"What do you mean?" I asked, turning back to her. She looked back at me with sad eyes.

"I know what you and I have talked about but honey.. you can't keep torturing yourself."

I turned back around and leaned up against the counter, crossing my arms and staring down at my feet.

"I don't think she knows what she wants." I said quietly. I heard her sigh as she looked back outside at them. Her lips turned into a gentle smile, but I could tell she was trying to hold it in. For me.

It felt like a punch to the gut.

"...I think she does, Josh. And sometimes, I know it's not what we want to hear.. but we can't change it. So, you should just focus on you." I rolled my eyes.

"I know." She laughed. "But.. you also have to think about Jake. Your brother is really happy, and.. I think you just have to let them be happy now."

Deep down I knew she was right. But I didn't want to admit it.

I went back into the dining room where I saw Sam and Ronnie quietly talking amongst themselves. She looked over at me.

"So, how are you holding up?" She asked. My stomach dropped. She knew. I glared over at Sam. He shrugged.

"She forced it out of me." He sighed. I rolled my eyes, plopping down into my chair.

"I really don't wanna talk about it." I mumbled.

"Leave it to you two to like the same girl." Ronnie said, leaning back in her chair. She gave me her usual grin, shaking her head. My cheeks burned.

"You knew he liked her, before he even met her, Josh." She said. "You were there when he was showing her to all of us." I looked away, crossing my arms.

"I know, but.." I sighed. "It just.. you weren't there, Ronnie. It really seemed like.. she liked me."

"It did." Sam chimed in, looking over at Ronnie. "They.. were kind of all over each other that first night." He laughed.

Flashes of the night raced through my mind. For the most part, it was a blur. But everything with her was crystal clear. I just wish I knew what changed between then and now.

What did Jake have that I didn't?

"You know you cannot play that song tonight, right?" Ronnie said. I glared back at Sam. He shrugged again.

"I'm sorry, but I thought it was a good song." He said.

"Can I hear it?" Ronnie asked. My cheeks burned again.

"Absolutely not."

"Come on, it's bad enough you didn't tell me about her. I thought we told each other everything. The fact that I had to hear everything from Sam." I glared back at him again.

"Sorry.." He sighed.

"I really don't want to talk about this right now, Ronnie." I could tell she wanted to say more, but she stopped herself. She peeked over at Sam who shook his head. She understood.

"Well, I'm sorry you're hurting." She eventually said. I shrugged my shoulders, looking away.

"Mom says Jake's been talking about her a lot." She nodded.

"He does.. but.. I thought you didn't want to talk about it." I bit down on my lip.

I didn't, but I did.

"You're right." I sighed.

"Come on." She said. "Show me the bus, I haven't seen this one yet." I gave her a small smile, and lead her out front.

A few hours later, Jake lead me out towards the hiking trail he was telling me about. We didn't have too much time before we all had to start heading for the venue, but he insisted.

"So this is where we used to go all the time as kids." He said, reaching over and taking my hand, leading me down the trail. I looked around and couldn't believe this is where he grew up. It was absolutely beautiful. It was like stepping into a movie.

He held my hand tighter, guiding me over large tree stumps and logs, hopping over small bodies of water.

"You basically have every inch on this place memorized." I laughed, keeping close.

"Basically." He said with a satisfied grin.

"So where are you taking me?" I asked. He smirked down at me.

"Don't worry, you'll see. It's a surprise."

"I hope I'm able to keep up on the way back." I laughed, becoming more and more aware of how out of shape I apparently was.

"I can carry you if need be." He said simply. My cheeks burned.

"It must've been amazing getting to grow up out here." I said, looking around. I could hear the faint sound of rushing water.

"And being on the road for so long makes me appreciate it so much more now." He said, eventually leading me down a path that brought us to a huge lake with the perfect view of the sunset.

"Wow.." I sighed.

"This is one of my favorite places in the world. Not many people know about it." He said, admiring the view.

"I must be pretty special then." I giggled to myself. He peeked over at me, smiling.

"You are."

He swung our hands as he lead us down close to the water. We stared up as the sky turned from a light blue to a blazing orange. I looked over to see his face glowing, his brown eyes shimmering gold in the sunlight.

He was beautiful.

I moved in closer to him. He turned to me, gently moving his hand to my cheek. I saw his eyes slowly move from mine down to my lips. My heart started to race. He leaned in closer, gently kissing me on the lips. Every time I kissed him it felt like the first time. His lips curved into a smile as he slowly moved his hand up into my hair, tangling his fingers within, kissing me harder. I couldn't help but smile. When he backed away, his smile grew into a toothy grin.

"You're so beautiful." He sighed, staring back at me with his eyes in a daze. He traced his fingers down my cheek, gently tucking a piece of hair behind my ear.

"So are you." I said, leaning in gently kissing him again. He smirked as his cheeks burned red. Biting down on his lip, he stared back at me. I could feel his grip on my hand get tighter.

"What?" I asked. He hesitated, but eventually turn to look back out at the sunset.

"I..um.." He started, looking back down at our hands. My heart started to beat even faster.

"Is.. everything okay?" I asked. He sighed and nodded, smiling back up at me.

"I want you to have this." He said quietly, reaching back behind his neck. I watched him unclasp his necklace and then reached over, placing it around my neck.

"Your necklace?" I asked. He carefully clasped it and sat back, staring up at me with that same dazed look. He shrugged.

"I just want you to have something.. of mine." He said, a small smile escaping from his lips. It felt like my whole body was on fire.

"Jake.." I sighed, looking down, holding it in my hand. It was a thin silver chain holding a small, pink stone.

"What is it?" I asked. His smile grew as he moved closer, leaning down onto my lap and held it within his fingers.

"So, this is a rose quartz crystal. It's.. it's basically a.. love crystal." He said, peeking back up at me, his cheeks burning red again.

"Oh.." I said, smirking down at him. He stared back up at me with hopeful eyes, biting down on his lip.

"Well, then I'm never taking it off." I said, leaning down kissing him on the lips. He reached up, holding my face in his hand, kissing me back harder.

"Good." He sighed.

The sun was now almost down below the horizon; the bright orange sky fading to a deep red.

He kept his hand on my face, staring deep into my eyes. This all felt like something out of a movie, like time had stood still.

"Jess..." He stopped, holding his stare on me, his fingers gently rubbing against my cheek.

"Yeah?" I asked, moving in closer. He sighed. Even with the sun almost down I could see how much he was blushing.

"Jess.. I'm in love with you."