My heart went into overdrive.

(Would he hear it?) (Would he feel it?) His mouth then covered mine.

Yes!

Soft lips, soft kiss.

I tippy-toed up closer to him, deepening the kiss, giving him my all. And taking from him his very best.

Then after a couple of minutes he broke the kiss, slung an arm across my shoulder, and led me toward his mom's SUV. Where he pressed his backside against his hood, and pulled me close.

Warmth spread through me. From the engine. From him.

"Holding you feels so good," he said, his voice rumbling through me.

Tucking my face into his neck, I made a mmm noise. Part agreement, part yum!

"You may be small, Nic, but every inch of you is s.e.xy. I've been hung up on you as long as I can remember."

I pulled back to stare into his eyes. Dark, shimmery "You're kidding."

"Hardly. But it wasn't until I saw you with that guy on the beach that I knew it. I've never been so jealous in my entire life. Made me realize why I'd been in such a bad mood all those hours I drove you around to buy a dress to wear with ...him."

I laughed. I mean, it wasn't funny, but it made me so darned happy to hear this. "I'm sorry. Especially because I didn't know at the time you and Rascal hated each other."

"We hated each other all right. Because of you."

"Me?"

"Of course. I mean, his bragging always bugged me. But didn't make me insane until he started talking about you."

I studied the planes of his face in what little light emanated from the porch lamp. "So the threats? The punches? The broken windows?"

"You. You. You."

A smile spread across my face. I was the kind of girl that guys got all worked up over!

But my elation was short-lived when my ever-active mind took hold. Jared wasn't doing what Rascal had tried to do, was he? Win me as some sort of twisted grand prize?

I squinched my eyes. "I guess this makes you the official winner, huh?"

"That battle's already over," he said, and frowned. "It's just me chasing you now. And I'm more determined than ever. I want to go out with you, Nic, to be your boyfriend."

Be still, my heart!

After a breath and a h.e.l.l-yeah smile on my part, his mouth found mine again.

And I wondered if love could be this simple. A series of perfect moments that go on and on ...

"And I want you to go with me to the homecoming dance," he said when our faces pulled apart.

I pressed my palm against his and folded my fingers with his. I wanted that more than anything, too. But first, I had to be sure of something.

"Nothing to do with my dress, right? With feeling sorry for me because I haven't gotten to wear it? With feeling sorry for me, period?"

"Nothing. For all I care, you can wear the same bikini you're going to wash my car in."

I swatted him. "When are you going to forget about me washing your car?"

"Never."

He grinned, and I squeezed his hand.

"You know what, Jared McCreary? My dress and I would love to go to the homecoming dance with you."

My mom appeared in the doorway a few minutes later. "Nicolette?" she called in a harsh whisper. "What in the world are you doing out there?"

Still pressed against Jared, I kept my tone down, too. "Jared and I are just talking, Mom!"

"Can't you talk tomorrow? In the daylight?"

"Be right there!"

He released his hold on my waist and inched a respectable distance away. "Call me when you wake up."

My thoughts spun. In all the heady excitement, I'd completely and totally forgotten the Alison angle. It had to be handled delicately, not just a "So guess what? I'm with your brother now."

I frowned. "Um, maybe you better call me. When Alison's not around."

His lips pressed into a hard line. "Yeah, we'll work on that. I took care of Mitch and Harrison and those guys, didn't I?"

I nodded. I hadn't gotten a call or a long look from one of them in days.

"Okay," I answered. I guessed if I was going to trust the guy, now would be as good a time as any.

We shared quick good-nights, and I ran on tippy-toes across the wet gra.s.s, carrying enough feelings/ thoughts/worries to rival my body weight. Still, when I met Mom in the doorway, I threw myself into her surprised arms.

"I'm going to the homecoming dance with Jared!"

She quietly closed the door. "That's wonderful, honey. But I didn't realize you even liked him."

Where had Mom been?

With no interest in attempting sleep, I plopped on the couch and spilled. I told her everything-about Jared, his windshield, Kylie, and my talk with Coach Luther.

"Nicolette, I never thought I'd say this, but you're getting more like your father every day."

I drew in a gasp. "Mom ..."

"No, but in a good way. You both go headfirst into things, not always knowing what you're doing, but determined. And one way or another, you land on your feet. I could learn from the two of you."

"Mom," I said, getting off the couch. "Come on, you're perfect just the way you are."

She leaned over and kissed my forehead. "I'm a work-in-progress. But you? I wouldn't be surprised if you make all your dreams come true. When you set your mind to something, you make it happen." She tousled my hair. "In any case, it sounds like you've found the perfect use for your prom dress."

