We've made our way back to my house, and my legs are starting to notice just how much walking I've been doing these past couple of days. My mom opens the door for us, and we all step in. My parents lead us all to the kitchen table. The parents introduce themselves with each other, and then my dad goes to get a board game from a closet upstairs. He comes back soon enough, and we chat and play.

"So, Evie, what do you do for a living?" my mom asks politely.

"Oh, I work part time as both a hairstylist and nail tech," she response in the same tone, "I'm working towards a degree online too, but classes are over currently."

"That's nice," my mom says with a smile I've come to learn means embarrassment is close by, "if things go well with these two, maybe I could get a discount." I watch as Ben has blush spread across his face and hides his head in his hands.

"Mom!" I yell at her without even thinking. I wasn't even doing it out of my own embarrassment, but out of Ben's.

"What? I'm just saying," she says with a laugh.

"I'll see what I can do," Evie says with a wink, and I am slowly starting to regret my decision of saying yes.

The game continues with less embarrassing conversations, and eventually, my dad wins. That got us to realize he's been pretty silent this whole game, and we all look at him rather suspiciously.

"What? I was focussing on the game," he eventually says, and we all go for another round.

"Now, Jeremy, why do you need to be so silent to concentrate?" Evie asks, clearly trying to throw him off his game.

"Simple, I don't; I just choose to be so people don't focus on me," he responds still laser focussed on the game.

"You take these games very seriously," she says almost impressed.

"I spent the first thirteen years of his life letting him win," he says motioning towards me, "now, it's my turn to win." Most people would think he's joking, but I know the truth. He not at all serious. I have the absolute blessing of having loving, accepting parents.

The round continues, and it eventually ends with my dad winning, again. We then play another round with the same outcome. Either my dad is really good at the game, or he’s really good at cheating.

After the utter annihilation we faced at the hands of my father, my mother turns to me and says, "take Ben up to your room; we're going to be talking between the parents."

"Can do," I say with a salute as I take Ben up to my room again. We get in there, and we plop onto my bed.

He looks around at everything before turning to me and saying, "I think our parents like each other."

"Yeah, but the real question is do we like each other?"

"Of course I like you," he says with a confused look on his face.

I take one of his hands in mine, "that's not what I meant."

He stares down at our interlaced fingers, and it hits him, "oh."

"Am I wrong?"

"No, it's just..., I don't want you to be forced to hide because your boyfriend is too scared to come out," he says looking down in disappointment.

I lift his head up to face me, and I look deep in his eyes to tell him, "I don't care if I can't be open about it; I have had a crush on you for years, and these few days have made me fall so deeply in love with you. Also, if I know anything about Max, he’s already spread news as far as he can. It’s just based on whether or not people believe him."

His eyes start to get watery, and I pull him into a tight hug. I feel him start to cry, and I start to rub his back in hopes of helping him a bit. He squeezes back, and his strong grip on me feels both crushing and comforting. I feel his heavy breathing bounce against my chest, and I can't help but get misty-eyed too. I love this boy, and I don't care how long I'll have to wait to show it.

He calms down enough to pull away and says, "would you want to go on date?"

I chuckle, "of course, silly; would you?"

He nods his head and pulls me back into a hug. This time he isn't crying, but he still has a tight grip on me. I love his strong arms around me. I rub my hand along his side, and we eventually pull away again to just look into each other's eyes.

After a bit of time, he asks something I wasn't expecting, "can I kiss you?"

I pull him into a gentle kiss. We're both clearly inexperienced, but we don't care. We are in love, and nothing is going to change that.

There is then a knock on my door, and we pull apart. In steps Evie, who clearly sees that she interrupted something. She then says, "I was going to say we should head home, but it looks like you two are busy." She takes a step like she's about to leave, but turns around and says, "I'm kidding, you can see each other whenever, but we should get going."

"Fine," Ben groans as he follows his mom. I follow too, so I can say goodbye to him at the door. We reach it, and while Evie is turned around, I kiss Ben on the cheek before he leaves.

I then go back to my room, and I just lay on my bed to think for a bit. I have a boyfriend now, and not just anyone, it's the guy I've had a crush on for years. This is the best summer ever, and it's only the first week. I have a feeling I should tell Gabby, but she can survive not knowing for now. Especially since I don’t know if Ben would be comfortable with that. He needs time, and I understand that.