The next Friday, the day before Vic was going to leave, we decided to throw a party. It wasn't going to be much of a party since there would only be Vic, Tony and myself, but since it was Vic's last day there, we wanted to throw a little something for him. And so, as it started to get late and dark and cold outside, we opened bottles of whiskey and cans of beer before going to Tony's backyard and getting comfortable on the back porch.

It wasn't that cold outside, at least not when I was starting to get drunk, and the chilly breeze felt nice. Vic, Tony and I chatted for hours about everything and it got pretty personal. Vic told us all about his past relationships and heartbreaks and I told them all about my life back in New York and Tony didn't really open up that much. It wasn't that he didn't want to tell us about his life, no, it was just that we either knew about his things or then he was just shy.

At one point I excused myself and made my way into the bathroom. After finishing my business there, I was about to return to the backyard but when I heard the two of them chatting about me, I froze and quickly got down and made sure they didn't realize that I was listening to their conversation.

”If there's something I know, it's that she's the right girl for you,” Vic's voice sounded somewhat muffled as he spoke, ”And you can't fuck this up.”

”I'm scared,” Tony said quietly. I furrowed my eyebrows and tried to listen more closely.

”Scared of what? That she's going to leave? That it won't work out? That you'll fuck this up?”

”I'm scared that I'll do something stupid,” he admitted, ”Not now but in the future. What if we get together? What if, when I'm away, I'll do something stupid with somebody else? You know how it gets when we're on tour... And if there's one thing I know, it's that she won't look at my face any longer if I fuck up.”

”But you won't fuck up, man, you won't if she means something to you,” Vic said. God, I wanted to run in there and hug that man. Vic was such an angel, he knew exactly what to say.

”You're right. But...”

”But what? She's perfect for you, isn't she? You love her, don't you? Don't you?”

”Don't talk about love, buddy,” Tony said and laughed, ”I'm not ready for that shit.”

”Right. But what's holding you back? You two act like a couple already. Why not make it official?”

”Because she's so young,” Tony said and I snorted. Of course he would say that.

”So what? It's only, what, six years. I'm sure that won't hurt you,” Vic said.

”It won't matter to me but it will matter to her at some point. She won't want an old guy like me in a few years.”

”For fucks sake, Tony, are you serious?” Vic let out a laugh, ”She loves you!”

”She doesn't love me, okay?”

”Yes she does. Don't you see the way she looks at you?”

”Yeah but...”

”Come on, man, just go for it. She's not going anywhere. You two can make it work,” Vic said.

”You're right. I'm going to ask her to be my girlfriend,” Tony nodded and I could have sworn that my heart skipped a few beats. Tony was going to ask me to be his girlfriend, holy shit! A wide grin spread across my face and I probably looked like an idiot but didn't care, because holy shit!

As the two of them didn't say anything in a while, I decided it was a good time to join them. But as I walked out, I could barely keep a straight face. Tony and Vic gave me weird looks as I sat down with a stupid grin on my face.

”Is everything okay?” Vic asked and furrowed his eyebrows.

”Oh, yeah, yeah! A funny thing happened, that's all,” I quickly said and nodded.

”A funny thing happened? In the bathroom?” Tony asked.

”Uh... Yeah! So what did you two do while I was gone?” I asked, obviously trying to change the subject.

”We just talked, that's all,” Tony shrugged quickly and now it was his turn to try and turn the conversation into something else.

”So, uh, do you want more beer?”

”Sure,” I nodded and grabbed the bottle he was handing me. I drank some of it before setting it down on the porch. Then I stood up and looked at the pool.

”Do you guys want to get into the pool?” I asked and turned around before looking at them.

”Isn't it cold, though?”

”It is, I'm sure it is, but come on, guys. This is Vic's last night here. Let's get a little crazy, please,” I begged.

”I'll pass,” Tony said right away, ”But you go ahead.”

”Aww, come on! Vic?”

”No way,” he shook his head.

”Losers,” I mumbled under my breath.

”Well show us how you do it,” Tony said and crossed his arms over his chest.

”Fine.”

And into the pool I jumped. With my dress still on, the water didn't feel quite as cold as I'd imagined but when I pushed my head above the water, it didn't really feel warm either. Tony and Vic were laughing at my appearance – my hair looked awful when it was wet and my makeup was running down my face – but I was having fun so I laughed with them.

After freezing in the water for far too long, I had to get out.

