Ashley and Brandon at the cabin doorstep

Brandon tugged his sandal back into place and trotted after Ashley as she ran up the path to the cabin.

Lucky sucker, that's me, Brandon thought. It had almost started to be a joke last year how hard it was for Brandon to get dates. He'd get one or two, but then she'd balk at having to work around his schedule. But he'd had to keep his grades up, and never missed a practice. The grades had gotten easier with Zack's help, and this year he was the starting quarterback. And somewhere in the middle of all, Ashley had bombed into his life like a shooting star, trailing clouds of joy, and asked him out.

His heart thumped, remembering.

Ashley was waiting on the porch. "Beat you!" she said.

"Next time let's try it in cleats," Brandon said. He took off his loose sandal and tapped it on the porch rail to get the trail dust off, then wiped his bare foot on the scratchy mat. "What do you think your sister is up to with Taylor and Heather?"

"I don't know," Ashley said. "I figure they can take care of themselves. But we don't have that long before the rest of them come back up from the lake for lunch." She slipped her thumbs under the straps of her top and slid them up and down.

"Babe," Brandon said.

Ashley laughed. She leaned forward and rolled her shoulders, watching the look on his face as her boobs jiggled. She caught a look and stopped, straightening up.

"What?" Ashley said.

"It's just, the last time you did that," Brandon said.

Ashley took her thumbs out from under her straps. "But you said you liked it," she said.

Brandon nodded. He cleared his throat and swallowed. "I liked it a lot," he said. "I think I liked it too much."

"Aw baby," Ashley said. "You know I'd never hurt you."

"I know," Brandon said. "I'm not saying no, but I think we should cool it. I want us to be about us for a little more before we try it again."

Ashley hugged him. "Okay," she said. "You know I only did it because I feel safe with you. And I feel safe with you because you feel safe with me."

Brandon smiled. "We'll try it again sometime," he said.

"I'd like that a lot," Ashley said. She grinned. "I like you a lot."