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He groans. “It was amazing, but we can’t do this. Maggie will be furious when she finds out.”

“She doesn’t have to find out,” I whisper.

Colton jumps up from the couch and extends his hand. “Come on, let’s go outside where we can talk more freely. I don’t want my sister to walk in on this conversation.”

We grab our jackets from the hook by the door and slip on our shoes. I follow him down the narrow path leading to the now deserted beach. We walk in silence for a few minutes, but that doesn’t mean my thoughts aren’t racing through my head at a hundred miles an hour. Maybe Colton is right. What were we thinking? He’s my best friend’s brother. I just got out of a relationship. The timing is all wrong. It’s all so impulsive. It’s all going so fast all of a sudden.

It’s also really, really amazing to kiss him. Gah, I can hardly believe it. That short make-out session was even better than I dreamed it would be.

We sit down about half a mile away from the house, and I feel sixteen all over again, sneaking out of the house to talk to my crush. The idea is so silly that it makes me laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Colton asks.

“Nothing. Just… the two of us here, hiding from Maggie.”

He leans back on his hands. “Yeah, I don’t want Maggie to know. She won’t approve.”

I roll my eyes at his remark. What a silly excuse. “She’s not the boss of you, is she? Don’t get me wrong, I love her and I know you do too, but let’s be honest. She doesn’t own us. We don’t need her permission.”

The way he looks at me short-circuits my brain and now my hands start to get all clammy. For the love of cute kittens, why does this have to happen after the best kiss ever? I’m sure Colton doesn’t want to kiss a sweaty dumpling like me. At least, I hope he still wants to kiss me.

“You’re absolutely right,” he says. “She’s got nothing to say about what we do or don’t do, but she’ll be all over this if she finds out. She’s going to think it’s wrong because I might be leaving Summerville Creek soon. She’ll argue that it will make living together awkward, and that I’ll break your heart when I leave. I know for a fact that she’ll think us getting together will jeopardize your friendship with her.”

I laugh, but it comes out as a weird high-pitched sound thanks to my nerves. Great. Now my hands are even damper than five seconds ago. “You sound as if you’ve already talked to her about us kissing.”

“Nah. I went out with one of her friends from college once. It didn’t turn out well. We got into a big fight and Maggie chose my side. Their friendship was ruined, and so was my relationship with that girl. So yeah, I get where she’s coming from.”

His words feel like a punch in the face, but I realize he might be right. There’s no right way to do this without sneaking around. “So, what do you suggest? That we ignore our feelings and stay friends?”

Even in the moonlight, I can see the tortured look on his face. “I don’t know.”

“Friends,” I say, munching on the word. It doesn’t taste good, but I guess it’s better than nothing. “But only until we figure out what this is.”

“What do you mean?”

I shrug and scoop up some sand with my hand, to avoid having to look him in the eye. “I was thinking she might be okay with us dating if we were serious about each other. Like in Friends, when Ross finds out Chandler and Monica are together and in love.”

He grins. “You’re comparing our lives to those of two nineties TV show characters? That’s all fabricated and scripted.”

“Sure, but we can write the script of our own lives. That’s a thing, right? Owning your truth and all that.”

“True.” Colton grabs my moist, sand-scooping hand in his and I finally dare to look at him again. He throws me a loaded look, one that causes every hair on my body to shoot up in a synchronized move. “I like you, Elle. A lot. And judging by the way you kissed me, I’d say you like me as well. So why don’t we go out on a couple of dates to see where this will lead? And if it turns out that we’re both crazy about each other and right for each other, then we tell Maggie. For now, this can stay our little secret.”

I narrow my eyes. “You want to secretly date?”

“If you put it like that, it sounds weird, but yeah. I guess we should figure this thing out in secret. Just the two of us. I don’t want anyone else’s opinion involved. I do want you to know I like you a lot.”

“You already said that a minute ago,” I say with a laugh.

He grins again. “I know. I feel like I can’t say it enough.”

All I do is beam at him. I want him to tell me every second of every day that he likes me. A lot. His words and the memory of his kisses will be enough to leave me basking in a glorious I’m-on-top-of-the-world feeling for days on end.

“Oh, one last thing,” he says.

“Yes?”

“You’ll have to fill out a form beforehand. You know, a pre-date questionnaire. Nothing too difficult, but I’d like to know how you want your pizza cut before I take you out.”