“Mom,” Nicole said, holding up her Middle of Nowhere CD, “check this out. It’s Ike, Taylor, and Zac’s CD! Maybe we could listen to it when- -”

“Honey, please,” her mother said. “I’m trying to pack for your father and myself in record time, and I just don’t have time.”

“Oh,” Nicole said, “okay mom. Sorry to bother you.” But her mother didn’t seem to hear her. She silently stood and walked from the room, running up the stairs to her father’s study. Her father was hurriedly grabbing papers and files from his desk. “Hey dad,” she began.

“Not now dear,” her father said quickly. Nicole snapped her mouth shut and began to wander around the room aimlessly. “Nic, please,” he continued, in the same tone her mother had used, gently ushering her to the door. “We’re in a hurry. Why don’t you go study your geometry? Sasha told us that you were doing very well in that subject.”

“Then what do I need to study it for?” Nicole muttered under her breath. But as her mother, he didn’t seem to hear either. Nicole walked slowly to her room and dropped down onto the bed. She picked up the phone from her bedside table and dialed Taylor’s number quickly. Isaac answered on the third ring.

“Hey Ike,” she said. “Can I speak to Taylor?”

“Sorry Nic,” Isaac replied, “Tay went to the grocery store with mom and Zac.”

“Oh, okay,” Nicole said, almost in tears now. “I....I’ll just call him later. Bye Ike,” she said, hanging up quickly. She felt warm tears rush to the corners of her eyes and spill over. She buried her face in the pillow, feeling completely alone.

“Nic,” he said, “Are you okay? You sounded really upset on the phone.”

“Yeah,” Nicole said, then, “well, no actually, but I, I’m.....Ike, I’m all alone!” she stuttered, a whole new batch of tears falling down her face. Isaac sat down in the hammock beside her. He pulled her up, wrapping her in a hug. “I, I don’t know what to do,” she said.

“Ssshhhh....,” he said, smoothing her hair back behind her ears. “Do you want to talk about it?” he asked her. She nodded and proceded to tell him the events of the day and everything she had kept inside for such a long time. He was a great listener. When she was done, he had laid down beside her and was nodding his head intently. “Nicole, you know that your parents love you,” he said. “They were just in a hurry, and they got a little preoccupied. Plus you have all of your friends. You aren’t alone; Never think that.” He shifted onto his side, where she laid silently, except for the occasional sniffle.

“Th....thanks for listening to me Isaac,” she said. “No one has ever bothered to do that before; besides Tay. You’re a great friend.” She smiled weakly at him and he leaned over, wiping the tears from her eyes. His thumb touched her lip softly, and she gazed up into his deep, dark eyes.

Isaac didn’t notice that he was leaning forward until his lips met Nicole’s. He pressed them against hers gently, and she responded a few seconds later, first tensing and then relaxing into Isaac’s embrace. She ran her fingers through his long blond hair and he moved his lips from her face to her neck.

“Ike...," she began, but he put his finger to her lips, then replaced it again with his mouth. Their kisses became more passionate, and soon Nicole felt herself drifting into a wonderful feeling of bliss.

"Isaac! Honey, are you home?" they heard Mrs. Hanson call suddenly. Nicole sat up and pushed Isaac away.

"There's your mom!" she cried. Isaac jumped swiftly out of the hammock, and began striding across the yard.

"I'll call you later," Isaac called behind him. Nicole hugged her knees to her chest, still sitting in the hammock.

What just happened?, she wondered. She had just kissed her best friend's brother, and her other friend's longtime crush. She felt incredibly guilty over the last part. Then she heard the phone ringing in her house, so she quickly jumped up and ran inside to answer it.

"Hello," she said.

"Nicole....hi," Isaac's voice said over the phone. "I um, well, our dad is grilling out burgers tonight, and I wanted to know if you would want to, um, come over?"

"Oh," Nicole said. "Well, of course I'd like to come. When do I need to come over?"

"Right now would be great," Isaac said, a little too quickly. "Yeah, sometime soon."

"I'm on my way," she said, grabbing her house key. She hung up the phone and put her hand to her forehead. She was burning up, but she knew that she wasn't sick. "What am I about to do?" she said aloud to herself, closing the door behind her as she walked down the back steps.