I am a girl knocking on a guy's door to speak about our date. There couldn't be a date after Luke and I kissed last night, but I needed to tell Jake in a respectful and apologetic way. I haven't handled this well so far, but I need to make amends.

I didn't plan for this, but Flora's an emotional hurricane in my living room and I didn't want to set her off. So here I am, in a green dress, outside the Dawson family house.

The front door opened, and a fresh smell of lavender wafted through the air.

Mrs Dawson welcomed me with a warm smile. "Hello Millie. Jake mentioned you would be coming over."

She was a beautiful woman, with glossy locks of black hair and chestnut colored eyes. Her skin was silky smooth, and her makeup was natural and almost professionally applied.

"Would you care for some tea? I have a pot of chamomile brewing on the stove."

She invited me inside. Fresh flowers were in a glass vase by a golden framed mirror. The cream-colored carpet felt plush under my shoes and I thought how different this home was to my own.

"Thank you, Mrs Dawson. Should I take my shoes off?" I asked, feeling insecure about my presence.

This was a perfect home for the perfect family. I felt like a bug on a landscape screensaver.

"No need, my dear. Please have a seat in the living room. Jake will be down shortly."

She headed towards the kitchen, and when she disappeared, I noticed someone leaning against the wall behind her. He had been listening this entire time.

Arms folded across his broad chest, blue eyes ablaze. Luke.

The last person I expected to see. The boy whose kiss had me fantasizing...

He spoke in his deep voice, "This date still happening?"

I couldn't tell what he was thinking. His handsome face was like a mask, hiding emotion.

Luke folded his arms across his strong chest. My eyes were distracted by his moving biceps. It's hard to look at him without reliving last night. When those arms were wrapped around me and when his lips were-

"Where is Jake?" I asked.

Of course, I needed to tell Jake about our kiss last night. But I also couldn't do it by call or text. This conversation needed to be respectful and it needed to be face-to-face. I owe Jake that.

What an absolute mess. I agreed to this date over a wee ago and now...

My head was locked in an internal battle with my heart. I tried to concentrate but I had only one thought on my mind. That kiss.

Now that I've gotten a taste, I want more.

"Millie?" Luke repeated, staring at me funny.

I was drooling.

"Sorry!" I apologized, hastily wiping my mouth, "What did you say?"

He smirked and pushed himself off the door, "Distracted?"

"Can you please stay five feet away from me?" I asked, stepping back with every step he took.

He lips curled into that confident, charismatic smirk. He had a presence that took over the room. I wanted to wipe it off his face.

"I'll cancel this date for you," he offered.

"No need."

"Why are you doing this, Millie?"

"Because he's nice."

"Our kiss was nicer," he stepped forward, "I can remind you."

The kitchen doors swung open and Mrs Dawson emerged with chamomile tea. She almost dropped her tray at the sight of us. I jumped further away from Luke, as far away from him as possible. He raised an eyebrow at that.

"Let's have a seat in the living room," she said, giving Luke a sharp look.

We followed her into a well-lit room. A piano was positioned by the window and the seating area surrounded a marble fireplace. Family photos were placed on the sill. I noticed that most of them excluded Jake.

"Millie's here."

Charlotte and Mr Dawson were in the living room. She was busy convincing her dad to buy a TV for her dorm room. When they saw us, their conversation died.

I nervously took a seat on the couch. Luke stayed standing and Mrs Dawson set the tray of tea on the coffee table.

Charlotte waved at me and stood up to leave, "Nice to see you again, Millie. Enjoy your date with Luke."

Awkward.

"The date's with me," another voice sounded from the living room entrance.

Jake had entered the room and found his family surrounding me. Charlotte's eyes darted from me, to Luke, to Jake and then she said:

"Oh I'm staying now. There's no way I'm missing this."

Mr Dawson adjusted the cufflinks on his shirt. No one said a word as we waited for his reaction. He had forbidden anyone from leaving the room until we 'had a chat.'

Jake sat beside me on the sleek modern couch. He gave my hand a comforting squeeze.

"Tell us about yourself, Millie," Mr Dawson said.

I looked at his perfectly combed hair and shaved jaw. Behind him, there was a framed photo of Luke holding a basketball trophy.

I looked at the real-life Luke, who stood taller and older than the photo. Still picture perfect though.

"My name is Millie Ripley," I said with a nervous smile, "But you knew that already. I'm a junior at Preston Oakes and I live next door."

I was so nervous. I came here to talk to Jake, to tell him that this couldn't go further, that I had kissed his brother...

Luke entered the situation, confidently, despite not needing to be there. He took a seat to my left. I scooted over a bit, since he took up more space than me. Jake was on my right.

Mr Dawson picked up on that. "You were here the other day, I remember. You were looking for Luke. Now you're here for Jake?"

Jake glanced at his brother with a dark, questioning look. "She was looking for you?"

Luke shrugged, "She found me."

I blushed.

"You-" Jake controlled himself, clenching his hands into fists.

I elbowed Luke to get him to shut up.

So there I was, sitting awkwardly between two greek gods. Jake was on one side, Luke by my other.

