It's the fourteenth of February and exactly one month since I've seen Lucas. Exactly one month of non-stop text messages and phone calls. I'm missing him every second in between.

I hate Valentine's Day. Even though I had my first kiss with Lucas on a Valentine's Day. Everything that happened afterwards has made me dread it each year.

This year is no different. As I watch my roommate dress up for her date tonight, I try to not let it get to me, focusing on being excited for her instead.

"Do you know where he's taking you?" I ask Julia.

"No idea. Which makes it harder to decide what to wear. Do you think it's too much?" she asks, looking at her dress in the mirror once again.

"You look great, Jules. Don't worry."

"What if he ends up taking me to a whatever place? I don't want him to think I'm into him by overdoing it."

I sigh at her train of thought. The perils of dating. Luckily, I haven't had to experience this type of thing with Lucas. I guess since we know each other well, we've bypassed the other stages.

"Don't worry, Julia. If he asked you out today of all days, it means he's into you."

"Yeah, but we live in the same dorm. If it goes badly, I'm going to have to live with running into him all the time."

"Or you could have awesome slumber parties," I respond. "Hopefully in his room," I add as an afterthought.

She smiles excitedly for the first time. My phone rings in my pocket, and I see that it's an unknown number. I don't answer since I've learned it's usually a waste of time to deal with random callers. If it's important enough, they can leave a voicemail.

Surprisingly they do, and I find out it's the front desk saying that I received a package.

Hmm. Interesting.

I leave Julia to finish getting ready and head downstairs before curiosity gets the best of me. I break out into a grin when the guy at front desk hands me a vase with a beautiful bouquet of red roses. I make my way back to my room with the roses, and can't contain my smile as I place them on my desk. I open the small card attached to them and read the message from Lucas.

Roses are red—and you're beautiful.

Damn, he's sweet. I immediately call him to thank him, but when he doesn't pick up, I realize he's still in class since he's three hours behind me. So I send him a picture of the roses with as many heart emojis as I can type instead.

"Aw! Lucas sent you roses?" Julia says as she peers into my room.

I nod, and she rambles about how it's so cute and she can't wait to finally see us together. She's heard a lot about him over the years, especially whenever we've gone out together and had too much to drink. I would feel bad if it weren't for the fact that she's shared more of her guy troubles with me. I've kind of assumed the role of her unofficial love coach.

There's a knock on the front door, and Julia claps her hands together excitedly. "Oh my gosh, David's here! Wish me luck!"

"Good luck, Jules." I chuckle as she skips out of my room. Sometimes I wish I were bubbly like her.

I settle down in bed, deciding to get a head start on a reading assignment for class. I don't have anything better to do on this commercialized holiday.

As I pick up my textbook, I hear Julia gasp from outside. I lift my head to see Lucas standing in the doorway.

I yell out his name and run towards him, and before I know it, he's picking me up in a bear hug as I wrap my arms around him. He laughs as he carries me towards my room, and for a split second, I see Julia giving me a thumbs-up before he kicks the door shut behind him.

Next thing I know, I'm sitting on top of him on my bed and staring at his incredible blue eyes in awe. "I can't believe you're here," I say, but I soon forget everything as his lips find mine.

He plants kisses all over my face. I think I might explode in excitement.

"I told you I'd come back," he whispers, and I wrap my arms around his neck to hug him again.

"You never said when! I didn't think I'd see you until spring break."

"I couldn't wait that long," he replies. "And I didn't want to start missing days like today."

I lean back to look into his eyes. "Have you always been this sweet?"

"Only with you," he says, cupping my cheek.

The moment catches up to me, and I feel tears well in my eyes. Dammit, why am I crying again?

"Audi," Lucas says slowly. "You're killing me."

"I'm sorry. It's your fault, you know. I only seem to cry around you."

It's as if I had been hiding my true emotions all these years, and now that I've opened myself up again, they just come pouring out of me.

He frowns for a moment, then kisses my forehead. "I got you something. Just give me a second."

