Tonight was Dane’s birthday party, and then tomorrow was the beginning of ‘Let’s All Get Along’ boot camp. So, tonight, I was going big. I was going to look like a girl, act like a girl, and not get distracted by Zach breathing the same air.

I got dressed and braved wearing a black dress with sheer black tights and tan, wedged, ankle boots. I even put on a black choker and gold earrings. I looked at myself in the mirror.

“Damn, Hales. You clean up nice,” I said to myself quietly just as my door opened and Dane came in.

“I still think you’re nuts for coming to pick me up. I told you I didn’t mind driving over.” I whistled when I got a good look at him. “Look at you, stud muffin!” I had to restrain my expression when butterflies filled my stomach at the sight of him. I cleared my throat and smiled.

He laughed then twirled me around. “Look at you! We’re both looking fine!”

I grabbed my cellphone, and we took a quick selfie. I put my phone in my purse. “So now that you’re eighteen and a Shaw, how do you feel?”

We walked down the stairs. My parents smiled from the couch in the living room.

“Amazing! I finally have a real family. Weird but awesome.”

“Are you sure you two aren’t dating behind our backs?” Dad teased.

Mom laughed. “We’d actually approve of it.”

I looked at Dane. “He kissed me once, and it was weird. So no.”

Dad raised a brow. “Excuse me, son?”

I burst into laughter and so did Mom.

Dane chuckled. “It was a joke.”

Mom smiled brightly. “Hailey, don’t forget to grab the present you got for Dane.”

“Oh, that’s right! Dane looked so handsome I sort of lost my mind.”

Dad groaned. I laughed and hurried into the kitchen. I grabbed the box I wrapped and came back into the living room.

“Ready?” I asked Dane.

“Yep! And I have a surprise for you in the truck.” He smiled as we walked outside. He picked up an envelope labeled with a return address from Tulane University. “Mine and yours came in today!”

“Wait. Why would mine come to your house?” I set his present in my seat.

“Just open it!” He pulled his out. “I’ve been waiting on you to open mine.”

I started to but stopped. “But what if I didn’t get in.”

“Then I will call and harass them. Just open it. Please,” he begged as he looked down at his. “I don’t want to do this alone.”

“On three.” There was no way they’d accept a girl into their baseball program.

“One...”

“Two...” Dane said with a nervous smile.

“Three...” I said, and we both ripped them open.

We started reading, and I was completely shocked when I saw I got in. I fucking did it! I got into Tulane, and they wanted me to play ball on the men’s baseball team.

“How is this possible?” I looked at Dane. “What does yours say?”

“I got in,” he said in shock. “And everything has already been paid for.” Tears had filled his eyes.

I lunged myself at Dane and hugged him tightly. “We’re going to school together!”

He hugged me tightly back. “Someone has to keep you out of trouble!”

I laughed and pulled back enough to look up at him. My eyes gravitated to his, and for the first time I looked at Dane in a way that I never thought was possible. He was my best friend, but tonight it felt like more than that.

My hands held the back of his neck, and I pulled him down until my lips could reach his. I kissed him, and he kissed me back. The kiss became heated and urgent like it was something we never knew we needed, and now that it was happening, we had to make it worth the wait.

Dane pulled back with his eyes closed. “What the hell just happened?” he asked in a hoarse whisper.

I let one of my hands fall from his neck to touch my lips. “I kissed you, and you kissed me back,” I said quietly. I stared at him, waiting for him to look at me. I needed him to look at me.

He opened his eyes and looked at me. He opened his mouth to speak then closed it again. “I don’t know what to say right now.”

He didn’t let go of me, and I didn’t let go of him. I think we were the only things keeping one another completely grounded right now. Confused tears filled my eyes, and I put my forehead to his chest.

“Are you mad at me?”

“No, I’m not mad at you.” He rubbed my back gently. “I’m just trying to decide how I want to tell Zach to kill me,” he said, trying to joke.

