Finally we got up the hill and found ourselves on the edge of a flat, grassy meadow lit up by moonlight.

He ran to the middle of the clearing where the grass was still soft and undisturbed.

“Come here and lie down next to me.”

I looked around the serene meadow and realized why he must have enjoyed this place. There was a line of trees that surrounded the half of the perimeter that faced the neighborhood. The opened half of the perimeter overlooked the small stream that ran through the far end of the neighborhood.

I walked over and lie down next to him.

“Why are we lying down?” I turned to face him.

He reached between us and grabbed my hand. “Look up there.” He pointed to the dark evening sky with his other hand.

A gasp escaped my lips when I saw what he wanted me to see.

Thousands of bright, brilliant stars glittered the sky as far as the eyes could see.

“It’s beautiful.”

“Yeah, it is. I come here when I’m sad about something. It reminds me of how magical and big this world is.”

I smiled and then giggled. “You sound so grown up.”

“Well that’s because I’m fourteen and you’re only twelve,” he teased playfully.

I frowned and turned my head to face him. “Are you going to stop hanging out with me when you start high school this Fall?”

He turned his attention away from the stars and met my gaze. “No of course not. Besides, you just live next door. You can always come over to hang out.”

“But what if you get a high school girlfriend?” I asked tentatively. “She might not want you to hang out with me. Sandy said that you’d have a girlfriend soon.”

“Don’t listen to my sister. She doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”

“But she’s a year older than you. She’s already in high school.”

“I won’t have a high school girlfriend.”

“Really?” I didn’t believe him, and I felt a numbing pain tighten my chest.

“I won’t,” he held my gaze, “because I already have one.”

The moonlight shimmered against his eyes as he looked at me. I wasn’t sure why but I felt nervous. He’d never looked at me this way before.

“Who’s your girlfriend?” I was scared to know the answer. Was it Mary Jane from next door? Or Susie from down the street? Or was it the pretty girl from his eighth grade class, the one that looked like she could be on the cover of the magazine, Seventeen?

Suddenly, before I knew what was happening, he leaned his face toward me and kissed me.

I felt a rush of happiness run through my body as I moved my lips to kiss him back. His soft lips were sweet and gentle as they explored mine, and I felt my heart soar with glee as he gave me the answer to his question.

He was right, this place was special, and it did make me happy. This was where I experienced my first kiss.

The impact of the grassy field against my feet brought me back to the present. I blinked, trying to let my newest memory sink in. I touched my lips, reveling in the memory of the two kisses I’d just experienced.

“Did you have fun?” Ethan ran to my side as Carlos removed my harness from his gear.

I nodded, still unable to talk. Unable to forget the intensity of our mid-free fall kiss, my eyes stole a lingering glance at his full lips.

“So you survived.” Ethan pulled me into his arms, and I gladly allowed myself to sink into his warm, hard, and inviting chest as his arms seemed to engulf me.

“This moment deserves a picture,” he said when he pulled away. “Carlos, do you mind taking a picture of us.” He took out his phone and handed it to Carlos who was gathering up the gear.

“No problem.”

“Goofy or serious picture?” he asked me.

I laughed. “Goofy.”

“Good call.”

After we made our silly faces for the picture, Carlos handed the phone back to Ethan and gathered up his gear. “I’ll be inside if you guys need me,” Carlos said as he walked away.

“Thanks, Carlos,” Ethan and I said in unison as we watched him go.

“So how was that for five minutes of your life?” Ethan beamed at me.

“That was just five minutes?”

He nodded with a laugh. “Yup. It’s about sixty seconds of free fall and four minutes in the air once the parachute is deployed.”

“It was really amazing. I’m not sure I’ve ever felt more alive than I had during the free fall.” I beamed up at him and felt my stomach flip.

“Was that before or after you kissed me?” He flashed me a devious grin.

“For the record, you kissed me. Not the other way around.” I scrunched my nose and made a face at him.

He chuckled. “If believing that helps you sleep better at night, then let’s go with that story.”

I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

“Now let’s not fight on our birthdays.” He swung his arm over my shoulder and leaned down and kissed my forehead. I looked up at him and smiled, and for a moment, I thought he’d kiss me again.

But he didn’t. He just looked down at me with a glowing smile. “Are you hungry? I’ll take you to one of my favorite restaurants in Philly.”

“Okay. That sounds great.” Happiness filled me as I met his deep gaze, and I knew I couldn’t deny the seriousness of my feelings for this man anymore. With his arm over my shoulder, I sank deeper into his chest and wrapped my arm behind his back as we walked to his bike in the parking lot.

There was an undeniable energy between us, and I felt my feelings for him deepen and intensify with every passing minute I was with him. I smiled at how intimate this simple moment between us felt, and I wondered if he felt the same way. And as I stole a glance up at him, I realized that there was nothing else I wanted more than for him to feel the same way.

***

“Get ready to take a bite out of the best pizza you’ll ever eat.” There was a gleam of excitement in Ethan’s eyes as the waitress brought by the Asparago pizza for us.

I eyed with curiosity the rustic thin crust pizza that had just came out of the wood-burning oven.

Sensing my hesitation, Ethan said, “So this place is known for this pizza. It has their secret white sauce, shaved asparagus, cured pork, mozzarella, and a truffled farm egg in the middle. During the winter and early spring time, their menu changes and they have the Uovo pizza, which is this except it’s shaved Brussels sprouts instead of asparagus.”

As I looked at him in amazement at how much he knew about this pizza, my mind couldn’t stop thinking of one funny thought. “So what’s with you and eggs?” I asked, trying to stifle back a giggle.

“What do you mean?” he asked with boyish smile.

“Well you took me to Paesano’s where you raved about the beef brisket sandwich with the fried egg in it. And now we’re here at Barbuzzo and there’s a farm egg in the middle of the pizza.”

His smile turned into laughter. “That’s pretty funny. I’d never made that connection. I guess you can say I’m pretty egg-cited about eggs, eh?”

He tried to stare at me with a straight face while I raised an eye brow, but the second our eyes locked, we both burst out in a fit of laughter.

“You know something? You are so different from my first impression of you.”

“Oh yeah?” There was a glint of amusement in his voice. “What’s changed about me?”

“Well for one, you’re not annoying,” I teased.

“Ouch!” He feigned a hurt expression.

“I’m teasing. But seriously, you were pretty cocky and aggressive when I first met you. Even when I told you I had a fiancé, that didn’t seem to bother you. So in the beginning, I thought you might be some sleazy guy looking for an opportunity he could take advantage of.”

He nodded his head slowly as if he was taking in my observation of him. “And now?”