At nine o'clock, she took her stash and poured champagne into a tall kitchen glass to look like ginger ale. With a blanket she went down on the beach to wait for Peter. Finally, after what seemed like forever, she saw his headlights and ran up the driveway.

"You're here!"

"You're happy!"

"I am now. I was so bored." She exaggerated. "Sit, I've got food."

"What have you been drinking?"

"Champagne. Here." She handed him a half-filled glass.

"I'm driving. Plus, I can't get thrown off the team."

"Stay over. Then you'll be here for work in the morning."

"No. I was wondering something. Why didn't you invite Libby tonight?"

"Because I didn't want to and besides I broke up with him last night."

"What! You did. Why?"

"Because I was tired of fighting him off. I just didn't like him enough. Not like that, I need to be in love."

"Good. You need to value yourself. You're too special not to."

Megan felt good. Sitting there with Pete, she could smell him. He was a combination of soap and fresh bread from pizza dough. She knew the champagne gave her courage when she took his hand. "Besides, I like someone else."

Pete swallowed. "Who?"

"You." She leaned in, ignored his shocked expression and kissed him on his lips.

She pulled away and to say she was sorry, but his hands were in her hair, pulling her mouth back to his. He kissed her like no kiss she had ever had. She felt her nerves tingle throughout her body. His lips were soft and strong and not at all sloppy like Libby's kisses.

Finally, pulling away, he said, "I didn't think you liked me."

She nodded. "It's okay if you don't like me. We can forget it happened."

"Forget! I never want to forget this moment. I have wanted to kiss you for so long."

She looked into his eyes. "You have."

"Yes, I've liked you since second grade."

"What? Why?"

"Because that awful day before Father's Day, you looked at me like you cared and then at lunch."

"What happened at lunch?"

"You don't remember? You gave me your cookies. Not ordinary Chips Ahoy, but homemade. The best I had ever tasted. I never tasted anything so good until the first day I came here,"

"You ate half the plate." She giggled, but then she sobered. "If you liked me why did you ask you know who out?"

"Because I heard you with your friends convincing them we were just friends, I figured that you didn't like me."

"I thought we were just friends. Why would you like me?"

"Why wouldn't I? You're smart; you're beautiful. I wanted to tell you, but I turned my back and you were going out with Libby."

"What was I supposed to do? You had your sleazy cling on." She protested.

He put his hand in her hair. "No cling on and no Libby. It's just you and me."

He kissed her again, and she felt her head spin. When he used his tongue, she opened her lips to meet it with her own. Finally breaking apart, he whispered, "This is better than my dreams."

"Mine too."

"Will your parent's mind?"

"Mind! They love you. They never understood why I was with Jake and not you. I hope we don't ruin our friendship."

He looked serious. "Never. We will never break up."

Her heart skipped a beat at his words and she asked, "Never?"

"Never." He confirmed.

They sat on the blanket on the beach. The sky was full of stars. She fed him bites of food and in between they kissed. It was the best night of her life.

He asked, "You won't regret this tomorrow after your champagne wears off. Are you?"

"No! I sobered up the moment you said you liked me."

"Did I say that?" He teased.

"Yes, since second grade." She teased back, as they were playing with each other's hands.

"In second grade and eighth grade and..."

"Eighth grade!" she exclaimed, "I hated you in eighth grade."

"I was showing off, because I liked you. I guess it didn't work."

"Nope, but something changed this year. You became my friend and..."

"And now you want to kiss me."

"Yes, please."

Eventually they pulled their lips apart, and she walked him to his car.

"Call me when you get home?"

"Okay," He smiled his beautiful smile.

Only a few of her parents' close friends were left at the party. When she walked in, she tried to wipe the smile off her face, but couldn't.

Her father noticed her. "There she is. I thought Peter was coming over."

"He did. We sat on the beach," she said.

Her mother's close friend Judy said, "Looks like someone has a boyfriend." She turned to Marie. "Do we like him?"

Her mother raised her eyebrows. "We love him, but the last we knew they were just friends."

Judy's husband Todd said, "I'm not so sure. Someone is blushing."

That was all Megan heard, as she scurried off to her room to wait for his call. They spoke for a few minutes, but it was Pete who reminded her they needed to be at work early.

Megan arrived at The Landing right as Peter was pulling into the lot. She had left the house before her parents woke, so she had yet to face them.

"Good morning." She smiled at him.

"Come here," he said as he was getting out of the car. She walked over, and he kissed her. Then he took her hand, and they walked in together.

Peter was still learning the ropes, but he picked it up quickly. They had fun and suddenly anytime they bumped into each other something that always happened, Megan felt a flip in her belly.

During a lull she asked, "Are you working later?"

"No, but my mother's off and I promised her I'd come home. I think my sisters are gonna be home too."

"Okay. We'll always have the library." She joked.

When they finished their shift, they walked out together.

"I'll drive you home."

Once in the car, he leaned across the center console and kissed her. When they separated he said, "I guess last night wasn't a dream."

She laughed. "You were the sober one."

"I'll be forever grateful to champagne."

She reluctantly got out of the car when he pulled into her driveway. She was smiling. They were only seventeen, but she believed Pete when he used words like never and forever.

Her mother was sitting in the kitchen with a cup of coffee in her hand.

"No, Peter today?"

"No. He went home." She tried to look normal when she spoke of him.

"You have the same smile just now as you had last night. Has something changed?"

Megan knew there was no way she could keep this a secret from her mother. "Promise you won't go crazy." She paused as her mother promised. "Peter likes me."

"That's not news."

"No, I mean really likes me. We, um, we kissed."

"Well, that's news. Except your father and I already knew you both really liked each other. We've been wondering how long it would take for you two realize it."

"You knew?"

"It's been obvious. We found it quite funny. We were wondering if we needed to intervene. I honestly thought it would take longer. Your father knew the minute you were done with Jake it would happen. He figured as soon as Peter heard he'd make his move."

"Mom! Make his move! That sounds like some gross guy at a nightclub. I'm the one who told him I liked him."

"Really? Good for you."

"So you're glad we're together?"

"Yes, Peter is a sweet, responsible young man. You know we both like him."

Megan didn't know what came over her, maybe she wanted to judge her mother's reaction, but she said, "Will you still like him, if we have sex?"

"Megan Marie! You are not a tart-let like his last girl, nor is he expecting you to be."

Megan went to her room to write about kissing Pete in her journal.

Author's note: Who are Judy and Todd Evans? They are good friends of Ed and Marie. Todd plays golf and they own the fish market on The Point. Their house is also on the map. Their daughter dated Drew in high school, but we'll learn more about that in the third book of this series.