I scrunched my nose as I thought about the kiss and that I actually liked it. It felt so right. My heart still ached for Zach but that kiss… Dane’s arms around me… Things felt okay again. I looked at his eyes, searching for disgust or something that would tell me I’m crazy, but I found nothing.

“Tell me what you’re thinking.”

He looked confused. “That I liked the kiss, but at the same time it seemed weird.”

“Weird in a good way or weird in a bad way?” I let my other hand fall from his neck. Now I couldn’t look at him anymore.

He grabbed my chin to make me look at him. “In a good way, Hales.”

My hands were trembling. I held onto his arms as he held my face in both of his hands. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as I opened my eyes to look at him.

“What do we do now?”

“We have two options.” He took a deep breath. “We can forget it happened or see if there’s anything here.”

“Can you forget it? Honestly, Dane. I need 100% honesty right now.”

“No, I don’t think I can forget it.” He gave me a smile.

I smiled. “Me either.”

“Hales, if you want to, I want to give us a shot. Maybe we can make it work where we couldn’t with Zach or Sadie.”

I laughed when I looked at my house and saw my parents peeking out the window. “Looks like they’re the first to know.”

He chuckled. “I guess so. We should head to my house. Everyone is going to be wondering where we are soon.”

I nodded, and we pulled apart. My parents opened the door.

“We knew it!” Mom squealed.

“If she keeps her head on her goals and you help her reach them, I won’t get pissed,” Dad added.

My face was beet red. “Bye, Mom and Dad.” I laughed and got in the truck after Dane opened the door for me.

Dane got in and headed toward the house. “I can’t believe we both got into our top choice.” He looked lost in his thoughts for a minute. He grabbed my hand and laced his fingers with mine and gave it a squeeze. “Did yours say how much it was going to cost?” He asked as he looked at me for a second then looked back at the road. It didn’t take long until we were pulling into Coach’s driveway.

“It didn’t say anything actually.”

I looked at our hands, and I felt happy and safe. It was a little weird but not in a way that made me uncomfortable. I was excited to see where this would go. After he parked, he grabbed the envelope and looked in it. He pulled out another piece of paper that was still in my envelope. He read through it, and his mouth fell open. He showed it to me.

“Yours is paid for as well.”

“Are you serious!” I looked at it closely. “Who would do this? My parents have money put back for me. Maybe they did?”

“I don’t know. Maybe.” He scrunched his eyebrows together. “I’m ready to tell Elliot.” He smiled at me. “Can I open your gift first?”

I smiled and handed it to him. It was a new Red Sox baseball cap, which was his favorite team, and two of his favorite snacks: beef jerky and Mountain Dew.

“It’s not much.” I said as I watched him open it.

He laughed. “I love it!” He took the cap out of the bag and put it on his head. He looked at me. “Thanks, Hales.”

I grinned. “Glad you like it.”

He looked at all the vehicles. “I guess we should go in there.” He made a face. “I don’t like being the center of attention.”

I nodded and chewed on the inside of my cheek. “Do we act like friends still, or do we act like a couple? Zach is going to flip.” My heart started beating so hard. I missed Zach terribly, but the new feelings I was having for Dane were confirmation that I needed to move on. “I think I might puke. Are we crazy? How slow do we need to take this? What if Zach hates us? I can’t let him hate you! You’re his brother now. Oh my gosh, what if we get married? I’ll be Zach’s sister-in-law!”

“Hales, deep breaths. We tell Zach and Elliot first. And we’re not crazy, okay? Just deep breaths.”

I nodded and got out of the truck. I followed Dane out to the deck where everyone was gathered, and on cue, they all started singing happy birthday to him.

Coach held up a small box. “Mine first.”

I saw Zach, and for a moment and our eyes met. His eyes roamed my body, but he quickly stopped and looked away. Dane opened his present, and his mouth fell open. He pulled out a set of keys.