I wanted to tell Jake about what happened the night Luke and I kissed. It wasn't fair that we were about to go on a date, while my secret with Luke was un-aired.

I was careful where to put my hands. Every inch of me was conscious of the boys sitting on either side. I looked over at Luke who concealed his smirk. I then realized Jake was staring at me. I stared ahead.

Mr and Mrs Dawson watched us.

We smiled back.

Mrs Dawson reached for the teapot, "Some tea?"

There was a pause.

"I KISSED LUKE!" I blurted, unable to keep the secret any more. I had to get it off my chest, "WE KISSED LAST NIGHT AND IT WAS COMPLETELY UNPLANNED!"

Mrs Dawson froze, her hand still on the teapot. It continued to pour hot tea out of the snout, spilling over the table.

Too much tea.

Luke, who was never really shocked by anything, had his lips parted in shock. Jake hardly moved a muscle.

At least my conscience had calmed.

Everyone else was about to go crazy.

Spilt tea dripped off the coffee table and stained the plush carpet. For the first time, Mrs Dawson did not care.

She stared at me, sitting in the center of the couch. "You kissed Luke. But aren't you about to go on a date with Jake?"

"It's a love triangle, mum," Charlotte said from her armchair.

"I don't approve of the shape," she responded.

"Jake asked her out first," Luke explained.

"Are you recording this, Charlotte?"

"I'm just sending this to Nicole. She loves this stuff."

"I asked her out on a date because I'm a gentleman, unlike Luke," Jake snapped.

"I've known her longer than you. If you count all the times we've hung out-"

"Doesn't count."

"Everyone needs to calm down," Mr Dawson said, rubbing his temple.

"She's sabotaging her own date," Luke smirked, satisfied.

I didn't know if there was any way I could exit the conversation... the situation... my entire life right now.

"So, um..." Jake cleared his throat and turned to me, "Did you like it?"

It was my turn to be shocked. Was that really the question to ask right now?!

"Go on," Luke urged, "Did you?"

"Don't you dare talk!" Jake yelled over me at Luke.

"You want to fight instead?" Luke threatened back.

I squirmed in between the two of them.

"YOU WENT BEHIND MY BACK-"

"I KNEW HER FIRST!"

"I LIKED HER!"

"ONLY BECAUSE I DO!"

They stood up to face each other, neck to neck. I saw the veins on Jake's neck and Luke's fists clench. Suddenly, a punch was thrown that hit Luke in the jaw. He threw a right hook into Jake's rib. Jake doubled over and they wrestled to the floor.

Mrs Dawson started screaming and Charlotte stood on her chair, to avoid getting pulled into it.

The table shook and a framed photo of the family crashed to the ground. The boys rolled over it a second later and we heard the glass crack.

"GET OFF HIM!" Mr Dawson's boot came in between them both, "You two compete over everything!"

I'm not a thing.

He bent over in his fancy shirt and pulled the boys up with brute strength.

"If your throwing arm is hurt Luke, I'm going to hurt you myself," he threatened and grabbed Luke's right arm to inspect it.

I was surprised that Mr Dawson's first thought was basketball... not their safety. Jake was breathing heavily, rubbing his rib cage. Mrs Dawson was almost in tears. She ran to get a first aid kit.

But she never went far. Instead, we heard her call out to all of us in the living room.

"Look at the house across the street!"

My house?

Outside the window, we could see my front door. Spray paint was all over the door and the brick wall. The following words were sprayed in large letters:

$1 HOOKER INSIDE

My date with Jake never happened. I excused myself from the Dawson house and, in great shame, I went back to mine. Mrs Dawson didn't even look at me.

Luke had a bruised jaw and Jake was injured in his rib cage. It was my fault. The boys offered to help clean the spray paint on my wall, but their father silenced them in a heartbeat. So, I left them to their own situation.

And walked towards mine.

$1 HOOKER INSIDE

There was no question that the same person who had written the threatening letter was responsible for this. The blackmailer. Now, also a vandalizer.

I hoped my mother wouldn't come home before I cleaned this off. I hoped not many people had passed by and seen it. I didn't want to cause my family more humiliation than I already did.

I filled a bucket with soap water and took an old cloth. I set the bucket outside, next to one of the garden gnomes, and started to scrub my wall. It took almost an hour to get the paint off. My arm was weak from the effort. I had cried at one point as well.

But after I was done, I was sure of one thing.

I was going to end this blackmail one way or another.

I vowed to that.

The next day began like any other. Preston Oakes High School filled with students: some half asleep, some energetic for the day.

No one expected to see the posters hanging across the walls. They were printed and pasted across lockers and slapped on the back of doors. Hundreds of copies of the same photo.

Millie half-naked with a $1 bill in her bra.

Passed out for the whole school to see.

And under the picture were the words: $1 Entry

"Who did this?!" Luke yelled, a poster scrunched up in his fist.

Luke confronted Bianca and the girls. His guy friends backed him up. They were terrified. Around them, a crowd had gathered.

No one expected the reaction it would stir in Luke. He was not about to let anyone get away with this.

"Me. I did it."