“Okay, Sierra, I think it’s time to head home.”

She frowned. “What? Why? We just got here.”

I raised an eyebrow. “We’ve been here for over an hour. And you’re going to need to sober up before you go home. Do you want your parents to catch you?”

Her head shook, and she allowed me to take her hand and start leading her away. “No, you’re right. Mom would kill me.” She tilted her head and gave me a drunken smile that looked kind of sad. “You’re so good to me, Jeremy. Always looking out for me. You’re the best.”

That was me. Good ol’ reliable Jeremy. Glancing at my watch, I saw we still had plenty of time. But how could I tell Sierra how I felt now that she wasn’t in the right state of mind?

I couldn’t, and that sucked.

“Hey, Sierra,” Danny called.

She stopped and gazed back at him, her eyes glossy. “Yeah?” The breathy whisper she’d offered him had me gritting my teeth.

“Don’t forget what I said. I’ll see you at the end of the summer.”

She nodded as a shy smile crossed her lips. It was a smile I’d never seen, and I hated it. I wanted to be the only guy to make her smile. It was selfish, but I didn’t care.

I got us a ride from one of the juniors, but instead of having him take us home, I had him drop us off at the gazebo at the end of our neighborhood.

“What are we doing here, Jeremy?” Sierra asked.

“We have a couple of hours until curfew. I thought this would be a good place for you to sober up.”

I went to take her hand, but she either didn’t see me or didn’t want me to as she walked down the wooden planks, took the steps down, and planted her ass in the sand. I followed and sat next to her, staring out at the water.

Silent minutes ticked by. Nothing but the roar of the waves filled the air. My insides were twisting and turning as I tried to find the right words to tell Sierra just how much I was going to miss her. I hated that this was the last night we’d have together before she left town. Before she left me.

“So…” I breathed out, finally mustering up the courage to break the silence.

“So…” she repeated. Her finger was making trails in the sand. In the darkness, I couldn’t make out what she was writing.

“What did Danny mean?”

She looked up suddenly. Her face was showcased in the moonlight, and I was relieved to see that some of the glossiness had faded from her eyes.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

I fidgeted, hating the tightness in my chest. I’d never thought of Sierra with another guy. Hell, I’d never thought of Sierra with any guy. And now…it was painful. It was as if my heart were ballooning until it would inevitably pop and leave me with nothing but the shredded pieces.

“He said to think about what he said. So, what was it? What did he say?”

“Oh, that,” she said, waving me off like it was no big deal. “He asked if he could take me out.”

“Like, on a date?” I asked, the tightness intensifying, making it hard to breathe. “Seriously? He asked you out on a date?”

The incredulity in my voice surprised even me. I watched as the color drained from her face, and the smile faded from her lips. Her eyes blazed with the fury she was about to unleash. She’d completely misinterpreted my question, and before I could explain, she jumped up, kicking sand in my direction.

“Yes! On a date. Is that so hard to believe, Jeremy?! That a guy would actually find me attractive enough to take out?” She pushed her chest out, and my eyes nearly bugged out of my head. “They may not be big, but I do have boobs, you know! Just because you don’t notice them doesn’t mean other guys won’t.”

Before I could answer, she ran up the steps, through the gazebo, and down the wooden planks towards the entrance of the neighborhood. I dashed after her, thankful she hadn’t gotten too far. As soon as I caught up to her, I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her back. She flailed her arms and kicked her legs out, but I held on tight.

“Stop, Sierra,” I growled, surprised when she actually listened. Then I walked us back to the gazebo before plopping down on a wooden bench, not releasing her as she settled into my lap.

Her hair was wild around her face, and she wouldn’t look at me. Using my thumb and forefinger to lift her chin, I was taken aback to see her eyes swimming with tears. The vulnerability in them tore me apart. She’d never looked more beautiful. She’d never looked more heartbroken. I hated myself for it.

“What the hell is going on?” I asked, trying to sound teasing.

She shook her head. “Nothing. It’s stupid. I blame the beer,” she said as she scrambled off my lap and started pacing back and forth in front of me.

Just as I was about to join her, she stopped and faced me.

“Look, I didn’t mean to freak out on you. I know you don’t see me the way other guys do, so of course it would be a surprise that the star quarterback would want to take me out. I’m sorry for overreacting.”

“Sierra.” I stood and approached her, but she took a step back before I could pull her into my arms. “That’s not true. From the moment I met you, you’ve been the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen. Hell, I remember running home and telling my mom all about you. I felt that way then, and I still feel that way now.”

I couldn’t believe I was actually admitting that, but hey. Extreme times called for extreme measures, and this seemed to fit the bill.

Tears glistened as she let out a disbelieving laugh. “And that’s the problem. You still see me as dirty eight-year-old playing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The girl who played kickball, skinning her knees, and spitting into your hand. Which is okay. I’m not the girly-girl wearing skirts and worrying about having perfect makeup. I don’t flirt or act ladylike. At least, not to you. That’s not how we are. That’s not how we’ll ever be. I’m finally realizing that.”

I wanted to tell her that she was wrong. That I didn’t see her as an eight-year-old girl. That, even though I’d been a blind fool, my eyes had finally opened. I wanted to wax poetic about her long, beautiful hair and how much I loved running my fingers through it while watching our favorite shows. How the beautiful blue of her eyes was my favorite color and, if Crayola could capture it in a crayon, I’d buy every single box until I had a lifetime supply. And her lips. God, I wanted to profess how, ever since that day in biology, her lips had had me transfixed and I wanted nothing more than a taste. I hadn’t cared that there was dead frog cut open and splayed out on the table. The way she’d sucked her bottom lip between her teeth, gasping and cursing as she’d drawn blood, had thrown all my disgust over the frog out the window. All I could see was her. All I wanted was her.

I wanted to tell her all of that.

But I didn’t, and I would regret it for the rest of the summer.

“Sierra—” I began to protest, but she cut me off, giving me a warm, watery smile.

“It’s fine, Jeremy. I promise. I have no problem being the Tod to your Copper. Or the Joey to your Dawson. That’s who I am.” She hesitated for a moment. “That’s who I’ll always be. You’re my best friend, Jeremy. It’s okay that you don’t see my boobs. Hell, it’s probably better that way.”

My stomach plummeted, and if I was man enough to admit it, my eyes burned with an unexpected rush of tears. I stepped out of the sight so she couldn’t see me. She misinterpreted the move, but before I could find a single ounce of courage, she was waving goodbye and running into her house, leaving me there to watch her go.

Something I never wanted to do again.

It wasn’t until after Sierra had left for Ohio and I’d had a chance to reflect on her words that I realized what she’d said. Dawson and Joey, as of right then, weren’t even speaking. Copper and Tod had gone their separate ways, and even though their friendship remained, they were still apart for the rest of their lives.