Crossing the line

22:where did the time go?

JAKE: sometime during the summer

It was funny how time could stretch and shrink depending on what you were waiting for. Christmas break felt like it had happened a lifetime ago, but the memory of it-the way Ava looked at me, the way everything felt like it was shifting between us-was as fresh as if it had happened yesterday.

I hadn't seen her since then. Not in person, at least. Sure, there were the occasional texts in the group chat with Liam, but nothing real, nothing that gave me any clues about where things stood between us. The weeks leading up to this summer had been brutal. I was counting down the days, trying to figure out if what I thought had been happening over Christmas was real, or if I was just imagining things.

Now, standing in front of the Taylor's house, my stomach twisted with nerves. I hadn't been nervous to come here in years-this house was like a second home to me. But today was different. Because Ava was home for the summer. And I had no idea what to expect.

I wasn't sure what was worse: the possibility that I'd imagined the whole thing between us, or the possibility that I hadn't.

I took a deep breath and knocked. The door swung open a second later, and there she was-Ava, standing in the doorway, looking even better than I remembered. Her hair was longer, wavy, and her smile had that same easy confidence I'd seen last Christmas. But her eyes... her eyes lingered on me a second too long, and for a moment, everything between us from last winter came rushing back.

"Jake," she said, and there was something in the way she said my name that made my chest tighten. Like maybe I wasn't the only one thinking about it.

"Hey, Ava," I said, keeping my voice casual, like my heart wasn't trying to beat its way out of my chest.

She smiled, stepping aside to let me in, and I brushed past her, doing my best to ignore the heat that rushed through me when our arms almost touched. God, this was going to be harder than I thought.

I headed toward the kitchen, where I knew Liam would be. He was always in the kitchen when I got here-digging around for food like he hadn't eaten in days. Sure enough, when I rounded the corner, there he was, his head practically in the fridge, looking for something.

"Sup, man?" he muttered, tossing a can of soda my way without looking up.

I caught it, cracking it open as I leaned against the counter. "Not much," I said, taking a sip. "Just figured I'd stop by."

Liam shrugged, finally emerging from the fridge with a slice of leftover pizza in his hand. "Same as always. Glad you're here, though. Ava's been on my case since she got home. Something about needing to do something 'productive' this summer."

I forced a laugh, though my mind wasn't on Liam. It was on the fact that Ava was right down the hall, probably still standing in the entryway. The last time I'd seen her, back at Christmas, things between us had felt... different. Like we weren't just Liam's best friend and little sister anymore. Like maybe she was starting to feel what I'd been feeling for years.

But I couldn't let myself get carried away. Not yet.

Liam grabbed a seat at the counter, chomping down on his pizza. "You good, man? You look kinda out of it."

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said quickly, taking another sip of my soda. "Just tired."

That was my go-to excuse these days. Tired. Distracted. Anything to cover up the fact that the real reason I couldn't focus was because Ava was back, and everything I'd been trying to keep buried was bubbling to the surface again.

Liam didn't press, which was good because I had no idea how I'd explain this to him. How could I? I was into his sister. And not just a passing crush either-this was something that had been building for years. But telling Liam that felt like stepping on a landmine. There was no way it wouldn't blow up in my face.

A few minutes later, Ava wandered into the kitchen. She was dressed casually in shorts and a T-shirt, her hair still slightly damp like she'd just come in from the heat outside. She glanced between me and Liam, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

"You two just hanging out like always?" she teased, leaning against the counter beside me. "Don't you ever do anything productive?"

Liam snorted, reaching for another slice of pizza. "Like what, Ava? Go on some nature hike with you or something?"

Ava rolled her eyes, but when she turned to look at me, there was something in her expression-something I hadn't been able to shake since last Christmas. Her eyes lingered on me for just a second too long, her smile a little softer, like she was remembering something too.

I held her gaze, wondering if I should say something-if this was the moment where I could finally figure out if I'd imagined everything last winter, or if she'd felt it too. But before I could even think of what to say, she pushed off the counter and gave us a little wave.

"Well, I'm going to meet up with some friends. Don't get into too much trouble while I'm gone."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Liam said, his mouth full of pizza.

I watched her walk out of the kitchen, her footsteps fading down the hall. The second she was out of earshot, I let out a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding. It was going to be a long summer if things kept going like this.

"You're weird today, man," Liam said, shaking his head. "You sure you're good?"

"Yeah," I said, forcing a grin. "I'm good."

But I wasn't. Not really. I hadn't been since Christmas, since that moment when I thought maybe-just maybe-Ava was starting to look at me the way I'd been looking at her for years.