Lisa made me.

She said I would ruin her party if I didn't.

I didn't need that hanging over my head, so I agreed to play.

See. Had to.

Plus, since there were only seven kids left at the party, one of them being Billy Prescott, I figured the odds were in my favor that I still might get to kiss him.

Lisa turns off the light and puts down a bottle. Everyone gets positioned on the floor in a circle.

Neil is trying to strategically place himself across from me.

We go through four spins of the bottle, without it landing on me.

Boohoo!

Then it's Phillip's turn. He spins, and the neck of the bottle points directly between Mary Beth Parker and Me!

I kid you not.

Mary Beth looks all excited.

I feel sorry for the poor guy. It's like he has to choose between Heaven and Hell. And Hell (Mary Beth) will get really mad and make your life miserable if you don't pick her.

Phillip looks at her and then at me. Then he takes the neck of the bottle and moves it, so it points straight at me.

Really!

Both Neil and Mary Beth are looking pissed at Phillip, but he doesn't seem to care.

He grins, then crooks his index finger at me, motioning for me to come and get him.

I was going to shake my head no, but his grin gets me every time. I can't resist him, plus I kinda want to kiss him. So I crawl across the center of the circle. It's like his eyes are the light at the end of a tunnel, and all I can see is him.

I'm still not sure what happened, what Phillip did, or how he did it so fast. But next thing I know, I am laying on my back across the center of the circle, with Phillip laying on TOP of me, kissing me.

The boys are hooting and hollering, but it barely registers because Phillip keeps kissing me. I'm having a hard time processing anything other than, Phillip is a really good kisser, and he is LAYING on TOP of me.

Around us, everyone gasps and jumps up.

I think this is exactly what Phillip hoped would happen.

I am slightly dazed though, so I can't be sure.

Once everyone scatters, he stops kissing me, pulls me up onto my feet, and flashes me that adorable grin.

And I can't help but fall a little in love with him.

“So are you secretly in love with me, or were you just trying to break up the game so you wouldn't have to kiss Mary Beth,” I whisper.

“Oh, I am definitely in love with you,” he replies, with a big smile on his face, as he sees Mary Beth storming out of the party.

“Liar,” I say.

Every summer, Phillip's dad sets up a tent in their back yard. But it's so hot already in May that the boys talked him into setting it up this weekend, so they can camp out. I've spent many a night in that tent with the boys, but my parents have decided this year, I'm too old to camp with them.

It's stupid, really.

It's not like I like them.

I mean we're together a lot, and let's face it, if I really wanted to do anything with them, I could just do it any old time.

But since we are only friends, nothing happens.

I tried explaining this to Mom and Dad, but they got all freaked out when I told them that if I wanted to do something with one of the boys, I could do it any old time, and I nearly got grounded.

Fortunately, I haven't been banned from the tent entirely. I still get to go over there, but I have to come home to sleep. Which really makes no sense either because a lot could happen before I come home, but whatever. I mean all we usually do is eat, play cards, and talk.

I know that I'm growing up, but I don't really feel all that different. I'm a lot taller than I used to be. I'm 5'10”, which seems a bit excessive to me, and it really sucks because there are only two boys in my grade taller than me. So if I want to go out with a boy who is taller than me, my choices are very limited.

My mom is 5'9”, and she says she loves being tall and not to worry, the boys will catch up in a few years. She is also constantly telling me to stand up straight.

It drives me nuts.

The talks the boys and I have in the tent are much different from the ones I have with my friends, Lisa and Katie. I swear, growing up is all they have talked about for the last three years.

Who got their boobs first?

Not me.

Who got their period first?

Again, not me.

Who got kissed on the lips first?

Well that would have been me, but now that we are older a silly playground kiss doesn't count.

So that one, is also not me.

They are totally obsessed with boys and are so excited about going to high school next year because they think that place is just full of boys dying to date them.

Lisa has been counting down the days until we are 15 and old enough to go out on real dates. (131 for Lisa, 215 for Katie, and 321 for me, at last count.) The count down is kind of silly to me, I mean, do they think they will turn 15 and all of a sudden boys will be standing in line to ask them out?

What if no one does?

I haven't pointed that out to them and probably won't.

They would get all huffy at me.

As if I don't have enough to worry about, eighth grade graduation is coming up. It's a big deal around here. We have a graduation ceremony and parties and everything. Normally, this is something I would be very excited about. I love parties, but my mom is trying to ruin my life.

I swear!

She said I have to wear a dress. I know I'm kind of a tomboy and love sports, but I don't mind wearing dresses. It's just I find they're not usually very comfortable. Then there's the whole worrying about your underwear showing issue. So anyway, the problem isn't really that I have to wear a dress, it's the type of dress she wanted me to wear. Everything she picked was soooo pink! And she kept dragging me to the store and making me try these things on.

I swear, I think Lisa and I were switched at birth. She may very well be my mother's real daughter. They both love to shop and go, Ooh! Isn't that just dar-ling, to anything with rhinestones, fringe, sequins, or leopard.

Last time we went shopping, they made me try on a dress that was a combination of hot pink and leopard.

I'm pretty positive I saw that once in the Fashion Don'ts that Katie is always reading.

I swear, they want me to look like a hooker.

I told Mom that.

And evidently, that's when she decided that she is very frustrated with me.

Dad told me this, and when I was like, I know the feeling, even he got testy with me.

After our last shopping trip, she told him she has given up.

And that's saying a lot because this woman loves to shop.

Dad tried to intervene and asked me at dinner a couple nights ago, “JJ, have you seen any dresses you've liked, anywhere?”

“Not really.” I shrugged and took a bite of my chicken.

“Why don't I take you shopping tomorrow night? And if we find a dress, I'll take you to Johnny's for pizza.”

I was really amazed by this development because Dad has told me for years that he is allergic to shopping. Advil must help his shopping allergies because he took three before we left the house.

Surprisingly, Dad and I did find something for me to wear to graduation. First, we went to the junior's section at a department store Katie recommended. I tried on a bunch of dresses, but Dad vetoed them all as too sexy, so we continued our search. I kinda liked the black one he thought was wayyyy too sexy, but I was hungry, so I didn't argue. Katie also told me to try the Gap, so we did, and I really need to thank that girl because that was very helpful advice. I found a pretty eyelet skirt and a really cute top. During our whole shopping trip, Dad only held his head in his hands and muttered things to himself twice, so it was a good experience for him too, I think. And now, I am actually excited for graduation.