Well, here we are three years later.

When I first confessed to you, one of the very first things I said was that you are the one and only person I have ever felt these feelings for, especially so intensely, and even now—three years later—that still holds true. You are the most special person in my life, and that has never wavered. You are constant. You are home.

You and you alone are everything to me. You still give me butterflies. You still make my heart race. You still make me roll my eyes when you’re being ridiculous, but even then, I’m full of nothing but love. That blend of comfort and thrill, of passion and peace, it hasn’t faded. In fact, it’s grown deeper, steadier, and somehow even more overwhelming in the best way.

Sometimes I think back on the message I sent you when I asked you out. I poured everything I was feeling into it, hoping you’d see just how serious I was. I told you that you were the one and only person I have ever felt these feelings for and so intensely. No one could ever come that close to making me feel like this. I meant every word then, and I mean every word now, maybe even more so, because now I’ve had three years of proof. Three years of shared days, small moments, new memories, and love that never left. Even through stress, through quiet days, through changes.

You still make me smile for no reason at all. I still find myself softening whenever I hear your voice, even if you’re teasing me or going on about something completely random. Especially then, actually. I could listen to you talk about anything and still feel like the luckiest person in the world.

Three years is a long time to some people, but with you, it feels like a blink and a lifetime at the same time. We’ve been through so much together. We’ve seen different versions of each other: tired ones, excited ones, anxious ones, giddy ones, and I still love you through all of them. Especially through all of them. Because I didn’t fall in love with just one version of you. I fell in love with every part. Every contradiction, every layer, every silly and serious and quiet and passionate side of you.

There’s something deeply comforting in knowing that you’re still the first thought I have in the morning and the last one before I sleep. That hasn’t changed. Not once. You’re the person who makes the ordinary feel extraordinary, the quiet moments feel full, and the hard days easier to breathe through.

You’ve become the place I return to mentally when I need safety. You make me feel safe and valued in ways no one else ever has. It’s not just the butterflies anymore, it’s the calm you bring me, the steady sense that no matter what happens, you’re there. I can be myself fully around you, and that alone is priceless. I want you to know just how much I appreciate the way you love me: openly, gently, and fully.

Even now, I still want to give you everything. The sun, the stars, the sky. I want to hold your hand through whatever comes next. I want to cheer you on, protect your peace, laugh with you, be ridiculous with you, and support you in all the ways you need. You deserve love that’s loud and quiet, playful and deep, all at once. And I want to give that to you, always.

Sometimes I wish I had better words, more powerful words, to describe how much you mean to me. But I think the truest things we feel never quite fit into language, because they live in how we show up for each other every day. And for three years now, I’ve been lucky enough to show up for you and be loved by you in return. That’s something I will never take for granted.

Thank you for being my partner, my love, my boyfriend. Thank you for all the little things you do, the big things you don’t even realize matter, and the unshakable presence you’ve had in my life. I love you more than words will ever fully express, and I will never stop being grateful that I get to walk through life with you.

Happy three years, Nova. Here’s to many, many more.