"Besides the roses and yourself?"

He chuckles. "Yeah."

I scoot off his lap, and he goes to pick up his bag.

"How did you get in, by the way?" I ask.

"I asked a guy I met outside to sign me in," he explains as he looks through his bag.

"Sneaky. I like it."

He tosses something on my lap. I immediately recognize the red packaging.

"Skittles!" I exclaim, tearing the wrapper open and popping some into my mouth.

Lucas chuckles as he sits down beside me. I offer him some.

"Oh, you share now?" he teases as I pour some into his hand.

"Only with you," I respond, borrowing his line from earlier.

He grins and I watch him, still in awe that he's in my room right now.

"Thank you, Lucas. For the roses and for being here. For everything, really."

"Don't thank me, Audi. I just wanted to spend more time with you. I feel like we have a lot to make up for."

I lean in to kiss him softly on the lips. I think about how different our lives would have been if we hadn't been torn apart by our parents. To have experienced high school together. To have had him next to me all these years. I wonder if we would've chosen to go to the same college, or ended up on separate paths the way we did.

"What's wrong, baby?" he asks.

My heart does a flip at hearing those words from Lucas. He must have been analyzing my expression while I was lost in thought.

"I'm just happy you're here," I reply.

"There's something else. You look ... worried," he says.

How does he know everything that goes through my mind?

I clear my throat, trying to get my act together. "I was just thinking how things would've been so different if you had been in my life these past years."

"I think about that too," he says, cupping my face. "I used to think about it all the time. I would get so mad, especially at myself for not having the guts to do something about it. But now's our chance to make it right again."

I place my hand over his and sigh. "Lucas."

"Yeah?"

"My parents are getting a divorce."

His eyebrows lift in surprise, but he doesn't say anything.

"I spoke with my dad," I say. "He came to visit me this past weekend. He apologized for a lot of things, and then he told me he was filing for divorce. I guess he wanted to give me a heads-up. I was going to tell you over the phone, but I didn't know how to bring it up. I'm sorry. I should've told you sooner."

He shakes his head, but he doesn't seem concerned by the news. "Don't worry, Audi. I would say I'm sorry that your parents are getting divorced, but it's for the best."

"I know. I'm just worried about what it could mean. For us."

He thinks about it for a moment as he tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear. "I also spoke with my dad last week."

"You did?" I ask.

"I wanted to make our relationship clear to him. I told him that we were serious and that we have plans together." He smiles as he tells me this. It puts me at ease. "I asked him what his intentions are with your mom. He said they aren't planning on getting married."

"You believe him?"

"I don't see why he would lie about it. He said he was planning on taking a new job upstate, so it looks like they may not even be in a relationship anymore. I didn't ask because I didn't want to get into it, but I think we should stop worrying about them. We should be making our own decisions, regardless of what they do."

I nod in agreement. "Yeah, you're right. They've caused enough problems already. We're going to go crazy if we keep letting them interfere in our lives."

"Why don't we get back to us?" Lucas suggests.

I grin. "Good idea. I like us."

"I like us too," he whispers, right before he kisses me. All I can think about is how he tastes like Skittles, and it reminds me of our first kiss. Although—this kiss isn't nearly as innocent as it was then, which becomes more apparent when he guides me on my back against the mattress.

What started as playful kisses turns serious when he settles down between my legs. He leaves my mouth and kisses around my neck, driving me crazy.

"Audi, I made dinner reservations," he says between kisses.

"For tonight?"

He stops to nod, but resumes his task just as quickly. His hand inches beneath my shirt, grazing my skin with his fingers. I weigh the options between going out in the cold and staying right here, doing exactly what we're doing. There's no contest.

"That's sweet of you, but you're gonna have to cancel."

He smiles as he looks at me with glazed eyes. "You don't want me to wine and dine you?"

"Not tonight."

"God, I was hoping you'd say that."

