Don't Be In Love

by Liana Cincotti

For the ones who deserve to be loved but haven’t. Just hold on. It’ll come.

“Isn’t she pretty?” she asked Dorian. ​“She is very pretty.” He nodded. His eyes met mine. It was so earnest that it was painful to absorb. Brown orbs swirling with a palette of golden watercolors that threatened to pull me in.

And isn’t she smart?” ​“Incredibly smart.”

like it when you say my name with your cute accent. It sounds better your way.”

“Of course it is.” His brows crinkled together. “It’s love. Everything about love is embarrassing. You’re pining over someone who’s across the room hardly thinking of you. That’s incredibly embarrassing. But I also think there’s something romantic about being secretly fond of someone in a way that only you know.”

“I didn’t need anyone to tell me how to find you,” he clarified. “I saw you leaning against the balcony. Your back is practically painted in my brain.”

I hated how much I had her memorized. I hated how much overtime my brain was running to remember her while I slept, injecting it into my dreams.

gave you the censored version, that’s why. I also don’t think you’re supposed to find your friends beautiful.”

“You keep me up every night. I dream about August. And I dream about the night before Halloween when we kissed. And I dream about seeing you kiss someone else. I dream about things that haven’t even happened.”

“The mistakes I regret the most are the ones I didn’t allow to happen. You have to make decisions with purpose, knowing that they may not be around forever. Whether that mistake could be not asking your aunt about the past or letting that handsome friend slip from your life.”

“You can’t just make me fall in love with you and take it all back,” I whispered. “Say something. Please.”

There was something beautiful about falling in love with the uncertainty of life.