulina, and Zach singing along and acting goofy. EJ is even loosening up. Emily is keeping an eye on him, and he's been talking Zach's ear off since we got to breakfast. "I think that's the biggest smile I've seen you have since we met last week," Sofia pokes my cheek and I scrunch my nose. "I'm really happy and it all feels like a dream," I lean my head against Sofia's head and she scratches the back of my neck with her nails.

"It's real life, Sergeant," she whispers and I close my eyes feeling content. I kiss her cheek and turn my attention back to the stage. The music starts to change into another song and the transition is seamless. I notice the chords for 'Hey There Delilah' and prepare to sing Sofia's ear off. "You guys have been a great crowd. This last song is a fan favorite, so we expect everyone to join us in singing along," Tom says into the mic, strumming his guitar.

Hey there, Delilah
What's it like in New York city?
I'm a thousand miles away
But, girl, tonight you look so pretty
Yes, you do
Time square can't shine as bright as you
I swear, it's true

The crowd immediately joins in and I just hope Sofia doesn't mind me singing into her ear. I try to keep my voice soft so I don't blow her eardrums. I try to stay in the moment to enjoy every second. If there's anything I've learned from being in the military is to savor every moment you have. You never know when you won't be coming home again, and as much as that terrifies me it reminds me to enjoy the little things. Moments with my siblings and best friends aren't as often as they used to be, and now that Sofia seems to be in my life for a while I'll have to remind myself to savor these moments with her too.