”Could somebody get me a towel?” I asked as I got out of the water.

Vic nodded and got up before disappearing into the house. I turned to look at Tony who was grinning like an idiot as he looked at me.

”What? Why are you looking at me like that?” I asked and furrowed my eyebrows.

”You look adorable,” he admitted, ”I've seen you jump into that pool a thousand times but you've never looked so sexy in a wet dress like that.”

And as he spoke, my cheeks grew hot with heat and I blushed madly and the only thought going through my mind was, ”Is he going to ask me to be his girlfriend now? Is he?”

But just then Vic came back and handed the towel to me. I thanked him, and wrapped the towel around me tightly.

”Well, was it worth it?” Vic asked with a laugh as I sat down.

”Yeah,” I nodded and grinned, ”It was definitely refreshing.”

”Do you want to go inside?” Tony asked and I nodded because, yes, I was freezing very badly.

After getting inside, I went to change into more comfortable clothes – Tony gave me a shirt of his and a pair of shorts – and then joined the two of them in the living room. My hair was still wet but I had quickly wiped off the remains of my makeup so I didn't really look that awful anymore.

The boys were watching TV as I sat down on the couch next to Tony. He right away placed his arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer to his side.

”What are you guys watching?” I asked but neither of them really answered me. I looked at Vic and suddenly noticed that he had fallen asleep, or, well, passed out on the other couch.

”Tony,” I whispered, ”Vic is asleep.”

”Uh huh, okay? Did you have something in mind?” he murmured and leaned his head closer to me,
”Is there something you want to do now that we're alone?”

”Jesus, no,” I mumbled, ”That was not what I had in mind. I just thought that maybe we should let him sleep.”

”Yeah? Do you want to get into bed?” he whispered as he pressed his soft lips against my cheek. I shivered under his touch before snorting.

”What?” he asked with a laugh, ”Is this not working on you? Have I lost my touch at this?”

”No,” I shook my head, ”You're good. But we should help Vic to bed. The couch doesn't look too comfortable.”

”Eh, okay,” Tony shrugged.

Tony and I somehow managed to move Vic from the couch into the bedroom where he was staying, and closed the door once we had left him there. And as soon as the door was closed behind my back, Tony pulled me into his arms and pushed me gently against the door.

”What are you doing?” I giggled against his lips, ”Tony.”

”What? I can't keep my hands off you,” he murmured and gave me another sweet kiss.

”Really?” Then why won't you ask me to be your girlfriend? I wanted to scream at him, tell him to get into a relationship with me. But all his mouth did was kiss me, and he did it well. My knees got weak and I had to lean in to his touch and give my all to him as he held me tightly against his body.

And as we stood there, kissing and holding each other, I decided to tell him how I felt and only hoped that he would share his feelings with me, too, and not only with Vic. I wanted him to talk to me about how he felt, not to his friend.

”I've never felt this way about anybody before,” I admitted after pulling my lips away from him. His face was only inches away from mine and all I could do was look him in the eyes.

”You've completely changed my world,” I whispered, ”I don't know what I'd do without you, honestly. These past summers have been the best time of my life. This one especially.”

”Good,” he said and kissed me quickly. Good? Just good?

”Aren't you going to say anything else?” I asked, sounding more disappointed than I'd been planning to. He furrowed his eyebrows and held my face between his hands.

”What do you want me to say, Abby?” he asked and chuckled, ”Huh?”

”I just told you about my feelings. I figured you'd do the same...”

”Hmm, well, okay. You're really important to me,” he finally said, ”I've only realized it just now. And... And I don't know what to say. I don't have the words to tell you what you mean to me.”

”I'm glad you even told me that,” I said and flashed a smile. He smiled and nodded.

All of a sudden he grabbed my hand and started pulling me into his bedroom. He turned off the lights and pulled off his shirt before climbing into the bed. It took me no time to join him and as soon as I was comfortable under the sheets, I realized how tired I actually was.

I cuddled closer to his warm chest and he held me in his arms and we both knew that that was not the time to have sex. He seemed to be just as tired as I was and we started slowly drifting into sleep. But before he was out, he whispered nine little words that made me grin like a fool.

”I really care about you, Abby. I really do.” Half drunken words, half tired words but he was speaking the truth. And that was that. That was exactly what I needed to hear from him, that was what I needed to know, and that was what made me realize that we could actually have a future together.