Jessica giggled at something her best friend, Steve, said. The two had been best friends for years, despite their age difference.

The two were now in the library, lounging around on beanbag chairs and talking quietly.

“I can’t believe you cleared six feet!” Jessica said in awe, referring to the high jump record Steve had set.

“It was nothing, really,” Steve grinned at her and Jessica felt her heart melt at the sight of his smile. She had had a crush on him ever since she had gotten to high school. But, she knew they were just best friends and always would be. She was brought out of her thoughts by Steve’s voice.

“Do you want to play Twenty Questions?” Steve asked her.

“Okay, that was random, but…sure,” Jessica answered.

“Pinky swear to be honest no matter what the question, Jess?” he asked her, his green eyes boring into her.

“I promise,” Jessi replied as she locked pinkies with him with a laugh.

“Okay, you go first,” Steve said as he sat back in his bean bag chair.

“Um, okay. What is your new favorite color?” Jess asked him. She knew his favorite color changed every year and she hadn’t yet asked him what it was this year.

“Light blue,” Steve answered and she nodded. “Hmm… What is your favorite number?”

“Today’s date, number twenty-two,” Jess answered automatically. “If you could be any animal, what would you be?”

“A cheetah because they can run at extremely fast speeds and jump higher than six feet,” Steve answered, causing Jess to laugh at the excited expression on his face. “If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?”

“Italy, without a doubt,” Jessica replied with a smile. “What is your favorite college basketball team?”

“The Syracuse Orange,” Steve answered. “Why would you want to go to Italy?”

“Because the shopping is great,” she began, making Steve roll his eyes. “Hey, I’m not done. And it’s so romantic.”

“Oh yeah, that’s so much better than the shopping reason,” Steve teased her.

“Shut up. How many times have you slam-dunked during a game?” she asked.

“At least three times per game,” Steve told her, his eyes showing the pride he had in it. “What do you want to be when you graduate?”

“An English teacher who gets to travel to China,” Jess said.

“Interesting…” Steve smirked at her.

“What is your favorite subject?” Jessi asked him.

“Journalism,” Steve answered and Jess couldn’t help but notice how his smile reached his eyes when he spoke about the class. “Why are you staring at me?”

“No reason,” Jessi said hurriedly, trying to hide the blush on her face.

“Um, okay. What can I ask you-” Steve began.

“Hey, it’s my turn! You asked me why I was staring at you, so it’s my turn,” Jess said with a playful glare.

“Fine…” Steve sighed.

“How old were you when you had your first kiss?” Jessica asked.

“Um, when I was fourteen-years old,” Steve replied after a moment of thought. “What’s your dream date?”

“Oh, well,” Jess began, not expecting the question. “I guess a romantic dinner and then a walk under the stars through the park and then we would kiss under the moonlight,” Jess finished, still unsure. “Why?”

“No reason,” Steve replied.

“Alright, um-” Jess started.

“Hey, no, no, no, it’s my turn,” Steve told her. Jess realized what she had done and huffed before glancing over at him, waiting for the question. “Are you crushing on anyone right now?”

Jess’s first thought was to deny it, but then she remembered her pinky promise. “Yes,” she answered in one word. “Are you?”

“Yes,” Steve also answered with one word. “Is the person you’re crushing on older than you or younger than you?”

“Older,” Jess answered again with one word. “How about you?”

“Younger,” Steve said. The one word answers were starting to annoy Jess, but she figured she had it coming because she was doing it too. “Do you like candlelit dinners?”

“Of course! What girl doesn’t?” Jess said before realizing she had just asked a question. “Dang it!”

“No girl that I know,” Steve laughed as she pouted by sticking out her lower lip. “But I’ll give that one to you. Go ahead and ask.”

“Who do you like?” Jess asked, knowing he would say no, but she had to ask.

“How about I ask you a question before I answer yours? And that was not my question,” Steve said. Jess gulped, but nodded. “Do you want me to kiss you?”

“Yes,” Jess managed to squeak out before their lips met.

A few moments later, when they broke apart, Steve said one simple word in answer to her question. “You.”