My mind can't keep up with my fluctuating emotions.

One minute anxiety laces through my veins with a cement brick pressing against my chest. Next, I'm nuzzling my cheek into Bobby's chest, loving how his strong arms hold onto me.

Can your brain get whiplash?

When I was younger, I often fantasized about Bobby returning my affection. I'd lay in my bed, dreaming that he would call me his girlfriend and we would live happily ever after until the end of time. However, here I am, basking in the afterglow of a panic attack and freaking out whenever my mind flashes images of us together.

He wants to be together, right?

With each step, more questions pop into my mind. Fighting the urge to run, I fill my lungs to max capacity. My tense muscles relax when Bobby's familiar, musky scent tickles my nose.

Rose and Elaine sit in front of our campsite chatting while Mike lays peacefully with his arm draped over his face. Their conversation halts as Bobby walks past them without a word of acknowledgment. When my eyes connect with my sister's, she pushes to get up from her seated position, but Rose grabs her arm and shakes her head.

Elaine's eyes stay on me, and warmth fans across my face as Bobby enters the small wooded area behind our tent.

Once shielded from the late summer sun, the temperature drops considerably under the evergreen trees. When I look up at Bobby, his jaw is clenched tight, and his eyes scan our surroundings.

He looks stressed.

We haven't said a word to each other since he picked me up. The silence between us is unsettling. I raise my hand and cup his cheek. "I think I can walk now."

Bobby's mouth opens and closes like a goldfish. He finally finds the words he was looking for and says, "But you're hurt."

The corners of my mouth twitch upwards in a smile that doesn't quite reach my eyes. "I'm okay."

Bobby lowers me to the ground as if I am made of glass and will shatter the moment my feet hit the ground. His hands go by my waist without touching me to make sure I don't fall. The small action sends my heart soaring to heights I never knew existed, and fears have vanished.

I want this.

I wouldn't call the woods around us a forest, but hundreds of trees grouped in a remote area. Leaves crunch underfoot as we weave around twigs and branches. A few people have found their way into the space, laughing and dancing like the others on the field. It's peaceful.

When I spot a fallen tree log, I grab Bobby's hand and guide him toward it.

The log is lifted slightly off the ground, and I need to jump to get on. My foot burns, but the pain is the last thing on my mind at the moment.

The rough bark scrapes against the back of my leg as I adjust myself into a comfortable position. Once situated, I'm still trying to figure out how to proceed. A lump forms in the back of my throat when I look over at Bobby. His usually bright aura is nowhere to be seen.

I have always admired Bobby's ability to walk around with confidence. He is usually so calm and collected.

He looks so small.

His elbows are perched up on his knees with his chin resting on his laced fingers. I have no idea what he is looking at, but his gaze is set on the ground below.

When his knee begins to bounce, I can no longer take the agonizing silence. The moment my hand touches his leg, his body stills, and his tense muscles unwind.

Knowing I have this power over him gives me the boost I need to say, "I like you."

Bobby slowly lowers his hands and turns to look at me. His hazel eyes have grown impossibly wide and unblinking as if he is trying to process what I just said.

Shit.

When he goes to open his mouth, my eyes slam shut as if they would protect me from whatever blow he is about to serve me.

My heart begins to bang against my taut chest, and I tightly squeeze my eyelids together because if I open them, I won't be able to control the brewing tears.

Please say something.

I'm so lost in my thoughts that I nearly jump out of my skin when two large hands cup my cheeks. "Please, don't cry."

"I'm not crying."

"Winnie," Bobby says as he caresses my face with the pad of his thumb. The light brush of his skin against mine sets my body ablaze. "You're a horrible liar."

"Please look at me," Bobby begs. "I'm in love with you."

Oh my God.

My eyes snap open, and when I look at Bobby, I don't think I have ever been more attracted to anyone. The rose tint that paints his cheeks, mixed with his sheepish grin, causes my hand to cling to my chest, desperate to stop my heart from escaping.

Thousands of words remain stuck in the back of my throat, but the only one that escapes is, "What?"

Bobby's gaze holds on to mine as if anchoring onto my soul. "I love you."

"How? Why? When!?" All I left out is who and where, but I can come up with better words if I had the brain capacity to do so.

The light pink hue on Bobby's face turns a deep crimson and spreads to the tip of his ears. He lowers his hands from my face and brings them to rest in his lap. "My senior year, after you started dating Richie."

