Anne and her daughter Gemma left shortly after Harry. It was great to finally meet her kids. I was excited they were around my age. Gemma was really nice, I could tell we were going to get along well. Harry, he was nice too, maybe too nice. There was just something about him that made me uneasy. Though he was nothing but kind so I had no reason to be on edge around him. I needed my bestie. I pulled out my phone and shot a quick text her way.

meet @ the park in 5? -Sadie

It didn't take her long to respond.

sure! b there soon! -Kara

I grabbed my favorite powder blue hoodie from my room and slipped my phone in the pocket. I whizzed by my dad, who was cleaning up in the kitchen, and out the back door.

"I'm going to meet Kara at the park!" I yelled over my shoulder.

"Alright, be back before the sun goes down." I heard my dad's voice call back.

I grabbed my bike from the yard and pushed it to the front. I hopped on once I got to the sidewalk and started down the road. At 19 I still didn't have my own car. My dad let me drive his when I needed it, but there was something about riding my bike that I loved. I wasn't restricted to just the streets. I could go anywhere my bike could roll. But Kara had her own car so anytime we wanted to go anywhere farther than I was willing to pedal, she'd pick me up.

I could see the park as I came around a corner. Kara's yellow BMW beetle was parked along the street. We lived about the same distance from the park, just in opposite directions. It was our safe haven. It's where we would always meet to discuss anything we weren't comfortable saying at our houses within earshot of parents.

I rode my bike right up to the edge of the park and leaned it against the fence, not bothering to lock it up, it was safe here. I headed straight for the swings where Kara was waiting for me, and sat beside her.

"Hey! So did you meet them?" Kara asked, not wasting any time. I just nodded as she continued. "So what were Anne's kids like? How old are they? Are they boys or girls?"

I laughed a little at how interested she was, she was like a reporter, always wanting all the details. "They were both really nice. It's one boy and one girl. Both about our age, though I don't know exactly."

"So...?" Kara prodded. "Is the guy hot?"

I instantly felt my face get warm and I looked down at my feet, digging the toe of my shoe into the mulch.

Kara just gasped and squealed at my reaction. "Yes! I knew it! Ugh, god you're so lucky! So what's his deal? Is he single? What does he look like?"

"Whoa calm down. I don't know if he's single, we didn't talk about that. I doubt he'd be single though. He's got brown hair that looks really soft, and these green eyes that just penetrate you straight to your soul. He has this lovely smile and seems to like to laugh a lot. He's tall and thin, but has this muscular build you wouldn't expect. And when he hugs you its like being welcomed home after a long trip, you just feel safe like its where you belong and..." I trail off noticing Kara staring at me wide eyed. "What?"

"Don't you 'What?' me. Could you want him more?"

"I don't 'want' him, that's crazy. His mom is dating my dad, that'd be weird."

"Eh weird schmeird. It's not like you're actually related, he's fair game if you ask me."

I sighed, Kara, always the horn dog.

The conversation turned to lighter topics as we began to swing. We laughed at each other whenever we swung too far apart to hear what the other had said. My phone beeped in my pocket, alerting me to a new message. I slowed down and pulled it out. A crease formed between my brows as I saw it was from an unknown number. I opened it hesitantly, hoping it wasn't some spam message that was going to kill my phone. My breath caught and I stopped my swinging completely. It was from him.

Hey its Harry -H

Kara stopped swinging as well as she took notice of me staring at my phone.

"What is it?" She asked.

I looked at her, "It's Harry. I never gave him my number."

Kara quirked an eyebrow, "Well this just got interesting." She said with a smile. "Ask him how he got it." She encouraged.

I quickly typed in the message, hit send and waited.

*beep beep*

I asked my mom to get it from your dad. Hope that's alright. -H

I read the text aloud to Kara.

"Way to take the initiative. I think I like this guy." She said with a smirk. "Well tell him its alright, what are you waiting for?"

I sighed, typing in my reply and hitting send again.

"What are you huffing at?" Kara prodded. "He clearly has an interest in you." She stuck her tongue between her teeth and gave me a wink.

"Oh come on, Kara! His mom is dating my dad! He's just being friendly, that's how he is."

"Mhmm...well he can be 'friendly' with me if he wants."

"Kara!"

"What?!"

"You've never even seen him before."

"Well by your description, I don't need to see him. I just need to feel him!"

"Oh my god!" I face palmed myself. "I'm going home now. The sun is about to set."

"Aw you're no fun." Kara pouted. "Admit it though, you do have a little thing for this guy."

I sighed and chewed on my bottom lip. I hated when she was right.

*beep beep*

Would you like to come see my band practice tomorrow? -H

I showed the message to Kara who simply said, "What? Do you want my permission? Say yes!"

Sure, when and where? -Sadie

He sent back an address along with a time of 2pm.

"Okay, I'm really leaving now." I hugged Kara goodbye and hopped on my bike as the sky turned to amber.

A/N: If you've taken the time to start this story, I hope you're liking it so far. I've definitely got some plans for this one. Hope you stick around to find out what they are! Please let me know what you think so far. =]

DCMurphy