“Wait,” I said again. “You knew where it was and that I had put it there this whole time, but you still pretended to look for it with me.”

Had she liked hanging out with me too?

She narrowed her eyes at me, and I knew she had read my mind. A new, obnoxious smile beamed across my face now over the obnoxious one that was already there.

Then, I watched as she grabbed her duffle bag from the ground and slung it over her shoulder.

“Will, the point here is that you threw my ball into the rafters,” she said. “Nothing ever comes down from there.”

I really tried hard, but I couldn’t stop smiling.

“You’re such a child,” she said, letting out a deep sigh and then turning and walking away.

I sat there frozen — and speechless.

“You owe me a ball, Will Stephens,” she called out over her shoulder once she had gotten several yards away.

I watched her strut into the sun as I leaned my back against the straw bale in our makeshift bench again. There was a permanent smile now tattooed to my face, and on that smile in big, bold letters, I was pretty sure it read: Today was the best day of my life. Today, I learned that Julia Lang actually liked hanging out with me.

I bent down and concealed my face behind his before I brought my hand to my mouth.

“Hey, uh, I didn’t want to say anything in front of the girl, but I’m pretty sure you left the dome light in your truck on, and there’s a copy of that Cosmo your sister left in there on the seat,” I whispered.

Jeff’s eyes grew wide, but he kept his stare straight ahead. I was pretty sure he was calculating the cool points he’d lose if anyone were to see the magazine in his truck. I was waiting for him to question why I hadn’t just turned off the light myself and hid the magazine, but he never did. He just sat there for a second, then stood up, dusted off his blue jeans and squared up to Julia.

“I’ll be right back,” he said to her then.

And just like that, he hopped over the log he had been sitting on and disappeared into the night behind the fire.

When my eyes fell from watching Jeff trot away, they stumbled onto Julia. Her bright green stare was already on mine, and there was a soft, questioning smile planted on her face. It was cute.

“Will Stephens, what did you say to him?” she asked.

She was trying her best to scold me, but I could tell she wasn’t that upset by whatever it was I had just said to make the lanky boy dance away.

A smile edged across my face, as I took Jeff’s now vacant seat next to her on the log.

“I told him his truck lights were on,” I said.

Her eyes lingered on me, and she didn’t say anything for a good second.

“Are they?” she asked.

I knew she already knew the answer.

“No,” I said, grinning into the flames.

I watched the flames pop and dance among the logs being consumed by the fire. I watched them for long seconds before I felt her stare still on me. Then, I turned my attention back toward those pretty eyes of hers.

Her face was angled just enough into the light the flames gave off that it made her features glow with warm colors. Her lips were soft-looking but sexy, as if she could give one, out-of-this-world kiss. And her eyes, even without the fire’s light, were that shade of green that made you stop and want to stay in them for awhile. My own eyes were drawn to them like a moth to light. I loved those eyes of hers. I had always loved those eyes.

“When are you going to say yes?” I asked.

She kept her smile, but her eyes broke from mine and returned to the fire.

“Depends on what the question is,” she said, gradually returning her gaze to me.

“Same question,” I said.

I traced the path her eyes made. They seemed to be searching every feature on my face.

“Then, same answer,” she softly said.

She was smiling with that temptress smile of hers. It was beautiful, but, God, what did it mean? Did she want me to pull her against my body right now and finally touch those lips of hers I had been dying to kiss? Was I supposed to just sit here? Woman, what do you want from me?

“Come on, Jules,” I protested instead. “I know you like me. And you’re gonna love me, someday,” I added for effect, while throwing a piece of bark into the flames.

“Love?” she questioned.

She had this surprise in her voice. I expected it.

“Jules, just let me take you to Donna’s,” I pleaded.

She laughed, and I watched her long curls fall from her shoulders to her chest as she shook her head.

“That sounds like a date, Will,” she said.

I paused for a second and pushed my lips together.

“Yeah, it kind of does,” I admitted, smiling and nodding my head.

I glanced at the fire for a moment and then returned my eyes to her, but her gaze was already planted on me. She wasn’t smiling anymore, and her face had grown sincere.

“You’re serious, aren’t you?” she asked.

I was speechless, while I thought about her question.

This girl must be completely and utterly out of her mind. Of course, I was serious. Why wouldn’t I be serious? She was gorgeous; she was smart; she thought Jeff was an idiot; and she was the sexiest woman I had ever met. Done. Done. Done. And done.

“Jules, I was always serious,” I finally said.

“Will, you threw rocks at me in third grade.”

I couldn’t help my smile turning up a little more. I tried to hide it by sending my eyes to the ground at my feet.

“It was out of love, I promise,” I assured her, as I met her eyes again. “You could think of it like Cupid’s arrows, only they were rocks.”

She pursed her lips, and her pout refused to waver. Could I kiss her now?

“No?” I asked. “Not Cupid’s arrows?”

And the pout disappeared.

“I guess I just had a funny way of showing it back then,” I said.

“Will, you purposely got my favorite volleyball stuck up in the gym’s rafters,” she went on.

I laughed once and shook my head.

“You still remember that?” I asked.

She glared at me through her sexy, green eyes.

“It was last week, Will,” she said.

I took a deep breath and then slowly let it out, allowing my eyes to come to rest in hers.

“Can I just take you to Donna’s — to make up for all my past wrong-doings?” I asked again.

She hesitated as silent seconds drew on.

“You know, you kind of owe me,” she said, as a soft smile found her face.

My heart fluttered, and I couldn’t help but smile too, but before I could get another word out, a group of girls appeared on the other side of the fire from out of nowhere. They were giggling and seemed to have no clue as to what epic moment they were interrupting.

“Will, sing us a song,” a girl’s voice commanded.

My eyes reluctantly followed Julia’s gaze to Rachel, standing directly across from us. I found a piece of bark on the log I was sitting on then and pulled it free.

“Rach, I can’t sing,” I said, throwing the bark into the fire.

“What?” Rachel asked. “Then why was THIS in your car?”

She pulled out an object from the dark shadows behind her and passed it around the edge of the fire. I knew immediately what it was.

“My car?” I asked.

“Yep, that little SUV next to all of those other cars in the field back there,” Rachel said, pointing into the darkness behind her.

She was wearing a proud smile. I kept my stare on her.

“It’s a truck, Rachel,” I said.

“What?” I heard Rachel ask. “Does it have a bed? No. It’s definitely an SUV, Will. But don’t worry; SUVs can be just as manly, even if they do have girly names.”

She playfully rolled her eyes, and I sent her a sideways smirk and returned my attention to Julia.

Julia was giving me a strange look too now, but I brushed it, along with Rachel’s comment, off.