“For the record, the questions I was asking weren’t stupid. You just didn’t know the answers to them.”

“Doesn’t matter… It was annoying.”

I rolled my eyes again. Still, I had to admit that the memories connected to Ben’s water gun always did put a smile on my face. It was how we first began to bond. He was always chasing after me, because I never could quite stay still and pay attention to anything. I was always on the hunt for something and Ben was always curious what adventure I was headed off to. Whenever he caught up with me, I’d start blabbering about what I discovered or start asking questions that he apparently found annoying. Time came when just seeing the water gun made me seal my lips shut.

“What ever happened to that thing?” I wondered out loud.

“I always thought you hid it somewhere…”

“I did not!”

“Well, either way, it’s lost. That’s why we’re here. The water gun was actually a gift from my Uncle Bob, so I called him up and asked him where he got it and well… here we are.”

“You’re going to replace the gun? Why? So you can squirt me in the face with it?”

He chuckled, his hand on mine tightening as he spoke. “As tempting as that sounds, Sofia, no… I thought it would be fun for us to have a water gun fight by the pool or something in case… you know…”

“In case what?”

“In case we progress to a second date.”

Oh smooth, Ben. Very smooth.

We picked up our choice of hydro-powered weapons, paid for them and headed back for the truck. Before he began driving, he gave me a disclaimer. “Once you see where we’re going next, promise not to kill me, alright?”

“I’ll try not to resort to violence. Where on earth are you taking me now?”

“You’ll see…”

When he parked the car in front of our next destination, I was mortified. It was the venue of what could be considered the most embarrassing moment of my life. I cast him a murderous glare.

“You promised not to kill me.”

“I did no such thing…”

All I got was that grin of his that helped him charm his way through life.

“Come on, Ben…” I groaned. “How can this place hold any good memories?” We were parked in front of a clothing boutique – my favorite one when I was thirteen – where I was caught for shop-lifting.

“What? It’s the scene of your first crime!”

“How is that a good memory? And for the record, I was framed.”

“Yes. You told us that story many, many times. It was Jenna who put the dress in your bag.”

“It’s true.” I crossed my arms over my chest and pouted.

“I’m not refuting that.” Ben raised his hands in surrender. “But this place holds a good memory for me, because this is where I first realized that you had a crush on me.”

“And how exactly did you come upon that revelation?”

“Weren’t you there because you were stalking Jenna and me?”

I covered my face with both palms. “That’s so embarrassing. You knew?!”

“Of course I knew…”

“So all this time, you knew I had a thing for you? How would you even…”

“It doesn’t matter how. I just knew.” He leaned back on his car seat, his eyes set forward.

“But you were never interested in me… Not in that way at least…”

He gave me a wry laugh. “Never interested in you? Sofia, I had a crush on you from the first time I met you. Do you have any idea how cute you looked when I first shot you in the face with that water gun? I’ve had a thing for you since then…”

“Then why didn’t you ever say anything? I had to watch you have all those flings and date all those girls… I don’t understand.”

“I always thought of you as the girl I would eventually become serious with. The only explanation I can really give you is that I wasn’t ready to settle yet … I was being a jackass.”

Then Derek came along and you got a taste of your own medicine? Is that why you’re so interested in me all of a sudden? It’s definitely not because you want to settle down.

“Anyway,” Ben drummed his fingers over the steering wheel “we’re here because I thought this would be a great place for you to look for a prom dress.”

“Prom dress?”

“Yeah. Come on…”

I stared at him incredulously. “Do I have to?” I whined.

“You can’t go to the prom with me if you don’t have a prom dress, Sofia.” He took my hand and coaxed me out of the truck. “Besides, it’s about time this place gave you a good memory or two.”

As we walked toward the boutique’s front door, I quipped. “Who ever said I was going to prom with you?”

He was clearly amused considering the way chuckles began escaping his lips. “Of course you’re going. That’s going to be date number three.”

It was decidedly the best date I’d ever been on. After we picked out my prom dress and his suit, he brought me to our favorite ice cream shop. He knew what to order me without needing to ask: mint chocolate chip. He hated that flavor… kept telling me that it tasted like toothpaste. His favorite was actually strawberry, something he never admitted until high school, because as a boy, he always ordered rocky road. He thought strawberry was too girly because it was pink.