I think back to when Richie Henderson asked me out on a date in my junior year. He was my first and only boyfriend and someone I loved deeply. Everybody did, except Bobby.

I think back to weeks after Richie and I got together. Honestly, all that comes to mind is that I was utterly smitten. It was right before homecoming, and I got to go with the school's all-star running back. It was the first time people saw me as someone other than Elaine Harris's little sister. Yes, I was still associated with someone else, but I wasn't in my sister's shadow for once. A small smile dances across my face when flashbacks of that time flicker through my mind.

As I continue down memory lane, I remember Bobby breaking up with his long-term girlfriend shortly after Christmas. We were all shocked since they seemed genuinely happy together, and it happened out of the blue. A loud gasp falls from my lips, and my body becomes impossibly still. "Is that why you broke up with Jackie?"

Bobby nods his head. "I cared about Jackie a lot, but I couldn't stay with her when I knew my heart belonged to you."

"This is a lot to take in, Bobby."

"I know," He says as he stares into the distance. "There is more I want to tell you."

My posture stiffens as sharp, cold tingles scramble across my skin. "More?"

I don't know if I can handle "more" right now.

As if he could sense my uneasiness, Bobby moves to grab my hand but pauses before bringing his fingers together and returning them to his lap.

A switch goes off in my brain, and my anxiety dissipates. Bobby has always brought me such solace, and for me to be uncomfortable around him is absolutely absurd. I love how he has made me feel these past few days. The thoughtfulness of his actions is honest and charming— He is charming.

As the realization sinks in, a thousand butterflies flap their wings in unison in my stomach, matching the pace of my beating heart. Bobby Walker has feelings for me, and I return them. I want nothing more than to wrap my arms around him and pepper kisses all over his gorgeous face but now is not the time.

Bobby looks like he is struggling to stay silent as he shifts in his seat. Now that he has expressed his emotions, nothing will stop until the weight he has been carrying around is set free. It's my turn to bring comfort, so I lace our fingers together and shift closer to him.

When Bobby looks at me, his red puffy eyes expose his vulnerability. The thought of kissing his face again pops into my head, but I settle on bringing his hand to my lips and placing a kiss on top of his fingers. "Listen here, Bobby Walker. I know that you have something you want to say to me, but you won't until you know that I am okay." I kiss his hand once more and say, "I'm okay, I promise."

Bobby looks up with a smile that could brighten the darkest room. The glowing sun hits his cheeks, and God gives me a quick preview of heaven. "I don't want to mess this up. I've waited too long for this, Winnie."

"It's impossible for you to mess anything up."

With a deep pull of fresh air, Bobby exhales through pursed lips. His whole body, from his shoulders all the way down to our conjoined hands, relaxes. "I liked you when we were in middle school, Winnie. But our friendship meant more to me than anything, and I didn't want to ruin it. I don't know if that makes any sense or not, but it did to me at the time. When I met Jackie, I liked her and thought I would give it a shot.

I was happy for a while, but when you and Richie got together, it proved how stupid I was. I know it was horrible of me. It took someone who saw how amazing you are to come around before I realized how deep my feelings ran. I saw the way you looked at him," Bobby pauses and severs our connected gaze. Hanging his head, shaking it side to side as if trying to physically remove a painful memory. "All I could think of is how you used to look at me like that."

Seeing him this distraught pulls at my heartstrings. I gently tug on Bobby's arm to get his attention. "Bobby, listen, I can't say that Richie didn't mean anything to me. He will always have a special place in my heart, but our relationship had an expiration date. We knew we would go our separate ways after high school. Richie is a part of my past, but we have a future ahead of us, one that I want to give a shot."

The gold flecks in Bobby's eyes make me feel like I have just won the jackpot. He lets out a happy chuckle that will be the best song I hear this weekend. "Yeah?"

A smile so wide pulls at the corners of my mouth that it hurts my cheeks. "Yeah."

The two of us stare at one another like love-sick fools until a helicopter flies overhead. As the noisy rumbling sound of its rotating blades gets closer, a loud cheer erupts from the crowd. Although I want to savor this moment with Bobby, I can't help but wonder what is going on outside of our little bubble.

"We should head back," I say as I nod my head in the direction of our tent.

Bobby stands first and asks, "Can I hold your hand?"

"You, Bobby Walker, can hold my hand whenever you want."

With a smile, I reach for Bobby, and together, we walk off to find out what's waiting for us.