“Are you kidding me?” he asked with a bright smile.

Zach smiled a little then disappeared. A few moments later, he came around the back of the house in a brand-new truck with a large bow on it. He parked it and got out. Dane hugged Elliot tightly then hurried over to the truck. Zach handed him the spare key, said something to him quietly, then hugged Dane.

Trevor came over and put his arm around my waist. “So all of our gifts totally suck now.”

“Yeah, they do! What the hell?” I laughed. “How are you holding up?”

He shrugged. “Been better, but I’m glad I have all of you. I talked to Sadie earlier, and she’s doing okay too. I just keep telling myself I only have to get through this school year, and then we will be together at college.”

Millie came over and smiled up at me. She had a large, stuffed owl in her arms. “It’s like my mommy. Do you think Uncle Dane will like it?” she asked me quietly.

“He’s going to love it!” I squatted down to hug her.

She giggled then launched herself at Dane. He picked her up, and she handed him the owl. Tears came to his eyes. “Best present ever,” he whispered to her, making her giggle and hug him tightly.

He put her down, and she ran off. I watched as Zach played with her.

“Did you see my truck?” Dane asked me excitedly.

“It’s so slick! We’re going to be riding in style at Tulane!”

Quinn whistled to get everyone’s attention. “Food is ready! Help yourselves! Happy birthday, Dane. We love you so much!”

Music started to play, and all the guys rushed into the house. Zach motioned for Dane to come to him. He talked to him and handed him a wrapped gift. Dane looked at him in shock before hugging him. Zach said something else and then walked out in the yard with Millie. Dane walked back over to me as he opened the box.

“What is it?” I asked.

Inside the box were a set of keys and a picture of a small house. “It’s a place for me to stay while I go to college. Zach bought me a small, two-bedroom house!” he said in shock as he looked at me.

“Holy shit!”

He smiled. “You want to be my roomy?” he asked with a shocked laugh.

I looked at Zach as he talked to Millie in the yard. I looked at Dane. “Duh!”

He hugged me and kissed my cheek. “Now I’m going to go eat before they eat it all. You coming?”

“Do you think I should talk to Zach? I feel like I should be the one to tell him, but if you want to do it together, we can. And do you promise me we’re not taking things too fast? One minute we’re best friends, and now we’re a couple?”

“I think we’re fine, Hales. I will talk to him with you if that’s what you want, but I think he’d rather just hear it from you.”

“Okay. Can you bring Millie in with you?”

He nodded and called Millie over, leaving Zach and me alone.

I walked out into the yard, and once I was standing in front of him, I did my best to smile.

“Hey, stranger.”

He nodded stiffly and put his hands in his pockets. “Hey.”

“We’re not doing a very good job at being friends, ya know?” My heart broke all over again being this close to him, but this was all for the best. We never would have worked.

“I know.” He kept his eyes off mine.

“Are you and Coach doing okay?”

He shrugged. “We’re fine.”

“Would you look at me?” I snapped a little. He was being short and kind of an asshole. “I know this isn’t the easiest thing, but we both have to act like adults. You know this was all for the best, Zach. You and your brother need each other right now, and I refuse to come between that. He needs you more than ever.”

He looked at me, and I saw that his eyes were bloodshot. “What do you want me to say, Hales?” His voice was low. “I know we have to act like adults. I’m trying to do that.” He looked toward the house when Quinn called his name.

“We need more ice; can you go run and get it?”

“Yeah, give me a sec.” He looked at me again.

“I got into Tulane,” I said, changing the subject. My hands had started shaking a little as I got closer to telling him that Dane and I kissed, and we’re going to try to be a couple.

Zach looked back at me; he didn’t look like the news surprised him at all. “Congrats. I’m glad you got in. You probably won’t finish college before they’re trying to pull you into the majors.”

“You knew already, didn’t you?”

