AUGUST 21

I couldn't believe Brittany was right. I couldn't believe that I hadn't realized it myself earlier. It was so painfully obvious now.

I had been thinking about what she'd said almost nonstop for the past three days, and I'd come to the conclusion that she was right.

I was in love with Willow Griffin. I think I had been for a while. I had just never realized it.

I wasn't sure if she was right about Willow being in love with me, too, but I sure hoped she was.

I had no way of knowing, though, because Willow wasn't answering my phone again. I'd tried calling her last night, once I'd wrapped my head around my own feelings, but she never answered. And I'd tried again just an hour ago. Apparently, she was going back to ignoring us. It seemed like I'd have to stop by her house again if I wanted to talk to her.

What would she say, though? Did she feel the same way? There was only one way to find out, I guess.

I left my room in a rush, grabbing my keys on the way. I made sure to grab a snack, too, in case I got low again.

Dad, getting dinner started in the kitchen, looked at me in surprise. "Where are you off to in such a rush?" he asked.

"Willow's," I said with a grin.

His surprise disappeared. "Ah. Finally realized you were in love with her, huh? It's about time, buddy."

I stared at him. "You knew?"

Dad laughed. "I guessed. I was almost certain after the way you reacted to Brittany breaking up with you a few days ago. You weren't even upset. So I'm guessing that you realized that you loved Willow, and not Brittany. Otherwise, I'm sure you would have been at least a little bit upset about breaking up with Brittany."

"Was it really that obvious?"

He shrugged. "To some people."

"Mom guessed?"

"Definitely."

"Why didn't either of you say anything?"

He shrugged again. "We thought it was something you should figure out on your own. We didn't really think it would take you so long, though. Go. If you're not back in time for dinner, we'll save you some."

I nodded and left, quickly driving to Willow's house.

I knocked rapidly on the door, hoping it was Willow who answered and not her mom. If her mom answered, I was sure that Willow would have her tell me to call or come back later.

Thankfully, Willow was the one who pulled the door open. She looked extremely surprised, then slightly suspicious. "What is up with the giant smile on your fa–"

I pulled her toward me and kissed her on the lips. I'd had a small growth spurt over the summer – probably the last one I'd have – and had just reached six-two. Willow was five-seven, so I had to lean down a bit to kiss her.

I pulled away, blushing just slightly. That had not been my plan. "Uh, sorry. I hadn't meant to do that. I was going to talk to you fir–"

"Shut up," she said. And then she kissed me. She pulled away with a small sigh. A grin pulled at her mouth. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that."

I grinned, and opened my mouth to respond.

But Willow suddenly gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. "Oh my gosh. What about Brittany? Oh, I shouldn't have done that. I mean, I really wanted to. But you're dating Brittany. This is wrong. We can't be kissing while you're seeing somebody else."

"Willow, I'm not seeing Brittany anymore. She and I broke up."

"When? Why?"

"Three days ago. She pointed out to me that we didn't really have much in common, like you said." A knowing smirk pulled at Willow's lips. "Yes, I know, I know. I should have just listened to you to begin with. Anyway, she also mentioned that I didn't really seem to like her. Not the way I like you. I would have told you sooner, if you'd answered your stupid phone."

She bit her lip. "Sorry about that. It's just…I've had a small crush on you since I met you. But it was obvious that you didn't like me that way, and so I was content with just being your friend. I figured I'd get over you soon enough. But I didn't. And then, when Grams died, you were so sweet and supportive and just there. It made me realize that it wasn't just a small crush anymore. It was a huge crush, and it wasn't going away anytime soon. I tried distancing myself, but that didn't work. So then I tried pretending that nothing was wrong. That didn't work, either. So I went back to distancing myself."

"I'm sorry it took me a while to realize it."

She shrugged. "Better late than never, I guess."

I thought about telling her that I loved her, but then I decided against it. I didn't want to ruin things before they even got started by saying it too soon, just in case she didn't feel that strongly just yet. There would plenty of time to say it later.

Even if that was the way I felt, I could wait to actually say it.

"So," Willow said, lacing her fingers through mine, "this definitely means that we're boyfriend and girlfriend, right?"

"Duh. You know it's going to break poor Adrian's heart when we tell him that you're taken."

Willow laughed. "He can go cry to Alexis, I don't care."

"By the way, will you be my date to Jon's wedding in November?" I asked. I hadn't even really considered asking Brittany to go with me, which should have been a clue that I wasn't as into her as I thought I was. Thinking back on it, there were a lot of clues that I totally missed. "I'm his Best Man."

She scrunched up her nose. "That depends. Will I have to wear a dress?"

"At least a skirt. It is a wedding."

"Can I wear Converse, at least? Please tell me I can wear Converse."

I laughed. "The bride is going to be wearing Converse, so you're good."

"In that case, yes. I'll be your date."

She stood on her toes to kiss me again.