Unconditional.

The day after my dad's exhibit I woke up late. I'd had a dream that night about the kiss Holly and I shared the previous week, and when I woke up she was the first person I thought of. I was so angry at Billie for making me babysit. I'd been looking forward to seeing Holly ever since we'd arranged to meet up on the drive home after Felix's party, and now I had to cancel.

I shifted onto my side, reached for my phone and peered at the bright screen through my eyelashes, frowning in the bright afternoon light. Much to my surprise, a little yellow envelope flashed at the top of the screen, indicated that I had a text, and when I clicked on it I swear my heart soared a little bit. You guessed it; the text was from Holly. I grinned widely and squinted at the text.

College is boring. Come early?

This was the first text I'd had from her since we'd swapped numbers. I hadn't texted her after sending her my number because I didn't want to appear desperate, so was she thinking about me? Whatever she was feeling or thinking, it was the best thing I'd woken up to in a long time.

But at the same time another bout of annoyance flooded through me. I didn't know what to say to her. I wanted to appear sorry but not sorry enough to sound desperate. And now I was starting to sound like a teenage girl. I sighed and clicked reply, hovering over the keyboard thoughtfully before tapping my reply.

I have to babysit my nephew today. Rain check?

That didn't sound desperate, right? Maybe she'd be disappointed and suggest another time? I really wasn't helping myself, worrying about all this. I was an adult. I should've had a handle on my feelings. A reply came through and my phone vibrated in my hand.

No.

My heart jolted in my chest. She wasn't mad, was she? Then another text came through:

I mean... I could come with you?

The rational part of me scolded me, telling me she was only this eager because she wanted to ditch college and she didn't want to be alone. She probably expected me to buy snacks and rent DVDs and stuff so she didn't have to spend anything. But the rational part of me was very small, shoved aside by the part of me that was wrapped tight around Holly's finger.

I checked the time. It was one o'clock already, and I was due at Billie's in half an hour. Shit. I shot a text back to Holly asking where she went to college before leaping out of bed, getting tangled in my bedsheets and falling to the floor. After having a brief fight with my duvet I grabbed an outfit from the wardrobe and yanked it on, then sprinted across the hall to use the bathroom, running into the closed door in my excitement. I banged my fist impatiently on the door.

"Ilona!" I moaned, leaning my head against the door. "Let me in."

She didn't reply, so I just stayed there, my head resting on the door, fighting the urge to go back to my room and check my phone for a reply. I groaned. Why did girls always take so bloody long in the bathroom?

"I just want to clean my teeth," I whined, hitting the door with my fist.

Finally, the door opened and Ilona appeared, glaring at me through long, black lashes. She was completely made up, with her hair going in soft curls and her lips a soft pink.

"Couldn't you do your face in your room?" I snapped, and she rolled her eyes.

"Maybe you should've got up earlier," she retorted, still not getting out of the way. "I'm taking the car today, by the way."

"What?" I objected. "Why?"

"I have an audition," she sang, beaming, but I continued to frown.

"Where?"

"Town," she admitted, "but the weather's a bit weird today, so I don't want to chance ruining my hair. I'd give you a lift somewhere but I'm leaving now."

"Whatever," I grunted, pushing past her to get to the sink.

"Wish me luck," she grinned, but before I could she was hurrying down the stairs and out the front door.

I shrugged and tried to shake off my irritation. It was probably a good thing that I would be walking to Billie's; I hadn't been on a run for a few days. I hadn't gained any weight but I didn't want to take my chances.

I grabbed my toothbrush and cleaned my teeth twice before returning to my room and slipping my shoes on. Thanks to Ilona I now had twenty minutes to pick Holly up and get to Billie's, and I hadn't even asked permission to invite a friend yet.

Friend.

It just didn't seem like the right word. I felt this omnipresent need to protect her from harm. I wanted to hear her laugh more often, because it was infectious. And when she tucked her hair behind her ear, revealing the smooth skin of her neck, it just drove me crazy. More than anything I just wanted her to kiss me again, but this time I wanted her to mean it. I was in way too deep.

I shrugged on a denim jacket and grabbed my phone off the bed, grinning when I noticed that I had another reply, telling me where her college was. Conveniently, it was on the way to Billie's house. I seized my keys and left the house, making sure to lock the door behind me because after what Luke had done I was insanely paranoid.

