Cody sat comfortably on the couch looking up at London. He had a pleasant smile on his face and seemed utterly relaxed. "So what do you want to ask me?"

London, who appeared far from relaxed, had remained silent for the past few moments. After she had told Cody that she had some questions for him, she found herself nervous about exactly how she should phrase her questions. She knew whatever Cody told her was going to be the absolute truth, thanks to the post-hypnotic suggestion he was under, but she was still worried.

What if his answers were not the ones she wanted to hear?

"Cody," she finally said. "What do you think of me?"

"You're great," he replied without hesitation.

It was a nice start. But not exactly the revelation London had been hoping for.

"Thank you," she said with a nervous laugh. "But, could you...tell me more of what you think...about me?"

"Okay," he answered quickly. "You're a lot of fun. You have a real zest for life. Your personality is so...big and joyful. It feels good just being around you."

When Cody paused to take a breath, London considered his words. Because of the hypnosis, Cody was expressing himself without even the slighest bit of hesitation. London could see in his eyes how genuine his words were. This was more than just hearing him say what he thought of her...she was being given the opportunity to see herself through Cody's eyes. The experience was both exciting and humbling. She didn't know what to say.

"As I think about it," Cody continued. "I'd say in the past couple of months you've become my best friend. The best friend I've ever had."

He smiled so warmly at her, that London felt weak in the knees. She sat down on the couch next to him. She slowly forced herself to ask her next question.

"Do you ever think about us being more than friends?"

Cody answered just as quickly as before, but his words shocked her.

"Oh, I try not to."

The heiress just stared at him open-mouthed for a moment.

"Why not?" she finally asked in a small, hurt voice.

"Because I know you'd never think of me as anything but a friend," he replied matter-of-factly, a smile still on his face. "Actually, I'm surprised we've become such good friends. I'm glad we have though."

"Why do you think I wouldn't want us to be more than friends?"

"Oh, there are many reasons. We have different interests. Little in common. You can have your pick of just about any guy you want. And there's the age difference, that's a problem."

"You think it's that big a problem? It's only a couple of years. It's not a big difference."

"No, the number of years is almost meaningless," Cody agreed. "The problem with it is when we first met."

"What do you mean?"

"Even though you're only a couple of years older than me, when we met we were at different stages in life," Cody explained. "You were already a young woman. Not an adult by any means, but in your physical and emotional development you were a full-fledged teenager. I, on the other hand, was still very much a kid."

London thought back to when Cody and his family first moved into the Tipton. He and his brother were kids. Very cute kids. When she looked at him now it was amazing to see how much he'd changed in such a short time.

"You're not a kid anymore," she said.

"True, but that is how you first got to know me, and it wasn't that long ago. So it's natural that you'd still continue to picture me as a child rather than an equal, even though we're now both teenagers."

London had to admit that Cody had a point. After all, she had been shocked when she'd recently realized that she was falling for him. A big part of that shock was the fact that she was viewing Cody as a potential boyfriend rather than the cute little boy who ran around the halls of the Tipton.

But that change in her viewpoint had been made. So all she had to do was let Cody know that.

"What if that wasn't an issue?" she asked. "What if I didn't think of you as a kid?"

Cody got a dreamy look in his eyes. "Oh, that would be...wonderful."

A hopeful smile spread across London's face. "Then, you'd want to be...more than friends with me?"

"Well, duh," Cody laughed. "Why wouldn't I? You're beautiful. So beautiful. And sweet. And..." He let his words trail off and then sighed. "Oh, no...I can't get my hopes up like this."

"Yes you can," London said with a hint of exasperation. "Get your hopes up!"

"No, I couldn't be that lucky."

London began to realize the downside of the hypnotic suggestion that Cody was under. He was answering all her questions without fail and being totally genuine in his feelings...but he was suffering complete tunnel vision as a result. He could answer all her questions, but he was incapable of considering why these questions were being asked or the meaning of her reactions.

I'm not going to be able to tell him how I feel until he's back to normal, London thought. She decided not to ask too many more questions so that she could bring his hypnosis to an end. Still, there were a couple of things she wanted to be sure of.

She looked Cody directly in the eyes. He met her intense gaze with the same relaxed smile that he'd had for most of their conversation.

"Tell me how you feel about me," she said.

Again the answer came with no hesitation.

"You are the most beautiful, radiant and exciting woman I have ever known. I try to control my thoughts about you, because if I didn't, they'd consume me. I would give anything to make you mine. And the fact that I don't think I'll ever have a chance with you is torture."

London raised her hand to her chest and felt her heart hammering inside.

"I tell myself not to think about you," Cody continued. "I tell myself we're good friends. I tell myself that I'm going to meet a nice girl and my feelings for you will change. But no matter how much effort I put into fooling myself, it doesn't work. No girl I've ever dated...and there have been some really nice girls...can get you out of my head entirely. I think that's why Barbara and I had so many break-ups."

London's eyes widened at the mention of Barbara. A classmate of Cody's and a fellow honor student, the two had dated on and off for some time. It had seemed to London like the two could never quite decide whether they were a couple or just friends.

"You mean, you and Barbara had problems...because of me?" London asked.

Cody smiled slightly. "It's not your fault. Barbara is great. I mean it." His smile grew warmer. "Her and I are always going to be friends. I care about her a lot."

Because of the hypnosis, Cody was still being utterly truthful in all his words. And London felt a twinge of jealousy at the genuine affection in Cody's eyes when he spoke about Barbara.

"But the problem is," Cody continued. "As great as Barbara is, at the end of the day, she's not the girl I want." He reached over and took hold of London's hand, squeezing it gently. "She's not you."

London felt a tear run down her cheek. She didn't have any more questions to ask. All she wanted to do was grab the boy in front of her, pull him to her and feel his lips press against her own.

But not while he was hypnotized. She wanted everything to be perfect.

Reluctantly, she pulled back the hand that Cody was holding. She then clapped her hands, and Cody fell back onto the couch sound asleep. London knew she had two minutes before he would wake up...with no memory whatsoever of their conversation.

She could spend that two minutes in front of the mirror, checking her makeup, and making sure she looked perfect for the moment when she'd finally tell Cody how she felt.

But she paused before going to her mirror, just taking some time to look at Cody, sleeping peacefully. She reached down with one hand to touch his hair, entwining her fingers in his thick, blonde locks.

Cody Martin...the little boy she'd met only a few years ago was now somehow the handsome young man she had fallen in love with. The thought of it seemed crazy.

But it felt completely natural.

To be continued?

author's note: This was going to be the final chapter, but it got much longer than I first thought. So I can end it here (it does seem like a good ending point, I think) or do one more chapter to wrap it up. In any case, I really appreciate all the feedback so far, so please give more. I'm worried I may have gotten a little to sappy in this chapter and would like to know what readers think. Thanks to all of you for reading this story and my ramblings.