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Author's Chapter Notes:

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Kat sat there and just stared at AJ. She was completely dumbfounded. There was no way he could be in love with her; she was so far away from his type that it was impossible.

 “AJ, I ….”

 AJ put his hand over Kat’s mouth. “Stop.” he said. “Why do you do this every time I say something to you that in any way is about my feelings for you? Don’t you believe me?”

 Kat’s eyes filled with tears. “I want to believe you AJ, I really do. It’s hard though knowing that I am not like any of the girlfriends you’ve had.  I don’t see how I can compare to them.”

 AJ pulled her into his arms. “They are the ones who can’t compete with you Kat. I love you and I want to be with you. You are my type, I just took a really long time figuring that out.”

 Kat laughed softly.  “You do take your sweet time doing things.”

 AJ pulled back from her so he would see her eyes.  “I love you Kat.” He sat there hoping that she would say it back.

 Kat stared at him for a minute. She knew that if she didn’t take a risk now, she would regret it.

 “I love you too AJ.”

 His face broke into a wide grin and his eyes lit up. “Really?”

 “Really AJ. I love you.” Kat said to him with a smile.

AJ surprised her by pulling her off the wall and pushing her back against it.  He leaned in and kissed her.

He meant for it to be a soft one but once he felt the electricity, he couldn’t pull himself away from her. Wrapping his arms around her tightly, he picked her up never removing his lips from hers. Kat put her arms around his neck and kissed him back.

 AJ finally stopped kissing her and moved his lips to her ear.

 “I think it’s time to go home now.” He smiled at her. “Don’t plan on getting too much sleep tonight. We have a lot of time to make up for!”

 Kat smiled back. “No need to worry about me. The last thing on my mind is sleep!”

 ------------------------------- 

They spent the next few hours in bed making up for all the lost time. Neither one of them had been this happy in a long time.  AJ had found someone that he could truly be himself with and Kat had found someone she knew loved her just the way she was.

 Kat had her head resting on AJ’s chest and he had his arms wrapped around her. They decided, finally, that they should try and get some sleep. AJ wanted to invite everyone over later that day and tell them the great news over dinner.

 “Kat?” AJ asked quietly.

 “Hmmm?” she asked sleepily.

 “I love you.”

 Kat grinned. “You’ve told me that a billion times since you told me a few hours ago.”

 “I know.” he said laughing. “I just want you to get used to it because I plan on saying every day, at least 10 times a day.”

 “I think you’re going to get tired of saying it before I get tired of hearing it.” She paused for a minute. “AJ?”

 “Yeah?”

 “Thank you.”

 AJ pushed her chin up so that he could see her face. “Thank you for what?”

 “For loving me.”

 “Why are you thanking me for loving you?”

 “Because….” she trailed off. Kat didn’t know exactly how to put what she wanted to say. “Thank you because I have never felt this way with anyone.  I’ve never felt safe enough with anyone to really let them see me and all my faults. I’ve hidden part of myself away for years and I feel like I’ve been able to open up and share everything with you. You’ve seen me on my good days and on my bad ones and you’re still here.”

 AJ was speechless. Normally he was the one thinking those things. It was crazy to hear Kat say all of that and it caused him to tear up a little.

 “I’m the one who should be thanking you. Your faults are far less than mine and I was a complete asshole to you when I met you. I’m grateful you could look past my being a dumbass and let me in your life even as a friend.” He waited for a minute. “Honestly Kat, I wasn’t sure you were going to say you loved me.”

 Kat looked confused. “Why wouldn’t I?”

 “All the shit I’ve done in the past and all the stupid things I did when we met add up to someone who’s not exactly the easiest person to love or to deal with. I know you cared about me as a friend but I didn’t know if you could put that aside and be willing to love me. You know you’re going to have to deal with a lot of stuff and most women wouldn’t be able to do that.”

 Kat smiled. “Well then it’s a good thing I love you and that I’m not most women!”

 AJ laughed. “Good to know.” He wrapped his arms around her tighter and kissed her softly. “I love you Kat.”

 “I love you too AJ.”