I realized it then. It wasn't until the wind molded into the curves of my body and wrapped around my heart in a piercing sense of rightness that I knew. I suppose the knowledge sat in some quiet corner of my subconscious, waiting to surface like bottles bobbing on the open water, but when I told you that we should travel the world together and you didn't object--I knew. I knew when you let me switch the conversation from light to deep to light again; when you laughed at my jokes, not just to humor me, but because you genuinely thought I was funny; when the bantering--the teasing, friendly kind that makes up our relationship--grew; when you made me laugh so hard breathing was just a mere memory; when it was just the ghosts of bonfires and sand below our toes and the stars filtering through cotton candy clouds above, I knew with out a shadow of a doubt that you were my best friend, and always will be. We share a bond that can never be severed and I would honestly be lost without you. I love you, best friend-brother.

Oh, and J? I cannot wait for our around-the-world trip.

ps spruced up my sweet friend madison's blog last week. take a look?