Ilona had been right; the weather didn't seem to know what to do with itself. It was warm enough, but the air felt damp, like it was going to rain. The sky was light grey, and I couldn't tell whether it was cloudless or completely clouded over. I hoped to god it didn't rain, and as the thought crossed my mind I just imagined kissing Holly in the rain, immediately scolding myself afterwards.

I sent Holly a text: Meet me at the gates in fifteen minutes.

Her reply was almost instant: Already headed to your house.

And sure enough, as soon as I lifted my head she turned onto my street and my face broke into a grin. I tried not to torture myself thinking about how good she looked, but it was hard to avoid. Her hair hung in two loose braids either side of her face, ending just past her shoulders, and she wore short dungarees over a simple white vest. She was wearing a little mascara and lipgloss, and I couldn't help wondering whether that was for me or college. I hoped it was for me.

Another surprise awaited: she hugged me when we finally reached each other. I didn't know whether I was hugging her back too tight or whether she noticed I was totally smelling her hair, but I didn't care at that moment. I was kind of disappointed when she pulled out of the hug, but hopefully it didn't show.

"So," she said brightly, "what way?"

"Back the way you came, I'm afraid," I smirked, and she shrugged.

"Anything's better than college," she said.

She fell into step with me, and the hairs on the back of my neck spiked as our arms brushed. How easy would it be to take her hand now and pull her closer to me?

I realised this was our first official day together outside work. The party didn't count, because really we hardly spent any time together. And already I was struggling not to smother her. I figured she'd take a long time to trust me, what with Luke and everything, but then again hadn't she already said she trusted me? Why couldn't I just ask her where we stood without freaking her out? Why did this have to be some huge, complex game where Girl Language was completely foreign to me?

With Liss it had been easy. We'd been drunk at a club, and after a one night stand we decided we'd continue with the sex, and a messy relationship sort of warped out of that. We told each other exactly what we wanted, and it was that easy because neither of us gave a shit about the other.

Holly grinned at me, and I could knew what she was thinking: I spaced out way too much. I cleared my throat and racked my brain for a conversation topic.

"So whose turn is it to tell a secret?" asked Holly, again saving my ass from another awkward silence. "I think it's definitely you."

"How about you go first?" I suggested hopefully, but she grinned and shook her head.

"It's definitely your turn. Tell me a secret."

Only one secret went through my head like a song on endless repeat: I like you. IlikeyouIlikeyouIlikeyouIlikeyou. But I wasn't telling her that. I didn't really have anything else to tell. It was the only thing I could think about.

I didn't really keep secrets. My life wasn't interesting enough.

"...I crashed my dad's car once," I said finally, and Holly just looked at me, waiting for me to explain. "Um, I borrowed it to go out with some friends, and I drank a little too much and crashed into a wall."

"Were you hurt?"

"Yeah, I broke my arm."

Her eyes widened. "Does he know it was you?"

"No," I sighed, dragging my feet along the pavement. "I told him some drunk driver came out of nowhere and hit me. Ironic, huh?"

"You didn't kill any of your friends, did you?"

I let out a laugh. "Nah, they were unharmed, thank god."

"And he still doesn't know?"

"Nope. We got it off the insurance, so it didn't cost anything to replace it."

Another thing for me to feel guilty about. Thinking back on it, there were so many lies I'd told to people to protect myself. It made me feel disgusted with myself. Would I ever stop lying to the people I cared about?

Soon after, we arrived at Billie's house, only a few minutes late. I'd planned to phone her asking if Holly could come with me, but the thought had slipped my mind in my hurry this morning. Anyway, where was the harm? Billie had been the one to cancel my plans, so why couldn't I bring Holly with me? I was sure it would be fine.

Billie answered the door almost straight away, scowling until her eyes fell on Holly, and then a glint in her eye told me she was going to get her revenge on me for being late.

"I brought a friend," I explained, "seeing as you cancelled my plans and all."

"I see that," she replied with a smirk. "Have we met before?"

Suddenly I felt fingers brush the back of my arm, sending shivers up my spine, and I realised Holly was right behind me, barely leaving a gap between us. She didn't say anything to Billie, and I remembered the day we met. She'd hardly said two words to me, either. I realised she must be shy, but that was okay. Billie didn't need an answer.

"You're the girl Josh brought home on his first night of work!" she recalled, and I flinched.

"Billie," I warned, glowering, "this is my friend, Holly."

