I had my hand shoved up my shirt and the hottest guy from school was standing right in front of me. I couldn't have been any dorkier. My hand fell out of my shirt as my face flushed.

Joshua King was one of the school's track runners and hottest guy ever. He was perfect in my eyes: brown hair that glinted almost caramel in any kind of sunlight, bright dark eyes that looked like they held unbelievable knowledge, and his face. There was something about his face that drew me to him. Maybe it was the tender look in his eyes as he gazed at me, or maybe it was the soft features that could morph into the world's prettiest smile.

Finlay broke me out of my trance by crossing her arms and saying, "What are you doing here? We're barely even friends."

Her lips curved down in a slight frown as Joshua smiled at the two of us. "I was getting bored," Joshua said, leaning against the doorframe. His muscles bulged under his shirt, and I had to look away, fighting the urge to fan myself. "Can't I spend some quality time with my neighbor?"

"Don't you have friends that you could spend time with?"

"I don't want them to get hurt," he replied, glancing at the snow outside. "Besides, they're all busy."

Joshua waited for a second before turning around, as if to leave, and Finlay looked at me. "Fine, Joshua. Stay. My dad is leaving soon for work so he wouldn't mind. But let me go ask him anyway. Grace, stay here and keep him company."

"But - Fin - Don't -" Terror raced through my body as Finlay gave me a very noticeable thumbs up before turning on her heel and walking away. "Fin!" I paused before turning back to Joshua slowly, and I plastered a smile on my face. "Hi." I waved slightly, wishing I wasn't so awkward.

Joshua's eyes sparkled slightly as he waved back. "Hello," he replied, dropping into a bow. He chuckled as he stood back up.

"What was that for?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

"I felt the need."

Joshua smiled again, his eyes crinkling into a smile as well. When he smiled, his whole face seemed to smile with his mouth, not those fake smiles people usually did. He had a true, bright smile that seemed to glow; Joshua had a glow around him, as well. He always had a positive attitude and helped anyone whenever he could.

That's what I really liked about him. He didn't care if he was popular or that he was the star runner; he cared about people in general. He was a rare fish in a sea of sharks.

I laughed, brushing a lock of my red hair behind my right ear. "Do you want to come inside?" I gestured to the snow outside, saying, "It's pretty cold out there."

"Yeah, that -"

I felt Finlay's presence next to me so Joshua silenced himself, waiting for the verdict.

"So, Dad said to give him like two minutes because he wants to leave," Finlay told Joshua.

"Got it." Joshua nodded. "I gotta go set something up. I'll be back."

"Set what up?"

Joshua's eyes sparked as he shrugged. "I have no clue what you are talking about."

"Joshua -"

Joshua walked to his fenced in backyard before Finlay could make him answer her. She rolled her eyes as we both heard the outrageous shout of her father, complaining that all the heat was rushing outside. She slammed the door with her foot, and her hands rubbed circles onto her bare arms as she said, "Do you even know why Josh wants to come over here?"

"How would I know? I barely talked to him," I said, poking Finlay's arm. "I was caught off guard when you left me alone with him."

Finlay laughed, reminding me of a bird soaring across the blue sky. "You should've seen your face. It was pretty priceless. You looked like a frickin' firetruck."

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks a lot. Now he probably knows."

"Hey, he could just think you're a really awkward person," Finlay said, shaking her head with a smile.

"That's even better!"

Finlay laughed as her father appeared behind the two of us. "Alrighty, I'm leaving. I'll see you girls later."

"Bye, Dad," Finlay said, glancing at him. Her jaw clenched so I waved to Mr. Peterson.

"I'm gonna lock the front door, okay? I doubt you two will need to use it."

"Okay."

Finlay's dad walked away, and I heard the door shut, the lock clicking in place. "We better go tell Josh that he can come over. I vote you talk to him."

"Fin! You know I can't!" I opened the back door. I was shoved outside before I could even put my jacket on. The door clicked shut as I glared at Fin.

"Where is Joshua?" Finlay asked, looking around for him.

"Well, I have no clue." I brushed some snow off the railing of the deck to lean against it. "Joshua?"

Finlay and I were caught by surprise as snowballs started flying toward us. One hit Finlay square in the forehead, and she growled in anger. Laughter echoed through the backyard as Joshua stepped out from behind a tree. Finlay was gathering snow herself, but I put my hand on her arm, trying to make her stop. "Come on, Fin, let's just go inside. Joshua can freeze out here for all I care."

"Got it."

I hated the cold so much, and it sucked being outside without a jacket. And when I was cold, it was not good to be around me.

I stepped over to the door and the cool metal tickled my palm as I grabbed the freezing door knob. I twisted my wrist, but it didn't open. I frowned. The door couldn't have been frozen shut, but I tried to kick the door in hopes that it would open. A searing pain made its way through my foot as the door stayed shut.

"Oh," Finlay said, pausing in front of the door. "I forgot about how this door works. Do you remember how my door is weird?"

"No."

"You can unlock the deadbolt and not unlock the knob to get outside. That means that the knob on the inside is still locked."

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" I hissed.

"We're kind of locked out of the house."

"Fin!" I yelled, rubbing my bare arms. I cursed myself for wearing short sleeves. "How could you forget something as important as that?"

"I'm sorry," Finlay said, shrugging. "I forgot to unlock it."

Joshua stepped onto the deck. "Did I hear you guys were locked out of the house?"

"Why, yes we are," I said to him, wrapping my arms around my stomach. "Such a great day, isn't it?" I raised my arms for a second, pointing to the snow surrounding us. That chilled me right to the bone, so I wrapped my arms back around myself. "We are locked out of her house, and it's about ten degrees out here."

