I wake up with light streaming onto my face from an unfamiliar window. I had fallen asleep with Harry's arms wrapped around me. I know that nothing more happened but my family doesn't know that. I scramble up to find my phone.

Fell asleep on the couch at Harry's. Be home soon.

I hope my mom believes the quick text. She should – it's true. I hope she knows me better than to think I would have done anything else with Harry. I wake Harry with a quick kiss and yelp, "I have to go!"

He stretches and looks at the clock, "Yeah, you do!"

After another kiss, I rush to my truck. The engine creaks and groans with the cold but it starts on the first try and I'm on my way.

Fiona is sitting in the kitchen at home with two cups of coffee. As soon as I enter, she motions to the second cup. "It's for you," she smiles mischievously. "I saw the text on Mom's phone. She's still asleep. Now, spill, or I will disown you."

I feel a flash of embarrassment and guilt. I have always felt a substantial amount of responsibility to set a good example for my younger sister. Now I feel like I've thrown all of that out the window with my seemingly blatant indiscretion.

"Nothing happened!" I begin in earnest.

"Oh, gosh, I know that!" I'm sure my face is visibly relieved as Fiona reassures me that she believes the best about me. She continues, "I just want to know more about the guy who's stolen my sister's heart."

"Is it that obvious? Oh, my gosh, Fi, I've only known him for a few weeks! What is wrong with me?" I then proceed to pour out every bit of information about Harry and me.

And about Harry.

About his accident.

About our first kisses the night before.

Every time I think that Fiona has got to be getting bored with my re-telling of every detail, I look at her and find her gaze completely fixed on my face, eagerly awaiting the next part of our tale. When I think I've told her every possible thing that has happened in the past week, I ask, "Do you think I'm crazy, Fi? I can't really be in love already...can I?"

Fiona responds with a very unhelpful, "Who knows?" Followed by a shrug and a huge, playful grin as she sips more of her coffee.

"Thanks a lot," I roll my eyes at her. But then I lean over to hug her and tell her that I'm glad she's finally up to speed on my love life.

I start to clean up the dishes that have been left from the night before. My mom stumbles in and heads for the coffee. She is about to reach for her phone and it occurs to me that I could have erased that message. She doesn't even know I was out all night. Why didn't I think of that before she woke up?

But it's too late, and sure enough, a moment later, she holds up her phone and questions: "Kate?"

"Yeah," I say, and then cough to clear the nervousness out of my throat. "Harry and I talked almost all night, and we fell asleep...on his couch," I emphasize. I'm trying very hard to sound casual, but my apprehension is getting the better of me.

She breaks out a "mom sigh," one of those breaths that she holds in her cheeks for a moment and then blows out all once. "I'm disappointed in you," she finally says.

I turn sharply and insist, "Mom, nothing happened."

"Yes, I know, but I think you're getting way too serious about Harry. You just met him."

"I'm getting way too serious because we stayed up talking?" I ask, incredulous at her reasoning. "It's because we've spent a lot of time together already that I think I know him pretty well."

"You think?" She asks with a little barbed edge to her voice. "You only think that because you've spent so much time with him." It's hard to argue with my mom when she uses circular logic. "Your feelings are already far too involved because you've already spent the night with him for heaven's sake!"

I no longer try to control my volume when I shout at my mother, "Mom, you make it sound like I slept with him, which I did not! You said you believed me when I told you we stayed up talking. So what?! You could have a little more faith in me; you know, trust that I'm not stupid enough to have sex with a guy I just met!"

My mom employs another one of her famous "mom tools" and brings her voice down to almost a whisper, but her words are still sharp and biting, "Katherine, I believe you, but you are not making very good choices. You just met him and regardless of what you say, you don't really know him yet. You cannot possibly be in love after a few weeks."

"Who said anything about being in love?" I yell. "I never said I was in love with him!" I storm off to my room. As much as I want to slam the door, I resist because I don't want to act the way my mom is treating me, which is like a child. But as soon as the door is locked, I burst into tears of indignation, embarrassment, and frustration.

I also have a twinge of of guilt about lying to my mom.

Because I think maybe I am in love.

When I've sufficiently recovered from the debate with my mom, I text Dani: Spent the night with Harry. I can't control my giggling as I sit back and wait for her response.

Exactly 2 minutes and 48 seconds later, my phone buzzes. Dani's voice on the other end screams, "What???"

I'm laughing hysterically. "We fell asleep on his couch talking!"

"Well, that sounds a little more like you, Kate. Sheesh, I was freaking out for a second there."

"I noticed."

"So? Tell me more," she presses.

I begin with the information that I learned the night before, about Harry's accident. "I didn't mention this before – I wasn't sure if it was important – but he walks with these crutches, Lofstrand crutches is what he called them. They wrap around his upper arm and he rests his hands on grips to help him control them. He moves really fast on them. Oh, and...we kissed last night."

"YEAH, he moves fast!" She laughs. "You kissed him already? My best friend who waits the whole school year to kiss her first boyfriend? Sounds like the crutches don't hold him back at all."

She slows down a little bit and then cautiously suggests, "Just be careful, okay?"

"Great." I'm sure my voice has a twinge of disappointment. "You're starting to sound like my mom. She thinks I can't possibly be in love yet."

"When love is right, it's right. I trust your judgment more than anyone. But I don't want you to fall for him before you know if he's serious about you. If he breaks your heart, I will have to break his legs for good!"

"DANI!"

A knock at my door drags me away from putting the finishing touches on my makeup.

"Come in," I call.

My dad makes his way over to my bed and sits down. He does that a lot. It's one of my favorite places to talk to my dad, in the comfort of my own room. I always feel safe here, and my dad's demeanor adds to the effect. He always knows what to say and how to say it.

"So, did Mom talk to you?" I venture.

Dad nods.

"You believe me, right?" I question.

"Of course, I believe you, Kate. You're a smart girl and I trust you."

I breathe a sigh of relief.

"But Mom has a point, you know," he continues. If it was my mom talking, I might have rolled my eyes. But somehow, I can receive the words better from my dad. "I really like Harry. You know I do. I trust him, too. But you're spending so much time with him that I don't want your heart to get ahead of your brain. I hope he has good intentions, but I don't want you to get your heart broken. He's been through a lot, and he still has a long road ahead of him with medical school, especially being disabled."

I swallow hard. "I know, Dad."

"And I do want you to be careful not to get yourself into a situation where you can lose control of your emotions and make the wrong choices." My face turns bright red. My dad has never, I mean never, talked to me about sex before but I know that's what he's alluding to.

"I know," I insist, my voice catching in my throat as a whisper.

"You have something special that you don't want to give away to the wrong person. Or before it's the right time, which is when you're married," he emphasizes.

I give my dad a stronger, "Oh my gosh, I know!" I wish my bed would open up and swallow me whole.

He's definitely pushing the conversation out of my comfort zone. But he presses on, telling me quietly, "I think Harry might have some promise, though. Like," he shrugged, "he might even be the one."

I look at him with surprise. He chuckles a little and then finishes by saying, "But I still want you to guard your feelings...and the rest of you. Just be careful, okay?"

I hug my dad and confirm, "Of course, Daddy."

* * * * *

Anyone else ever have an uncomfortable conversation with their parents about sex? LOL. I never really talked to my parents about it, but my kids have ALL KINDS OF QUESTIONS. I do not embarrass very easily, but there have been a few times I've been pretty red in the face. Just so you know - it's hard for parents to talk to their kids about sex, too, haha.

Part 1 of a Double Update!