"Lyssa! Please don't get mad, but I told him!" Stephanie shouted into the phone.

"What? You did?" I asked quizzically. My heart started to beat fast, just like every other time someone found out I like him. I started to come up with ways to tell him that it's just a simple crush, even though I knew that was a pile of shit.

"YES! And, oh God, I have to be quick. He called me and asked for your number!" My heart stopped. "And he's going to call you and ask you on a date! I have to get off, he'll be calling soon! And don't tell him I called you at all!" Right as she was telling me that last part, the phone beeped to let me know that someone else was calling.

A strange number filled my screen. Oh, oh my God. It's him. Him. The boy I've been dreaming about for two years. Is calling me and asking me out on a date. I squealed out loud, causing my mother to turn around and look at me, rolling her eyes.

"Hello?" My voice cracked. Of course. My one chance to sound smooth and confident. Maybe he didn't notice.

"Hey. Is this Alyssa?"

"Yeah. It's me." I paused. Wait, I thought, I'm not supposed to know who this is. "Who is this?"

"Kyle." Yeah, I know that, I thought to myself. "So, uh. What's up?"

"Oh, nothing. I just got back from swim practice." My hands are shaking so hard, I nearly drop the phone. I'm surprised at myself for not doing so already. I'm pacing so hard in the garage, my legs barely stable enough to keep me up. I feel as if I stop, I'll collapse on the cold cement.

"You swim? I didn't know that." He's trying to make small conversation. I can tell. Get on with it, I thought, and ask me out!

"Yeah, it's pretty amazing. I love swimming. Except for the, you know, swimming in the cold part."

"Yeah, that does suck," he laughs. He pauses, then adds, "So, uh, are you free on Saturday? Saturday night, that is?" Oh my God. He just did it. Well, kind of. That's kind of asking out? Right? Or maybe it's coming up? God, I wish I had more experience in this.

"Yeah, I'm free. Nothing to do." My mother shoots me a look-it's her birthday. Oh, shit. Well, I'm not saying no. Hell no. I wouldn't care if JFK was coming back from the dead and having dinner with us, I'm going out with him. I don't care if I have to WALK there.

"Do you, uh, want to go see a movie?" There it is. My hands are shaking so hard. I'm walking back and forth and back and forth. I can't stop.

"That would be great! What would you want to see?" I try to go through the movies I know for sure are out, but I can't think of a single one. Wizard of Oz? Sleepless in Seattle? I had no idea.

"Oh, uh, let me check. I'm right next to our computer." I hear some rustling around, and then typing on a keyboard. I am pratically running on the floor, pacing so fast. I keep whispering to myself, oh my god, oh my god, OHMYGOD. I can't even believe this is happening to me. Girls like me don't get the prince from our dreams at night. "Boots! Stop it!"

"Who is Boots?" Is that some sort of weird pet name for your mother? A dog, maybe?

"It's our cat. She's crazy." What? Kyle has a cat?

"You have a cat?" I voice my question. I love my cat Murdoch, but I never would have pictured him with a cat. He's a dog person. Yes, I've decided he's a dog guy. Not a cat guy.

"Yeah. It's my sister's. Okay. I have the movies up. We can see King Kong." I laugh in my head. Hell no, I'm not sitting through a three hour long movie with him. I don't care how much I'm in love with him, if he turns out like a weirdo like the rest of the guys I've dated, that would be hell twice over. Yeah, that's not going to happen.

"Um, I don't know about King Kong. I'm not really into those types of movies," I lie, which comes out surprisingly smooth despite the situation. "What else is playing?"

"How about The Ringer? That looks funny." He makes the suggestion, and I hear the slight desperation in his voice, or maybe it's something else? Annoyance? I'm not sure what it could be.

"Yes! I saw the preview for that. It looks really funny. That sounds great. What time?"

"How is around 7? There's a showing for 7:20."