"Grace -" Finlay started to say but Joshua cut her off before she could say anything else.

"How about you two calm down. There is no need to be this angry at each other," Joshua said, stepping in between the two of us. "Just go over to my house. No one is home at the moment so you two can go over there and warm up. I was making hot chocolate because you guys allowed me to come over." We didn't move so Joshua said, "Do you want me to walk you to my house? I'll even stand in between you two."

His hand was like a furnace on my skin, sending chills through my spine. We walked with him through Finlay's yard to his. His hand honestly felt so good in mine, and I never wanted to let go. Thankfully, he took his hand out of Fin's to open the door. He kept his hand firmly on the knob of the back door as he said, "Any room is okay to be in. To the right is the kitchen and to the left is the living room with blankets. Need anything else?"

"Thanks," Finlay told him. Before walking inside, she glanced at me. But instead of saying anything, she disappeared from my line of vision.

"Be careful of my dog, Charlie. He loves people but the way he shows it . . . it isn't very nice," Joshua said, grabbing my elbow before I entered his house.

My heart hammered in my chest as I realized just how close we were. His fingers were sending shockwaves through my body, but I focused on what he said. "Fin has been terrified of dogs since she was a little girl."

I was honestly surprised I formed a coherent sentence.

"And how come I don't know this? We are neighbors, after all and I have a dog," Joshua said, furrowing his brow. That was so adorable.

"Maybe because she is a vampire."

Joshua laughed as he let go of my arm. "See you in a little bit. Try not to wreck the house."

"Where are you going?" I asked him before he could walk away from me.

"I'm gonna shovel my driveway. I'll probably do Finlay's driveway as well since she's my neighbor."

"Don't get frostbitten!" I said as he started walking away.

"I won't!" he called back. "The cold never bothered me anyway!"

I laughed as I entered his house. My feet faltered when I walked through the small hallway to his living room. Pictures were hung up on the walls, showing stiff family portraits. Everything looked like it was in its place for a reason. The living room was the same, with a TV perched on the mantle of a fireplace, surrounded by built in bookshelves. I reached out to touch a beautiful guitar in the corner when a scream pierced the air. I jumped away from the guitar, stubbing my foot on the coffee table.

"Fin?" I called out, heading to where I thought I heard the scream come from. I put on a brave face as my toe throbbed against the inside of my shoe.

A whimper alerted my ears, and I walked into a bedroom to see Finlay pinned against the wall by a large yellow mass with a wagging tail. "Come here, boy," I said, calling the dog. "Charlie, come."

I bent down as the golden retriever ran to me. His tongue lolled out of his mouth, and he planted his large paws on my shoulders. My back hit the ground, and he tried licking my face. "I definitely see what Joshua was talking about," I muttered, struggling under the dog. However, he was just so cute and cuddly that I let a giggle escape.

"Grace, what are you doing?" Finlay's voice shook as she moved away from the dog and me.

"It's okay, Fin," I said, finally pushing the big dog off of me. "He's sweet. He won't bite your arm like that other dog did. See? He is a big baby."

I gently reached out and pulled Finlay's hand to Charlie's head, but she jerked away. "It's okay," I told her. "You don't have to pet him yet. Do you want me to lock him in a room while we're here?"

Finlay nodded. I grabbed Charlie's collar and pulled him into another bedroom. "Stay here boy," I said. "Be good."

He wagged his tail and barked. "I love you too, Charlie."

I shut the door quickly and went back to where Finlay was. My arms were around her in an instant. She was shaking so I rubbed my hand along her back. I whispered, "I'm sorry."

The sorry was for more than just the dog, and I could tell Finlay knew that.

"I know you are. You obviously can never stay mad at me."

I pushed Finlay away from me, but I couldn't keep the smile off my face. "Wow, Fin. Wow," I said. "I was trying to apologize and you have to be your egotistical self."

"I sure have to."

We laughed and Finlay sat down on the bed. "Join me," she said, patting the spot next to her.

"Don't you care whose bed you are sitting on?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

"Not really."

I laughed as she sat down next to Finlay. "Ooh, this bed is sure comfy," I muttered, patting the bed.

"Grace," Finlay said with a snort, "stop being a dork."

"I can't. Besides," I said, wrapping an arm around Finlay's shoulders, "I'm your dork."

"True that."

There was a knock on the open door, and my eyes slid up to Joshua's face. "Oh, I see you chose my room," he said, smiling his signature grin.

"Your bed is very comfy," I said, leaning back on it.

"Why, yes I know that," Joshua said with a laugh. "I sleep on it every night."

"I wish I could sleep on it every night," I said, happily sighing. Finlay hit my arm, and my eyes went wide with understanding. "I mean, not with you. I meant that I wish I could sleep on it by myself. Not with you."

Joshua nodded while he smiled. "I understood from the beginning," he said. "You didn't have to explain."

"Oh. Yeah."

When I couldn't have thought it would get any better than talking to my crush, I had to be my awkward self. I didn't meet Joshua's eyes as Finlay helped me up off his bed.

"So," Finlay said, not sounding awkward at all, "we probably have to stay here until either my step-mother or my father comes home."

"That's fine," Joshua said, nodding. "I'm just happy that I'm not alone today."

Finlay nodded. "Thank you so much, Joshua," she said, looking up at him.

He smiled. "Of course. How could I let two women freeze out in the cold?"

"Don't call us women again, buddy," Finlay said with a smile on her face.

"Okay," he said, nodding. "What are you? Aliens?"

I watched helplessly, staying silent, as Finlay talked to Joshua.. I wished it were that easy to talk to him; I just got so tongue-tied that I could barely form coherent sentences. I wished talking to guys was as easy as it was when Finlay did it.