“I’m hanging up now.”

“Good because he probably thinks you’re taking a massive shit.”

Ah! No! I ended the call and practically ran out of the bathroom. How long had I been in there?

It was time for my second first kiss. A do-over of sorts. A first kiss where I knew who I was kissing. And I was choosing it too.

But I was very aware of the fact that if Jacob was my kiss thief, that this wouldn’t be my last first kiss. It was like my mom said though. The important kiss to remember was the one with the person you chose to kiss for the rest of your life. I really hoped that was this kiss for me.

Jacob was in the kitchen with Aunt Brooklyn and Alora icing cupcakes.

He looked up when I walked over.

I smiled. I was choosing him. From this moment on, I’d always choose him. Each step forward I took, the more my heart raced.

“We can finish up in here, Mom,” Jacob said.

“Okay, sweet boy.” She grabbed Alora’s hand to go into the other room for their movie night. Aunt Brooklyn winked at me as she left the kitchen.

My cheeks grew hot.

“Hey,” Jacob said.

“Hey. So these are the famous mint chocolate chip cupcakes?”

He handed me a knife to help put the icing on. “You’ll see for yourself in a second.”

I started putting icing on them. But I was very aware of Jacob’s gaze on me. I looked up at him.

The kitchen was open to the family room. And you could hear his family talking as they chose a movie. But all the noise disappeared.

“What is the story about Aunt Brooklyn and your dad?” I asked and focused on my cupcake. There were holes in the information I knew about Jacob. And I wanted to know everything.

“He was her bodyguard. When she had to move out of the city, it was just the two of them. I think it happened kinda slowly.”

I stole a glance at him out of the corner of my eye. Kind of like us.

“Eventually they realized that they had feelings for each other. They kind of ran away together. To get away from their pasts.”

“That’s very romantic.”

“The main thing she’s told me is that he was always there for her,” he said.

“He still is. I have a star in my pocket to prove it.”

Jacob smiled. “I’ll have to take you to the lake house where we lived sometime.”

“I’d really like that.”

Jacob stared down at the cupcake in his hand. “My mom told me her life used to feel like a snow globe. A perfect little family on the inside. Away from the world. But they were on the run. And the whole thing broke so easily.”