We were lying on my bed, my head on Ryan's chest, about three hours later. It was totally quiet, and Ryan was playing with my hair, which he knew would put me to sleep, when he suddenly said, "Hey Caroline, I think I'm in love with you."

I was instantly awake, and it was hard for me to breathe. I lifted my head and looked at him for a few seconds. "I'm in love with you too."

He smiled at me, then pulled me up, closer to his face, and said, "And I mean it."

I closed my eyes and kissed him with everything I had in me. As I stopped to take a breath, I added, "Me too," and placed my lips back where they belonged. When we had finished, I put my head back on his chest and we resumed what we had been doing before.

Ryan's hand stopped moving after awhile and he brought up a random subject. "We should go camping."

I mustered up as much energy I could to answer him, but I was falling asleep fast. I made an "uhhh" sound, which Ryan must have taken as a yes, and drifted off to sleep.

I awoke a couple hours later, still lying on top of Ryan. I checked my cell phone for the time – 11:11. I had nothing to wish for, so I closed my eyes and was half asleep when Ryan started thrashing around. I immediately jumped up, completely freaked out. When I realized he was having a nightmare, I kissed his forehead and he rolled over, pushing me off of him.

"Ryan," I said, shaking his shoulder.

He rolled over again, rubbing his eyes. "What?" he mumbled, barely awake.

I kissed him, and his eyes opened. "Are you okay?" I asked him, my chin resting on his chest.

"What are you talking about?" he asked me, confused. He must not have remembered his dream.

I closed my eyes. "Nothing, never mind."

He was quiet for a moment, and I thought he was asleep again, but then he sat up. "Are your parents going to be okay for me sleeping over tonight? I'm too tired to drive home."

"Yeah, I'm sure they'll be fine with it, they pretty much love you more than they love me," I said seriously.

Ryan punched my arm lightly and got out of bed. "I'll be right back, I have to pee."

I laughed in response and also got up. Ryan gave me a kiss on the cheek and left my room. I changed into my pajama shorts and a tank top. I heard the toilet flush and jumped back into bed. Thirty seconds later, Ryan walked back into my room and closed the door. He pulled his shirt off and dug through my closet. When he found a pair of sweat pants long enough to fit him, he pulled off his shorts and replaced them with the pants. Ryan saw me under the covers and jumped on top of me. I laughed and he tickled me in the most ticklish spot on my body: my back. I laughed even harder and rolled over. Ryan kissed me again and pulled the blanket over his muscular body. He pulled me close to him and our bodies meshed together in comfort. I fell asleep almost instantly.