Kara presses her phone to her ear. She paces around the apartment shaking her head. She's totally frantic.

"How are you not freaking out?" she asks.

"It's a lot to take in. I'm not sure how I feel."

She shakes her head and throws her phone onto the couch. "Drew isn't picking up. But they're probably at the house."

"It's almost one a.m."

"And the guy you love sent you a declaration. This is no time to wait!" She grabs her backpack and nearly tears it apart in search of her keys and wallet. "You okay wearing that?"

I look at my finals outfit. It's jeans and a t-shirt, not the thing of romantic declarations. I should throw on a princess dress and heels, something that would look as dramatic as this feels.

"Fuck it, wear that or I'm dressing you. You have five seconds to decide," she says.

"Will it be slutty?"

"Three seconds."

"Okay, dress me. No. It doesn't matter. Let's just go."

"Good thinking." She lunges for her phone, wraps her hand around my wrist, and nearly drags me outside. "I wish you could drive stick. I'm so nervous for you."

My heart thuds against my chest. My head is still swimming. Miles loves me. He trusts me. He respects me. This is everything I want.

"I'm so nervous for me," I say.

She fumbles with the lock. Checks the door twice. Then she drags me to her car.

Kara drives like a maniac. She breezes through yellow lights on her way to the freeway. She's at seventy, eighty, almost ninety.

"I'd rather get there alive," I say.

She slows down, but her fingers are tight around the wheel. She's almost more nervous than I am, but I don't think that's technically possible.

My stomach is tied up in knots. My heart is thumping against my chest like it's the freaking Jaws theme. And my breath—it's physically impossible, but I'm pretty sure I haven't taken a breath since I heard the song.

Kara pulls off the freeway. The Sinful mansion is way up in the Hollywood Hills. It's still another ten minutes to their place. Breathing would go a long way towards arriving alive.

I force myself to inhale, but it only heightens the tingling sensation in my body. The song might not mean he wants me. It might be an apology or an admission that ends in sorry, but it's over.

I close my eyes and force myself to exhale. Kara is here. Whatever happens, I'll survive.

But I'd much rather survive with Miles.

We turn onto one of the local streets, and we drive up, up, up the winding roads into the hills. The lights are on in the house, and Miles's car is in the driveway. His bike is there, too.

He must be here.

Kara parks and jumps out of the car. She's back to bouncing around, ready to knock down anything in her way. She's on my side this time. Thank God. I need the ally.

I climb out of the car. My feet feel wobbly. I'm in sneakers, but I can barely stand. Jelly. My legs are jelly. I press my palm against the car to stay upright.

What if he asks me to get lost? What if I misinterpreted everything?

"Come on." Kara grabs my hand and pulls me up the stone steps.

Somehow, I don't slip. I make it all the way to the oversized front door. Knock. I need to knock. I curl my fingers into a fist and tap it against the door. It barely makes a sound.

"I think I'm going to faint," I whisper.

Kara shakes her head. "You've got this." She presses the doorbell.

Ding. Dong. It really does make that sound, like the game we played when we were kids where we'd press the neighbor's doorbell, run away, and watch to see if they came out.

Ding Dong Ditch. And it sounds like a fantastic idea. Run away, never face Miles, never get the crushing news that he doesn't love me.

The door opens. Damn. That means we lose the game. It's Tom, and he's halfway undressed. Jeans. No t-shirt, no shoes. There's giggling in the background. Ah, there's a half-naked woman in the kitchen. His conquest of the day.

Or Miles's conquest of the day.

My heart thuds. If it keeps beating this fast and hard, it's going to burst right out of my chest.

"Jesus, what did he do now?" Tom asks.

Kara sticks her tongue out and steps inside.

"Come in, please." He rolls his eyes. "Should I call him? I don't even know where to start."

Kara rolls her eyes. "I'm more than happy to storm up to Miles's room and drag him down here."

"Give me a minute," Tom says. He makes some kind of signal to the half-naked woman then turns back to us. His lips purse and he exhales in a dramatic sigh. "He's fucking devastated, you know."

"Just get him," I say.