"Yeah, okay," she said, rolling her eyes. "Nice to meet you, Holly."

I stepped forward to push past Billie, and gathering we were going inside, Holly seized my hand, sending electricity up my arm, the hairs raising in protest. I hoped she didn't noticed how freaked out I was getting. But I could practically feel Billie smirking behind us, and the back of my neck grew hot.

I dragged Holly into the living room, where Flynn was sitting on the floor with all his favourite toys, watching Ben 10. Zack sat on the sofa, his arms crossed, unimpressed with his son's choice of programme. Holly still clung to me as Billie walked in, and I kind of liked that she was hiding behind me.

"We'll probably be back at around eleven tonight," announced Billie. "You don't have any other plans, do you?" She eyed Holly, amused. "You might want to cancel if you do."

"You can piss off now," I said pleasantly.

"You sure you're all right?" she asked in mock concern.

"We're fine," I assured her through clenched teeth. "Bye."

"Come on then, Zack," Billie commanded, and Zack obediently rose to his feet.

"Sorry about them," I muttered to Holly as they left the room.

"It's okay," she assured me.

And then they were gone, leaving me with Holly and Flynn. As soon as they were gone, Holly seemed to finally notice she'd been digging her nails into my flesh and loosened her grip, clearing her throat nervously. I felt a little disappointed as her soft hands slid off me.

Holly knelt down in front of Flynn, whispering a soft hello, and for a moment I just watched her. Flynn looked up at her in wonder, his mouth hanging open, and Holly giggled. It was probably the cutest thing I'd ever seen, but I managed to slap myself out of my daze long enough to offer Holly a drink. She glanced up at me and smiled.

"A Coke would be nice," she replied.

"It'll have to be diet," I told her, and she shrugged.

"That's fine."

I went to the kitchen and opened the fridge, hoping skeptically that Holly didn't mind having salad for dinner. I poured us both big glasses of Diet Coke, sticking a few ice cubes in there because it was kind of boiling. When I brought the drinks back, Holly was watching cartoons on the floor with Flynn, her back resting against the sofa.

"You can change the channel if you like," I told her, passing her drink over and sitting on the sofa behind her.

"I like cartoons," she said absently.

So we watched three episodes of Ben 10. Well when I say we, I mean Holly and Flynn watched Ben 10 and I watched Holly. She liked to alternate between watching the programme in silence and chewing her nails, giggling at the funny bits and mimicking the characters, trying to make Flynn laugh.

Somewhere in the middle of the second episode, Holly looked up at me, smiling, and despite the fact she'd basically caught me staring at her I couldn't look away. Until she'd met Flynn I didn't think I could like her any more. I wondered what other secrets she had that could possibly make me want her more.

"Hey," I said near the end of the third episode, and Holly looked up at me again, "isn't it your turn to tell me a secret?"

But she just smiled secretively and turned back to the TV. By the end of the third episode I was lying down on the sofa, trying not to fall asleep. That was until Holly's head leaned back on my leg and my eyes flew open.

"Sleepy?" she asked with a grin, and I scowled.

"No," I retorted, poking my tongue out petulantly. "Is Little Man still awake?"

I leaned over the edge of the sofa, not waiting for an answer, and Flynn giggled as my face nearly collided with his. He whacked my face playfully with one of his teddies and I nearly fell off the sofa.

"What's his name?" Holly asked. "I don't think you told me."

"Flynn Joshua Bryant," I recited with a proud grin, straightening up and ruffling my nephew's hair.

"After you?" she asked, and I nodded. "That's sweet. Can he talk?"

"He can say a few things," I said with a shrug, "like juice, car, ta, that sort of stuff."

"Aw," she cooed, poking Flynn playfully, and he squealed. "He has your hair."

"Everyone says that."

I looked up at the clock. It had just gone three. I decided we'd go out for dinner, because I'd been having salad on repeat for days on end and it was getting boring. And I was already sick of cartoons, which Flynn would no doubt want to watch when we got back.

I packed a bag and buckled Flynn into his buggy, shoving a juice carton at him so he wouldn't moan, and we set off. Thankfully, the weather had cleared up and sunlight peered through the clouds. After buying sandwiches and crisps in the shop nearby, we went through the park, and I couldn't help thinking back on my last visit, when Luke had shoved me against a tree and threatened me away from Holly.

Funny how things turn out, I thought in amusement, although back then I really had no idea.

