I bit my lip as the fluttering grew so big that my whole body felt like it was going to explode. I nodded. And then suddenly, I swear the heavens opened and I heard angels, because his hands slipped into mine. I looked down at them.

“I like you too. A lot,” he said.

“You do? I mean . . .” I shrugged and maybe I grimaced. I didn’t want that to be my reaction, but it was. “You do?”

“I don’t think you see yourself like I see you.”

“How do you see me?” I asked.

“I think you’re beautiful. Funny. Kind. You’re the most interesting person I’ve ever met.”

“I am?” I asked, shaking my head a little. “I don’t . . . I guess . . . I don’t see myself like that.”

“I know. And I say screw every single person in the world who made you doubt that. And especially fuck those kids who pushed you in the pool.”

I bit my lip. I could feel those pesky tears that wanted to spring out and ruin my makeup. And then, the music changed. It slowed down, the lights changed, and . . .

“Want to dance?” Jake asked.

I looked around, feeling strange and self-conscious now. “Everyone is looking at us.” They were probably all in shock, wondering what on earth was going on here. Why was the hottest guy in school asking someone like me to dance? They were probably wondering if they had been cast in a teen movie, the one where the once-ugly girl suddenly becomes hot just by taking her glasses off. But this wasn’t a movie. This was real. And I was the star. Barbie and Ken. Belle of the ball. All eyes on me . . .

“Trust me,” Jake whispered, “they’re not looking at us. They’re looking at you.”

I glanced around again, anxiety bubbling up inside me as they all stared relentlessly, like the mirror had.

“Close your eyes,” he whispered, slipping an arm around my back. “Forget them.” He took my other arm and wrapped it around him. I closed my eyes and laid my head on his shoulder.

“I really, really like you, Lori,” he whispered in my ear, his warm breath prickling against my skin and making it pebble.

“I . . . I . . . like you too,” I said back to him.

I couldn’t believe this was happening. In my mind a massive spotlight was now illuminating us. It was drawing even more attention to us, the kind of attention that, if I was totally honest with you, I’d wanted every single day for my entire life. This was a serious moment right here.

This was my moment. The moment that girls like me never got. The kind of moment that girls like me never think they deserve to get.

But I was getting it. Right about . . . now.