It’s no surprise that the date with him goes perfectly. We walked along the beach until he suddenly turned away from the sea and headed towards a house. Now, we sit in the kitchen of his home and look at pictures of him and his friends. To be exact, I look at the pictures while he tells me stories and offers some snacks. “My mum used to tell me that I need to stop jumping from one adventure to the next,” he explains when he sees me looking at a picture of him as a child with a cast on his right arm. Seems like the Light decided that he needs someone like me to stop him from hurting himself while doing all kinds of dangerous stuff. The thought makes me giggle, earning a questioning look from Ayden.

“It’s just funny that we barely know each other but I also know exactly who you are and you seem to know everything about me,” I explain. Ayden walks over to me and takes the pictures out of my hands, placing them on the kitchen counter before gently cupping my cheek to get my full attention.

“From the moment you let me into your heart, we were one,” he whispers, appealing to the hopelessly romantic part of me. Wrapping my arms around him, I pull him closer to finally kiss him again. I quickly pull back to see this bright light. His hand on my cheek lights up, the warm feeling makes me smile. Even though the tattoos are mesmerising, Ayden’s eyes when he’s smiling are even more gorgeous. He kisses me again gently while wrapping his other arm around me as well. “I think you can see what feelings I have for you. So, will you be my girlfriend?” he asks softly, breaking the kiss again. I just nod, not trusting my voice right now. Maybe I shouldn’t trust my eyes either because it looks like Ayden’s tattoos shine even brighter now. Luckily, we’re inside his house so there’s no reason for him to try and stop his Light from getting out.

We kiss again, more passionately now. “If you want this to continue, maybe we should take it upstairs?" Ayden asks, barely breaking the kiss this time. I try to free my brain from the clouds that it's covered in to make a clear decision but, of course, the Light inside of me wants to have a say as well. I know where this will go if I let him take me to his bedroom upstairs and I know he wouldn’t complain if I refuse his offer. But what do I want? Even though I’ve only met him a few days ago, I feel like there’s nothing stopping me from taking this to the next level already.

I nod, mumbling something that should be a, “Sounds like a good idea,” and kiss him again. Before I even realise it, he has already picked me up without breaking the kiss. I wrap my legs around him while he carries me to the stairs. Inside of me, the Light seems to turn into a storm which makes me instinctively hold on to him tighter to make the storm calm down. He chuckles, breaking the kiss but quickly continuing, probably feeling the same intensity of the Light inside of him. However, while my Light is captured inside of me, his Light makes the night seem like a bright day. When did it get dark outside? Hopefully, Nadja’s not too worried, although the others probably told her where I am. 

On the way into his bedroom, he starts kissing my neck before slowly letting me down on his bed. Taking off his shirt, he reveals more shining mandalas. I can't help but admire them for a moment while he seems to try and calm down his Light. His shining blue eyes seem completely focused on mine as he comes closer. He starts kissing me again and, finally, the Light inside of me calms down as if it decided that it doesn’t need to push me towards my boyfriend even more. Maybe it realised that nothing is going to get me away from him now. As he gets on top of me, he makes eye contact once again before asking, "Are you sure you want this?" 

“I’m sure, yes. Are you?” I reply, keeping eye contact. Ayden smiles at me and nods.

“I’ve been waiting for you for so long,” he mumbles. His lips are on mine again just a second later but the rush we were in before, probably sparked off by the Light inside both of us, is now gone. The feeling of his Light on my body makes me hope for this moment to never end. 

***

I’m not sure how much time passed before we cuddled up on the bed, exhausted but satisfied. Ayden’s Light still lights up the room, not too bright but still enough to see each other, while mine seems to be happy and calm. Letting one finger wander over his tattoos, I enjoy the peaceful silence. When he raises his hand and traces something on my left upper arm, I already know what he found: My tattoo. However, Ayden doesn’t say anything about it and soon wraps his arm around me again.

“I never thought I'd ask someone to be my girlfriend,” he admits in a whisper. When I give him a questioning look, he explains that he expected to find his true love within the community that grew up here. For them, as soon as they light up together, they are in a relationship. “Luckily, I’ve seen enough movies to know how this works.” I giggle softly before pulling the blanket closer to us. I can feel him kiss my forehead before the room slowly gets darker and I drift off into a peaceful sleep.

The next morning, I wake up wrapped in Ayden's arms. When I open my eyes, he's already smiling at me. "Good morning, beautiful," he says before kissing my forehead. His tattoos light up for a second, showing that he also just woke up and is still a bit sleepy, but he quickly gets them under control. There's also the sun shining in through the window which makes his blue eyes shine. I just smile at him, too tired to speak out any of the thoughts in my head. "I'll make us breakfast," Ayden says softly while slowly releasing me out of his arms and pulling the blanket over me.