"You have a place in my heart no one else could ever have."

You saw those words on a sign in an antique shop earlier in the day and they couldn't escape your mind. They were written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in The Ice Palace. Your favorite book. It was simple, but you couldn't erase the face that would accompany those words.

It was your brothers best friend. It was a silly schoolgirl crush. After all you were two years younger and to him you might as well be an infant. Ever since you saw Peter for the first time many years ago he made your heart skip a beat. He was never rude but you could tell he wasn't particularly thrilled by you sitting in when he was trying to talk sports with your brother.

He was an actor and worked a tight schedule, so you haven't seen him in a while. When he wasn't working or studying, he was wanting to play sports, as did your brother.

You unlocked the door to your home and there he was, leaning against the wall with a coke bottle in his hand. He looked a lot different than you remember. His cheeks were less puffy and boy did he grow. His hair was a little longer and was lighter. But his smile never changed.

He turned his head to look at you and suddenly your cheeks felt hot. You felt like a deer in headlights. No words were exchanged but his eyes never left your face.

You looked down at your shoes before climbing the stairs and walking to your bedroom. You put your bag down and discarded your shoes before reaching for a book off the shelf. The Ice Palace.

Your eyes scanned those oh-so familiar words. Again and again and again. You were lost in your trance that you didn't hear your bedroom door open and Peter standing in the doorframe.

You clenched the book to your chest with your eyes closed. "Peter," you said, without knowing of his stance, "you have a place in my heart no one else could ever have."

Peter's eyes widened. He knew he shouldn't have been standing there, but he wanted to talk to you. Get to know you after all this missed time. You were no longer that pest of a little sister his best friend had. You were beautiful. You always were. It just took him so long to realize it.

He didn't know what to do, so, he carefully closed the door. The latch pulled you from your daze. You jumped before approaching the door knob. You pulled it open to see Peter standing there with wide eyes.

"How long were you there?"

"Long enough." He shoved his hands in his pockets.

"So..."

"So..."

"I haven't seen you in a while. How's being a movie star treating you?" He chuckled.

"I sure am lucky. Except that I don't get to pick my own dates. The studio does that. It wasn't all that bad until I saw you."

"What?"

"Oh come on, I used to think you were an annoying kid but I realized how beautiful you are. You've always been. I've just been too much of a cad to notice."

You stood there in silence. You pinched yourself to be sure you weren't dreaming, "will you go with me to the premiere Friday night? I want you there as my date."

"Of course." You smiled. He did too before walking away. Leaving you to walk back into your room and return to your book.