Things become urgent after that as we undress each other as quickly as possible. I reach for his shirt as he reaches for mine. He brings us to stand and realizes it's going to take ages to take off our clothes in my tiny bed.

We both laugh as we finally manage to take our jeans off and slip back in bed. I laugh even harder as he gets fed up with my comforter and throws it on the floor with the rest of our clothes.

I don't get embarrassed when he peels off my bra. He looks at me now, even though he's seen me naked before, as if cherishing every second. It puts me at ease completely. He leans down to kiss the small scar on my abdomen before removing my panties. I give myself over to him. My body becomes his as he kisses his way up to my mouth. And when his fingers touch me, it feels like I've been waiting for this moment forever.

"I need you, Lucas," I hear myself say within the fog.

He shifts his position and reaches towards his jeans on the floor, somehow still touching me the entire time. He stops to tear open a condom wrapper, and it only intensifies my need to finally be with him. He watches me intently as he puts it on, eases back on top of me, and boxes me securely in his arms.

I tell him how much I love him, and he's quick to repeat the words back to me. He repeats them over and over as he pushes into me, filling me more than I ever thought possible.

I've always wondered what it would be like to be with him, but I never expected it would be like this. So natural, like it was meant to happen, as if we were meant to be together all along. And so we love each other as if we've done this many times before, no reservations, until the heat takes over and I'm left weightless in his arms.

He holds me for the longest time afterwards. I begin to drift off to sleep. He kisses me, and I come back to earth as he gets out of bed to go to the bathroom.

It feels cold without him, when just a few moments ago I thought I'd pass out from the heat. I reach for the top sheet that ended up bunched over at the foot of the bed, covering myself with it.

"So, I have some news for you," Lucas tells me with the biggest grin once he returns.

I laugh as he walks around buck naked in my dorm room. If I hadn't heard Julia leave earlier, I would be very concerned.

He joins me back in bed and places the comforter back on top of us. He pulls me close again underneath the covers.

"Oh yeah? What's that?" I ask curiously.

"We're not leaving this bed for the rest of the time I'm here, as tiny as it is."

"Fine by me. We can survive on Skittles."

He laughs and grabs my hand, lacing our fingers together. "I know I always say this, but why the hell haven't we been doing this the whole time?"

I join him in laughter. "Maybe because we haven't been together until now."

"I just always get the feeling that I'm catching up with you," he says.

"I know. Like we've been missing out on so much this entire time."

He nods and brings my hand to his mouth to kiss my knuckles. "I plan on rectifying it immediately, starting with your plans for the summer."

"Good start. I need to do an internship, but I haven't started applying yet."

"What if you apply to internships in California? I already have a medical internship locked in that I can't get out of, but we could spend the summer together and you could stay with me."

I prop myself on my elbows. "Really?"

"Yeah. I have a queen-size bed with your name on it, and I'll buy you as many Skittles as you want."

"Are you trying to bribe me, Dr. Elwood?"

"Definitely."

"Okay."

Lucas laughs. "I didn't think that would be so easy."

"Well, you drive a very easy bargain."

"What about once you graduate? Do you want to live in New York?" Lucas asks.

"Well, that was my initial plan. Why?"

"I was thinking I could apply to med school here. That was the second half of my bargain, by the way."

"I thought you didn't like the snow," I say, completely surprised.

"How could I not? I fall more in love with you every time it snows."

Lucas signals towards the window, and as I peek outside the blinds, I see snow falling down into the courtyard below. It's a beautiful sight with the trees and the entire ground covered in a blanket of white, undisturbed snow.

I turn around to look at him, but before I can say anything, he pulls me back next to him. His lips crash against mine, and for the first time in seven years, I feel like I'm home.

The End

Author's Note: Hope you enjoyed the story!

The song of the chapter is "Perfect" by my second husband, Ed Sheeran. Plus, in the video they're in a cabin with lots of snow! It couldn't be more perfect.

Stay tuned for the bonus chapter in Lucas's POV!