Three seconds. That is all you need. Three seconds to bypass that feeling. You know that feeling you get right before you kiss someone? The feeling you get when you talk to your crush? The feeling you get when you whisper the first “I love you?” You feel nervous and excited. Your heart starts pounding in your chest. You can feel yourself shaking and are searching for a breath of air. You allow yourself a few seconds of butterflies. You let it pass and just go for it. You kiss him or her. You talk to the one who has your heart even though he or she has no knowledge of your feelings. You say the three little words that could change everything. Everyone gets a version of these feelings probably everyday. Talking to her, that made me timid. My unwillingness to let her know about my feelings. The friendly smile I used to hide who I really felt about her. The restraint I had not to kiss her lips. Just friends. That’s what we were. Forever stuck in the zone where boundaries matter. The friend zone has never really been the place to tell a person you love them. When she approaches me I can feel my hands start to sweat. My heart starts racing and I pray she doesn’t hear. Her smile can make me walk on air. Count to three and just do it. She gives me a hug. One. She smiles at me. Two. She says hello. Three. And now we are talking. I feel silly for being shy around her. She is easy going and fun to be around. As always the conversation reaches a dull and I count again. One. She looks down at her feet and back up at me. Two. She rocks back and forth and plays with her hair. Three. I kiss her. My heart’s never ending beat is duly noted. I close my eyes. One. I pull her closer. Two. I grab her face. Three. I pull away. She stares at me. One. She touches her lips. Two. Suddenly the friend zone doesn’t matter and I feel our relationship pulling away from the “just friends” place. Three. “I love you,” I say to her. Now I wait three seconds for her nerves to go away because I know she is a little uneasy. One. She looks around her. Two. She looks back at me. Three. “I love you too.”