today I didn’t even think you knew I existed,” I said looking away from him. I hated feeling this way; it was weak.

“Oh babe, are you serious?” he asked, pulling me back down to his arms. “Don’t ever say that. You don’t know how long I’ve been thinking about you.” He pulled me tighter to him and kissed my hair. “It’s just that your brother is always after my attention. I always ask him about you, but he quickly changes the subject and you always leave the room so I thought you didn’t like me.”

I pulled away from him and looked into his eyes. They were full of sincerity. What a fool I’d been wasting all this time avoiding him, I thought to myself.

“We’re both such fools,” I said.

He laughed and I did the same. He then pulled me back down to him and we laid back on the sofa, our bodies pressed together as one. In the hallway I heard Mark’s voice. “Tom, you up here?” he screamed from the end of the hallway. Neither one of us made a sound.