"You want to tell me what this is about?"

"Meg needs to speak with Miles. Get him or I will," Kara says.

"What do they need to speak about?" Tom folds his arms.

She glares at him like he's the source of all evil in the universe. "They're in love."

Tom raises an eyebrow. He looks at me as if to ask is this shit true?

I nod. As far as I know.

He finally drops the pout. "I hope you're right. But I'm going to do this the old-fashioned way." He pulls out his phone and dials Miles.

There's the faint sound of a ring. A door opens. Footsteps.

Miles appears at the top of the stairs. "You can't walk one fucking flight, Tom?" His eyes find mine, and the irritated scowl drops off his face.

He looks nervous. Miles, the rock star sex god, is nervous because of me.

"Meg. Hey." He clutches the banister on his way down the stairs. "Everything okay?"

I open my mouth, but no sounds come out. Deep breath. "I heard your song."

His lips curl into the tiniest smile. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." I press my fingers against my hips. "That one about me, too?"

He reaches the bottom of the stairs. "I haven't fallen in love with any other girls this year."

My breath catches in my throat. He said… he must mean… he must…

I'm dizzy. My legs are wobbly. "You, um, did you mean what you said?"

"Every word." He takes a step towards me. "Though, technically, I sang them."

"Technically."

Miles sends Tom the evil eye. "A little privacy, maybe?"

"Hell no." He raises his voice. "Drew, Pete, you fuckers here to see this?"

"It's okay," I say. "They can stay."

Miles is five feet away. "I usually write songs to avoid these kinds of declarations."

"You're screwed now. You have an audience and expectations."

He smirks. "If there's anything I know how to do, it's put on a show."

"All I want is the truth."

One more step. He's six inches from me. He brushes my hair behind my ear. "I love you, Meg. I had something perfect right under my nose, and it took me forever to realize it. But I realize it now."

Tom' voice booms. "YOU FUCKERS ARE MISSING OUT!"

A bedroom door slams and Pete appears at the top of the stairs. He spots Miles. "He's out of his room?"

Miles shakes his head. "They're really ruining the moment."

"No, it's perfect."

He slides his hand around my waist. "I'm not good at this relationship thing, but I want to do it with you."

"You sure?"

"Positive." He pulls me closer. "If you're willing to forgive me for being an utter idiot."

"Yeah." I lean into him. "The biggest idiot."

"I'll take that as a yes." He presses his lips into mine.

All of our other kisses were amazing. All of our other kisses set my body on fire. But this one is on another level. It's like every bit of need in him is pouring into me, like he's prying himself open for me and showing me all the ways he hurts.

The kiss breaks, and I pull back. I stare into his gorgeous eyes. "I love you, too."

And I swear to God, he melts.

The world is spinning around me. There's clapping. It's Tom, I think. Then it's Kara, and Pete. I look around the room, and Drew is there, too.

They're clapping, but it's not like this is silly. It's like they mean it.

Miles leans a little closer. "Assholes were convinced I'd die miserable and alone."

"Utter assholes."

"I'd say let's give them a free show, but I want you all to myself."

He presses his lips against mine again. It's as sweet as the first kiss of the night, but it's hotter. It's so hot, I'm pretty sure I'm going to ignite.

"Okay, I think that's my cue," Kara says. "You're taking her home tomorrow."

"Stay," Pete calls out. "We're going to have to blast a movie if we want to hear anything besides Miles screaming in ecstasy." He laughs. "Though, Meg, you're free to make as much noise as you want."

"That's my girlfriend, asshole," Miles says. "If that's okay with you."

My body fills with warmth. "Absolutely."

"You're lucky I'm preoccupied, or I'd kick your ass." Miles leads me up the stairs. "Tom, berate Pete about the loud phone sex."

"Any time." Tom sends us a salute.

We pass Drew and Pete. My cheeks burn. I mouth thank you, though I'm not sure who I'm thanking. Everyone, I guess.

They're all happy for us.

Pete winks at me. I'm pretty sure Miles sees it, but I don't think he cares.

We're going to be preoccupied for the rest of the night.