“You’re a little scary,” he whispered, turning to look into her eyes.

Casey knew he was trying to be serious, but she had to laugh. “Me? You’d pretty much only seen me in sweatpants and knew I had nothing but eggs and beer in the fridge. If I’m scary, it’s because I’m the loser monster that follows young kids around, providing ample fodder for their parents to issue warnings about what will happen if they don’t do their homework and wind up with too many cats.”

Ben smirked and shook his head. “Something tells me you always did your homework. And last time I checked, you don’t have any cats.”

“Only because I’m not responsible enough to take care of them. I can’t even keep a house plant alive.”

“Overrated skills,” he said. “And you should try a jade plant. You can neglect them to your heart’s content and they’ll live.”

“Tried it,” she countered. “I was expertly negligent and still it died.”

He pressed his lips together, trying not to laugh. “You are a special one.”

“See?” she said. “Not scary.”

“Only scary to a houseplant.”

“Which you are not.”

“But I’m serious.” Ben brought the conversation back around. “You are. You’re beautiful, smart, thoughtful, observant, kind, and an incredible artist—I mean really—and you withstand subzero temperatures—”

“The water’s not that cold,” she objected, but he shook his head.

“Don’t interrupt me when I’m complimenting you. It’s intimidating to be around someone who’s basically the whole package. And intimidating because, how do I even get her attention when she has no reason to glance my way? And then, oh my god, what do I do if she actually does?” He shook his head.

“You’re crazy,” Casey murmured, not sure what to make of this boy who clearly hadn’t been around enough women to know that Casey was anything but special, and far from scary.

“I guess I’ve never known anyone who felt this real,” he whispered so quietly, it was almost as if he hasn’t spoken.

There was a long pause. Casey had no idea how to respond. There was no way to explain how deeply she had longed for him to come back, and your dimples make my heart beat like a bongo set didn’t exactly have the right ring. It was crazy, when she thought about how little they actually knew each other.

But it was even crazier to pretend that after what they’d just shared, they could return to their lives pretending that nothing had changed.

“I think I really like you,” Ben finally said. Quietly, in that embarrassed tone he got that made her want to kiss him all over.

But instead she laughed. “You think?” She raised an eyebrow.

“I know,” he whispered in her ear, his breath shooting arrows down her spine. “I’ve had way too long to think about it, and I know.”