I let out a blissful sigh. "I have, haven't I?"

Wear it to the homecoming dance, with the RIGHT date-the guy you didn't even realize you bought it for.

Two things were abundantly clear to me the next morning: I was deliriously happy over Jared; I was seriously worried over Alison.

So, doing a one-eighty spin on what I'd told Jared, I picked up the phone and called the McCreary house.

He answered, and to my shock and relief, still sounded happy. After trading silly, gushy words that I would die before repeating, he told me Alison was in her room.

"Good. Tell her I'm coming over." I bit my lip. "No-don't. Just keep her there, okay?"

My mom drove me over, and suddenly there I was-pressing the intercom box at the end of the Mc-Crearys' gated drive. My knees practically knocking.

Alison answered.

"Hey," I managed, "it's Nic."

"Nic?" But she seemed more surprised than upset.

After an endless pause (longer than the run to the car in the pouring rain after you blow-dried your hair, but shorter than, say, making hot fudge on the stove), the buzzer blasted at me and the electronic gate rolled back.

She met me at the door. Wearing boxers, a T-shirt, and a half smile. "You okay?" Concern glowed in her eyes.

A good sign. Very good. If she'd wanted me to rot in h.e.l.l, she wouldn't be standing here, looking all ... well, concerned.

"Yeah. I-I just wanted to come by and see you."

We moved into their family room and plopped down on the couches running along one wall.

I started. "Some of the things we've been saying lately-and not saying-well, things have gotten too weird between us." I stopped and sort of held my breath, praying she'd agree, that she'd make this easy. Well, easier.

"Yeah," she said, to my profound relief. She shrugged; then a smile touched her mouth. "I'm glad you're here. I don't want things to be weird, either."

She went on to tell me how she'd spent yesterday afternoon alone at the library. "Can you believe my English teacher demands actual book references on the term paper? Seriously!"

I laughed with her, probably too hard. I loved that she had been studying, that she hadn't been doing something fun without me.

"One good thing, though," she went on. "Chas Zachary was sitting at another cubicle. You know, that hottie from my English cla.s.s? Well, I kept sneaking looks his way, and I swear, half the time he was looking back!"

We giggled and speculated about his interest. I couldn't help thinking how wonderful it would be for her (okay, and for me) if she hooked up with him. But I also knew that life wasn't always that simple.

"And you know," she said, "Chas is on the soccer team with Mitch. We could double-date. Don't suppose he ever called you?"

Mitch. Ugh. "Yeah, a couple times."

"And you didn't tell me?"

"Nothing much to say." I slipped my ring over my knuckle and back. "I'm sure you heard those friends with benefits rumors going around about Jared and me? Mitch was trying to cash in."

She frowned. "Okay, he's toast. Forget I brought him up." She pressed her lips together. "And speaking of forgetting, could you forget the hard time I've been giving you about Rascal lately? I know he's history and I probably shouldn't have told you all that stuff. At least not the way I did. I'm sorry."

I could forgive her-because I was pretty sure her anger was fixated on Rascal so she didn't have to think about Jared and me. Which really had been happening. Whether or not I had wanted to admit it. So I managed a nod.

"Look," she said, and jumped up. "I need to take a shower. Come on back to my room and hang out. Then we'll go over to the mall, okay? My parents are out, but we'll get Jared to drive."

Jared. Oh, yeah. Him.

At the mention of her incredible brother, I bit down on my lip, then told her (somewhat vaguely) that there was some stuff we should probably talk about.

"Sure," she said, and veered into her room. "We have all day."

I hoped we did. After I dropped my bomb.

Soon I was cross-legged on her floor, flipping through a Teen People like I'd done a gazillion times before. Water thundered out of the shower pipes in Alison's private bath, making a whooshing sound that was almost soothing to the ear, but absolutely no help in readying me for the Talk.

I told myself that a selling point was that Jared was a much better boyfriend for me than Rascal. I could just say: See how much my taste has improved? But I didn't really see that flying.

Suddenly, I felt a shift in the air. I glanced toward the door.

Slouched in the doorway, Jared was backlit by windowed sunshine. "Hey."

My heart went dancing. "Hey yourself."

Without even thinking, I jumped up. He met me a couple of steps in and lowered his head. But instead of kissing me, he grinned and pressed his nose against mine.

I smiled back, a twinge of pain the only reminder of my volleyball mishap. It became an unspoken contest. Whose smile was biggest. Silliest. Longest. Without laughing.

I tried concentrating on the sound of the falling water, on the beating of my own heart, on not cracking up. I would win.

Maybe if I reached out and tickled him. Maybe- The bathroom door opened.

"Nic, did I leave my-"

Alison!