We took a walk around the pond, pointing the ducks out to Flynn and giving him bread to throw. I couldn't help but think we must look like a family, laughing and playing with the baby in our own little bubble. I wondered if Holly was thinking the same thing.

At around four we laid out a picnic blanket and let Flynn out of his buggy to eat on the floor with us, and honestly it was the happiest I'd been in a long time. I wasn't worrying about work or Luke or anything else. It was just us, and we were having a good time.

I remembered that Billie said Flynn had to have a nap, so after lunch I dragged my nephew into my lap and rocked him, singing softly. The songs were just random slow ones I had on my iPod, and I sang them as they came to me, but they seemed to calm him. Only as his eyes fluttered closed did I notice Holly was watching me. I carried on singing, but I couldn't seem to look away from her. She had a look on her face that I couldn't read, but it made my heart thump against my chest. It made me nervous.

"You have an amazing voice," she whispered as Flynn's breathing began to slow. "Is that one of your secrets too?"

"Hey, I thought it was your turn," I joked, and Holly grinned.

She crawled over to me and sat in front of me with her legs crossed so our knees were touching, and I wished we didn't have a child between us so I could pull Holly into my lap. In which case it was probably a good thing we had a child between us, because it might've been horribly inappropriate. Her green eyes glinted in the sunlight, and I shot her a questioning look.

"Sing to me," she commanded, and I shook my head.

"I-I can't," I muttered, my neck growing hot.

"Why not?" she demanded, grinning. "Are you shy, Joshie?"

I thought again about how Seb called me that when he was drunk, and how it irritated me like crazy. But coming from Holly, it didn't bother me in the slightest. I liked how my name sounded rolling off her tongue. I sighed. She really did have me wrapped around her little finger.

"What do you want me to sing?"

She looked thoughtful. "Everytime by Britney Spears."

I scrunched up my face. "Please don't tell me you like Britney."

"We both know you know the words," she teased, prodding my knee. "Everyone does. And it's a good song?"

"Something else," I suggested, but Holly shook her head.

"Just sing it?"

So I did. I looked down at my nephew's peaceful little face, unable to hold Holly's gaze because I was way too nervous. I used to have singing lessons when I was younger, but I stopped singing years ago. I hadn't sung properly since then, but it felt like I'd never stopped. I never really knew why I had stopped in the first place.

I got a few of the words wrong, and I stammered a bit at the beginning, but Holly didn't seem to mind. Near the end of the song, I finally looked up at Holly, and she was smiling. She hadn't taken her eyes off me the whole time, and it made me nervous. When I trailed off, she just continued to look at me, and I cleared my throat awkwardly, getting up to put Flynn in his buggy, avoiding her gaze. When I turned around, Holly was standing up too.

I cleared my throat again, grinning sheepishly and muttering, "It's definitely your turn now."

She stepped forward, bridging the gap between us, and said, "There's only one I can think of right now."

I swallowed. "What's that, then?"

My heart was punching my chest with full force as Holly reached up to rest her hand on my cheek, her expression a little, I don't know, scared? But then she pulled my face down and our lips collided and everything else melted away.

I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her to me, pressing our bodies together and kissing her passionately. I felt my whole body trembling, or was that hers? I wasn't sure, but all my nerves were kicking into overdrive. I was kissing Holly.

I was kissing Holly!

I grinned into the kiss, completely in awe. Somehow we ended up sitting on the blanket again, Holly in my lap, her fingers tangled in my hair, her lips pressed hard against mine. Our breaths became heavy and urgent, but we didn't want to stop. I was feeling all these mushy feelings that guys don't really like to talk about, but god it was amazing.

"My secret?" she breathed heavily as our lips parted and our foreheads touched. "I like you, Josh. It's only been just over a week since we met but I like you a lot, and I've run out of reasons why we shouldn't be together."

I brushed her hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear, my fingers trailing down her neck and pulling her in for another kiss, my chest literally aching where my heart was beating so hard.

"I don't know you all that well," she continued, her green eyes locked with my blue ones, "but I feel like you're different. I don't think you'd hurt me like Luke did."

Unable to summon any words, I let out a disbelieving laugh, because really she knew me better than anyone else. Some of the things I'd told her I hadn't told anyone else. I'd told her about all the horrible things I'd done, and somehow she still liked me. Holly Brewer actually wanted me back.

She pulled me in for another quick kiss before muttering, "Um, your turn."