“I should go get ice, Hales. Quinn gets cranky when something doesn’t get done in a hurry,” he said, completely ignoring my question. He gave me a small smile. “Go enjoy the party.”

“Wait. I need to tell you something.” Tears filled my eyes.

His smile faded. “By the look on your face, it’s not good news. At least not good news for me.”

I started fidgeting with my necklace. I couldn’t meet his eyes. “I kissed Dane tonight.” My heart felt like it was in my throat.

“You guys have decided to date, haven’t you?” he asked quietly.

“Yes. We’re going to try it. I’ve never dated anyone besides you, Zach. I miss you like crazy, but I need to figure out exactly who I am. I’m at a good place with my parents right now, and they approve of Dane. I don’t have to hide with him. And… You need to be with someone your age. You need someone who is at the same point in their life as you, someone who can push you forward instead of hold you back.”

“Dane’s a good guy. You two belong together.” He started to walk off but stopped. “I need to go get ice.” He was trying to hide the hurt in his voice. “You can’t really call what we did dating since we never actually went on a date. I hope it works out for you. He’s a better guy than I am.”

“Zach—”

“I need to go.” He walked toward the front of the house.

I walked out to the Owl Tree and sat on the swing. I stared off into the woods that were lit up from the full moon. I wasn’t hungry, and I didn’t want to be around everyone.

I heard a crunch of leaves and looked up to see Dane. “You okay? I saw Zach leave.”

“Just numb.” I smiled at him a little. “You should be hanging out with everyone. It’s your party.”

The Owl Tree was mine and Zach’s place. I couldn’t be there and Zach not be there with me. I stood and walked out to the yard, and Dane followed.

“I want you to come in there with me. It’s not a party without you.” He gave my hand a squeeze. “How did it go?”

I held his hand tightly and walked with him. “He looks terrible. I think he might have been drinking. I miss him, Dane. I just want him as a friend, but I don’t think he’s gonna go for that. I’ll be okay, and so will he. It’s just still all so fresh, ya know?”

He nodded and kissed the top of my head. “We’ll figure it out.”

“I hope so, Dane.”

We walked inside the house. I let go of his hand when Trevor looked at our laced hands with a raised brow. I blushed.

“Where’s Coach?” I asked.

Trevor pointed to the couch where Coach was dozing off. “He keeps falling asleep then waking up again.”

I saw Millie talking to Gabe and a few of the other guys about dance class. I grabbed Dane’s hand and walked him over to Coach.

“Coach,” I said quietly.

He gave me a smile. “Sorry.” He patted the spot next to him. “Did you ask me something?” He yawned.

“No. Dane and I have some great news.” I smiled.

“Yeah?” He gave me his full attention. “And what’s that?”

“Dane and I both got into Tulane!”

His eyes widened in shock then he smiled. “Really?”

“Yes! And one more thing.” I looked at Dane.

Dane smiled and nodded at me. He sat down and put his arm around my shoulders. “We’re going to try dating.”

Coach smiled softly. “Good. Just don’t let it mess up your awesome friendship, okay?”

“About damn time,” Trevor said from behind us.

The guys on the team were obviously eavesdropping too.

Coach patted my knee then looked up when Brink came over to him. He whispered something in his ear, and Coach nodded. Brink left the house looking concerned. I saw the worry on Dane’s face, but Quinn came over and got everyone’s attention. I laughed when the guys all gave her their undivided attention, practically drooling. I laughed.

“Can we bring the party outside?” She asked and grinned at Dane. “It’s time for birthday cake!”

I hugged Coach. “Stay here and rest.”

I got up and walked outside with Dane and the guys. I felt a tug on my hand and looked down at Millie. I picked her up as everyone sang Happy Birthday for a second time, and Quinn lit all eighteen candles on the cake. I winked at Dane when he looked at me. Soon the awkwardness would go away. Dane and I were making a great decision. We were perfect together, and I had no idea how it took us this long to figure it out.