At that moment, with Jeremy cupping my face, our gazes fused with searching eyes, our entire relationship shifted.

I could’ve said the same to him. He absolutely took my breath away, too. While staring at him, I held my breath and waited for what would come next. All too soon, however, a throat cleared, breaking the wonderful, magical spell we’d placed ourselves under. It was agonizing to tear my gaze from his, but when I did, I saw both sets of our parents watching us with curious expressions.

Our moms were beaming, both with tissues as they wiped their eyes and lamented on their babies having grown up. In hindsight, I’m sure they were already planning out our wedding. Jeremy’s dad looked like a proud papa, and I blushed when he gave Jeremy a thumbs-up and me a wink. My dad, however, was trying to scowl at my date, who didn’t even notice. In fact, when I returned my gaze to his, he was still staring at me as if he were trying to take it all in. Take me all in.

“You’d better breathe, Jer,” I teased. “I’d hate to have to give you CPR before we even make it to the dance.”

His left eyebrow rose. Then he leaned forward, his lips hovering just over my ear. “I’m not so sure that’d be a bad thing,” he whispered.

My mouth went dry. He winked at me before turning his attention to our parents. And what happened next was a flurry of photo-taking, curfew-giving, and Dad pulling Jeremy aside to give him, no doubt, a warning about messing with his little girl.

Mom took a picture of me and Lexi, and I gave her an encouraging squeeze on the shoulder when it was done.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Lexi?” I asked. “I can skip the beach party and just come home after the dance if you want.”

She gave me an appreciate smile but shook her head. “Absolutely not. I’m fine, Sierra. Go and have fun. Get your man,” she said, giving me a wink. “My time will come. I have no doubt. I just have to be patient, right?”

“Patient for what?” Jeremy asked, causing me to jump. I hadn’t realized he’d come up to us, and I hoped he hadn’t heard Lexi’s quip about my man.

“Oh, nothing. Just girl talk,” Lexi informed him.

He gave a faux grimace and held his hands up. “Say no more.” Then he held his arm out to me. “Time to go, my lady.

We said our goodbyes, and I giggled when Dad scowled at Jeremy yet again. He took it all in stride and gave him a mock salute then did some weird Boy Scout move.

By the time we got to his car, Chris and Jenna were already making out in the backseat.

Jeremy gave me a grin. “They did all of their pictures at my house. To speed up the process, she said, but I think now I know why they were so willing to let us do pictures alone.”

We watched them through the glass for a moment.

“When do you think they’ll come up for air?” I asked.

The truth was I was kind of jealous. There I was, a sophomore in high school, and I hadn’t even gotten my first kiss yet. Jenna, however, had been the queen of kissing since the seventh grade. And, from the looks of it, Chris was definitely reaping the benefits.

“These two? Probably never. We’ll be lucky if they even make it into the dance.” He grinned and opened the front passenger’s door. The two in the backseat didn’t even notice that we’d arrived. “Ready?” he asked.

Was that a loaded question or what? Still, I smiled in returned. “You know what, Jeremy? I think I’ve been ready for a really long time.”

WHEN I WAS EIGHT years old, I met the prettiest girl I’d ever seen. I instantly wanted her to be my best friend. No question about it. It wasn’t just about her looks. No, it was more than that. At the time, I didn’t know what it was, just that it was. We had this instant connection. The whole love-at-first-sight thing? It was like that, but in a friendship kinda way. Like, I took one look at that pretty little girl with the blonde ponytail, and Cupid’s friendly brother aimed his arrow in my direction and hit me straight in the gut with a friendship shot.

Now, over eight years later, that girl had blossomed into a woman. The most beautiful woman I’d ever had the pleasure of laying eyes on. One second, I was laughing with my dad, who was trying to give me dancing tips—disco, no less—and Sierra’s dad, who was trying to enforce a three-foot rule for when she and I slow-danced. The next second, I expelled all the air in my lungs, leaving me unable to breathe.

The moment Sierra walked into the room, I was stunned speechless. Rendered breathless. Nearly knocked on my ass at the sight of her. Gone was the pretty little girl whose freckles I wanted to count. In her place was this gorgeous creature whose body I wanted to explore so I could kiss each freckle and then make my way down to discover where else they were hidden on her skin.

Simply being best friends with Sierra was no longer an option. I wanted more, and I’d wanted it for a really long time. And, that night, I was finally going to make it happen. No more playing it safe. No more wondering and worrying if she didn’t feel the same. No more pining away next door, wishing she were in my arms, her lips on mine, her hands fisted in my hair. Never again would I lie in her bed with her cuddled up against me as I wished we could be together.

I was determined to make it happen. I just had to wait for the perfect moment.

Even though a throat cleared and Sierra looked away from me, I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She was wearing a dark-green dress that perfectly matched my shirt. The color made her eyes pop, and her tan skin from lazy days at the beach seemed to glow. It fit her perfectly, showing off the curves that had appeared this summer. The memory of her in a bikini had my mouth watering, but that image had nothing on Sierra in this dress. Her hair was in loose curls, not stiff or rigid like Jenna’s was from overuse of hairspray. I loved it, and I’d be able to hold her close and run my fingers through her hair as we danced.

Finally, my trance was broken and I endured photo after photo before a lecture from her dad, once again, about the three-foot rule. Hello. Had he seen his daughter? If I had my way, we wouldn’t have three millimeters between us, let alone three feet.

When we finally made our way outside, I had half a mind to put an end to my misery and kiss her senseless on the front porch. But there was no way I was doing that. The first time I kissed Sierra was going to be special. It would be a kiss she’d remember for the rest of her life. It wouldn’t be with our moms peeking out the window, with Lexi giving me an encouraging thumbs-up.

The ride to the school was short, thankfully, because the sounds of Jenna and Chris’s make-out session were starting to grate on my nerves. After parking the car, I jumped out and rounded it, quick to open Sierra’s door before she could get out on her own. Chris and Jenna stopped sucking face long enough to get out of the car and walk across the parking lot and into the gym, where the dance was being held. No doubt, by the time we made it inside, they’d have found a dark corner to get back to it.

Before I could help her, Sierra stood, her gaze focused on the building they had disappeared into. Without thinking, I took her hand into mine. Her lips formed a soft O in surprise. I hoped she’d be doing that a lot tonight. Preferably in a good way.

I laced our fingers together, hoping she’d get that this wasn’t just a friendly handhold. That was phase one in making her mine. I was going to spend the night giving signals in hopes that, at the end of it, I could go in for the kill. Because, by the end of our sophomore homecoming, Sierra Sullivan was going to be my girl.