I quickly ran down to Jake's car parked in the front of my house, hopping into the passenger's seat as he drove off before I could even close the door behind me.

"So, where did you tell the guys you were going tonight?" I asked, peeking over at him. He kept his eyes forward, a small grin spreading across his lips.

"I just said that.. I had a date." He said simply.

"And they didn't question you on it?" He shook his head.

"Josh seems to think I have this secret girlfriend, so.." He muttered, his voice trailing off.

"Well.. don't you?" I felt my cheeks burn as he peeked over at me, his smile growing.

I wasn't sure where he was taking me, so I only hoped that what I wore was okay. I kept catching him glance over, looking me up and down.

"What?" I finally asked. He shook his head, biting down on his lip.

"Nothing." He sighed, reaching over for my hand, intertwining our fingers. I tried my best to contain my smile, squeezing his hand tighter.

Then at the next stop light, he leaned over, pulling me into a quick kiss. My heart jumped as he sat back down, driving off as the light turned green again.

"What was that for?" I giggled to myself, holding my stare on him.

"We were kind of in a hurry, so.. I didn't get to kiss you when you got in the car. Or tell you how pretty you look." I playfully rolled my eyes, looking back out the window.

"Thank you." I muttered. "So.. where are you taking me?"

"Well, I thought we could have a little fun tonight." He said, and before I knew it, I could see the familiar reds and blues lighting up the night sky.

"The carnival?" I asked.

"Yeah, is.. that okay?" I nodded, feeling my heart beat faster.

"Mhm.."

After he parked the car, he stopped, turning to me before getting out.

"I should've told you where we were going so you'd know what to wear, but here.." He said, reaching behind me, grabbing his denim jacket and placing it on my lap.

"I'm starting to think you just like me wearing your clothes." I smirked, instantly wrapping it around me. He scrunched up his face, playfully rolling his eyes before getting out of the car and making his way over to my side, opening the door for me before I could go for it. Taking my hand, he carefully helped me out, instantly pulling me in, wrapping his arm around me.

"So, we're actually just in time." He said, guiding me through the game booths and food stands until I finally realized where we were going.

"Just in time for what?" I asked, peeking up at him, unable to contain my smile.

"The fireworks."

I could feel my heart beating faster as we reached the ferris wheel, Jake handing the ride operator our tickets and slipping him some cash, giving him a wink before we got in. He took my hand, carefully helping me in and then sliding in next to me. I had thought about this moment my entire life, as each summer came and went, I dreamt of how it would feel to finally get to experience this moment, with him especially, and now it was finally happening. It was almost impossible to contain my excitement, and he could tell.

"You're so cute." He whispered, gently kissing my cheek.

As the ride started, he instantly reached his arm around me, pulling me in closer to him. I lied my head on his shoulder, looking out at the glowing lights of the rides, taking in the sweet smells of the sugary snacks below already making my mouth water.

As we reached the top, we didn't have to wait long before the first explosion, making me jump, clinging on tightly to him. He leaned in close, his soft laughter making my heart race as he whispered into my ear.

"I've always wanted to bring you up here." He said, his lips lightly brushing against my neck before gently grazing them, turning in to sweet, tender kisses.

"Me too." I sighed, turning to face him as he reached over, gently caressing my cheek.

His eyes lit up with the dazzling glow of the fireworks, illuminating his face in romantic reds and beloved blues; I was in a dream, hoping, praying that I never woke up. He stared back into my eyes, the way every girl wishes to be gazed upon. Not just looked at, but truly seen.

And then he kissed me, and my heart erupted like the night sky, emotions detonating, igniting something within me I hadn't felt since that night with him in the movie theater, flashes of us racing through my mind that only existed in my imagination, but how badly I wanted another dream to come true.

I grabbed onto his shirt, pulling him in closer, kissing him back harder, wanting that much more of a taste of the sugar-coated sweetness that was the flavor of his lips, sweeter than any candied snack that lied below.

"Jaime.." He sighed, leaning his forehead against mine.

"Mhm?" I managed, my eyes moving back down to his lips.

"I've.. I've never.. felt like this before." He said softly, gently running his fingers through my hair.

"Like what?"

"Just.. like this. So much. And.. that's really all I've ever wanted." He stared back nervously, biting down on his lip. I pulled him back into a gentle kiss, moving my hand behind his neck.

"And.. I just.. I need you to know, I am trying. I've never really been able to.. talk about these things, and maybe it's because I've never truly felt them, not like this anyway, but.. I want to be able to.. for you."

"Thank you." I sighed, pulling him into another kiss where I felt his lips curl into a smile.

"But.." He added. "You make it easier."

Finally, I could feel the ride start to move again, taking us back down to the bottom. Before I could pull him into another kiss, my stomach dropped at the sound of familiar laughter. Turning around, I then saw Danny, Sam, and Josh making their way across the field.

What were they doing here?

I felt my whole body get cold as I turned back to him.

"We gotta go." I said, pulling away as the ride came to a complete halt. He stared back at me, confused.

"Jaime? What's wrong?" He asked.

"They're here." I whispered, motioning towards the other side of the ride. It took him a minute before he peeked over, finally seeing them too. His face instantly dropped, tightly grabbing my hand and pulling me off the ride and into the opposite direction.

"Why are they here?" I snapped, following him closely as he swiftly pulled me away until we were out of sight. "I thought you guys only brought your dates here?"

"We do, I don't know why they would all come alone."

"We.. we should probably go." I muttered, looking around again.

"Why? We don't have to let them ruin our night, we just-"

"And what happens if he sees us." I sighed. He stopped, holding his stare on me.

"Jaime, I.. I've been wanting to talk to you about-"

"We can talk about it later, okay? We should just.. lets head back home." He hesitated for a moment, obviously upset now.

"You can.. come up to my room.." I suggested, smirking back at him, taking his hand and pulling him towards the parking lot. He finally smiled, following me closely towards the car.

He didn't say much on the drive home, eventually reaching over for my hand again, tightly intertwining our fingers. I peeked over at him, bringing our hands up to my lips, gently kissing the top of his. He looked over with dazed eyes, smiling back at me.

"So.. what did you want to talk about?" I asked, leaning in closer. He sighed, eventually shrugging.

"It's.. it's nothing. It's okay. We don't have to talk about it right now."

"I don't want you to think you can't talk to me. Not after what you just told me." He gave me another sympathetic smile, shaking his head.

"I know, but it's okay."

"If it bothers you, I want to talk about it." He was quiet for a moment before finally giving in.

"Okay, I just.. Jaime, after everything, with you, with us, I just.. I mean, I know what this would mean but.. for you, well, I just.. I don't want us to snea-" We were then interrupted by his phone ringing, Josh's photo flashing up onto his screen.

"Perfect." He groaned, letting go of my hand, begrudgingly answering it.

"Hey." He snapped. "What's going on?"

"Hey, you still on your date?" He asked. I felt my cheeks burn, smirking over at him. He smiled back at me, putting his finger over his lips to shush me.

"Yeah, kinda, why?"

"Well, Danny's having everyone over to go in his pool and the hot tub is finally open. Bring her along. We'd love to meet her." My stomach dropped.

"Oh, um.. I.. I don't think she'd want-"

"Well, whatever you decide. That's where we're going soon, so.. meet us there." And then he hung up.

He tossed his phone back into the cup holder, reaching over for my hand again.

"So.." He laughed. "You interested?"