My mouth gapes open as the boy I’ve known most of my life defends me like no one else ever has.

A hand grips my shoulder and pulls me up off the floor. “Jesus, Lanie. Are you all right?” Cass asks. “Thank God Noel showed up when he did.”

I’m about to agree with her just as the guys roll around in the hallway again and this time Roger’s in control. Hell. No.

This weird urge to protect Noel comes over me. I fling myself on Roger’s back without thinking about what I would do next. I wrap my arms around his neck and hold on tight. Not getting anywhere, I get desperate and grab a handful of red hair and yank as hard as I can. “Get off him!”

I ignore the distinct sound of tennis shoes scuffling on the tiled hallway as I tighten my grip on his hair. There’s no way I’m letting anyone hurt Noel.

I’m pulled back but I refuse to release my hold on Roger. “Young lady, let him go!”

My head snaps in the direction of lanky man with thinning brown hair I recognize as being my English teacher, Mr. Jones. Then it dawns on me. Oh crap! I’m in deep shit. Dad isn’t going to the let the fact that I’m involved in a fight on the first day of school go without some sort of punishment. There’s always the argument I was helping someone else that was getting bullied…even though that someone ran off and would probably be too scared to side with me against Roger. Surely one of these witnesses would attest to the fact this all began over Wendell, and that Roger isn’t the innocent victim here.

I loosen my grip and Roger’s hair falls free from my hands. “Crazy bitch,” Roger mumbles under his breath. “Umph!”

I snicker as Noel brings his knee back down from Roger’s groin, shutting him up completely. Roger falls over, cupping his crotch in the universally recognized, I’ve-just-been-nailed-in-the-balls style.

Noel stands and kicks Roger in the stomach one last time for good measure. “Don’t ever talk to her that way again.”

Mr. Jones sets me on my feet and turns to scolds the boys. “Knock it off and get to the principal’s office.” I turn to head in the opposite direction, thinking I’m in the clear because I’m a girl. “Not so fast. That means you too.”

I stop dead in my tracks and turn slowly on my heel.

Damn. Can’t blame me for trying.

Noel smoothes his hair back, tucking the loose strands behind his ear. He touches his tongue to the corner of his mouth and I notice a small cut on his bottom lip.

I tilt my head as I examine the rest of his face. “Are you okay?”

He shakes his fingers like he’s trying to get rid of the pain from landing a couple punches to Roger’s thick skull. “I’ll be okay. What about you? I can’t believe you had that in you to attack a guy like that. I haven’t seen you go after someone since the third grade over a Barbie.”

I shrug. “I couldn’t let him hurt you.”

Noel’s eyes search my face and he swallows hard just as he takes a step toward me, nearly bumping his chest into mine. “I know exactly how you feel.”

 “Y-y-you do?” Where is all this nervous energy coming from? I’ve been in close proximity many times with Noel. Why does this time feel different—like all the air around us is charged?

“I said get to the office,” Mr. Jones raises his voice causing me to jump and Noel wraps his arms around me. “You two need to get to the office while I finish helping Roger up. Don’t make me tell you again.”

Noel salutes the teacher and I giggle at his newfound anti-authority attitude. I pull away from Noel and turn towards the office. Our steps fall in line and he reaches down, threading his fingers through mine.

He’s held my hand before, but never like this. This moment feels like the beginning of something beautiful.

One Week Later…

LANE

The air is cool for a September night in Texas, but my entire body is warm and alive with excitement. I’ve snuck out of the house many nights before to meet Noel on this dock for a late night swim, but this is different. Things have certainly changed quite a bit over the last week.

Somehow over the summer we’ve gone from best friends to more. We’ve never really discussed this new territory of hand-holding and hugging that we’ve worked our way into, or what it means for us exactly. Maybe the subject will come up tonight.

People at school aren’t surprised, I guess. Everyone knows Noel and I are close, so our new bouts of PDA don’t raise too many eyebrows.

That doesn’t mean we’re ready to make our parents aware that our long-time friendship has blossomed into more though. They’d never let us be along together again.

I tiptoe down the hill to the dock behind my house and allow my eyes to adjust in the moonlight. At the end of the dock, Noel leans against the wood railing with his arms crossed against his chest, waiting for me. I’m not sure what tonight will hold for us, I just know I can’t wait to see what unfolds.

A wide grin stretches across his face the moment our eyes meet. The features on his face are well defined like the new physique he acquired over the summer. His blue eyes shimmer with excitement the moment my feet hit the wood on the dock and my breath catches. Every time I see him now it’s like my heart skips a beat.

I bite my lip and shove my hair behind my ear as Noel reaches his hand out to me. I slide mine into it without hesitation and my stomach flips.

He pulls me into his side. “I wasn’t sure if you were coming.”

I tilt my head. “Of course I was. Have I ever stood you up on this dock before?”

He swallows hard and pinches a lock of my long, brown hair before twirling it around his finger. “No, but things are a little different now, aren’t they?”

I nod and my breathing picks up a notch. “About that…what are we doing?”

Noel’s hand trembles a little as he releases my hair and touches my cheek with his fingertips. “I think it’s pretty clear.”

I know exactly what he’s getting at, but I want to hear him say it. “You think so?”

He stands a little straighter and cups my face in his hands while staring into my eyes. “We’re falling in love and finally giving into what fate has planned for us.”

My heart thuds against my ribs. “Are you saying you love me?”

The grin on his face lights up my entire world. “You know I do. I think I’ve loved you since we were five. I’m just the idiot who didn’t realize how much in love I was until this summer when I found myself getting jealous over any guy I caught looking at you. The feeling that you’re meant to be mine won’t leave me, and I don’t know what to do about it, or if you even feel the same way.”

“Is that why you stayed away all summer?” I ask.

“Yeah. I was hoping it would go away and we could stay friends, but all that went to hell that first day of school when I saw you and you needed help. I knew then I could never be just your friend. I’m always going to want more with you. I feel like you’re my forever or something.”

Emotions from within me take over and tears well in my eyes. “It might’ve taken me a little longer to come to the same conclusion, but I feel exactly the same way.”

Noel’s thumbs trace over my cheeks. “I love you, Lane.”

I smile as a tear falls freely from my eye. “I love you too.”

He leans in and presses his lips to mine. My eyes drift shut and I fall into his kiss—fall into him. This is everything I never knew I always wanted. His lips part and mine move in sync with his until he finally slips his tongue in my mouth. This isn’t my first kiss, but it is the first time I’ve ever felt something kissing a boy. It’s like tasting my future and I can picture my entire life in my mind—a life with Noel.

With more skill than I knew we both possessed, we slide down to the floor of the dock without breaking our kiss. I grip handfuls of his shirt and he teases the skin on my back just under the hem of my blouse. This is moving entirely too fast, but I can’t find a logical reason in my brain to stop the madness. Being so close to Noel feels incredible and I don’t want it to end.