TAYA’s POV : "Taya, do you want to be my girlfriend?" Blake’s hand reached for mine and his eyes were tender and pleading. This were the words I had been wanting to hear all year long, but now that I had heard it, I didn’t even know how to respond. "I..." my throat closed up and I looked like a deer caught in headlights. My eyes darted to Judah who was talking to Gabe and Hallee in the background. Judah noticed that I was looking at him and he looked right back at me. I figured that he would throw me his signature cocky smirk, but he didn't. His lip stayed in a straight line and then he looked away. "Taya?" Blake said again and I turned my face back to him. Blake's face was just naturally handsome, his ocean blue eyes were begging with me, and yet I felt nothing. I never wanted to string Blake along. I wasn't attracted to Ju

TAYA's POV : I was bawling my eyes out and Blake was driving around for a while. We stayed mostly in silence, and Blake would throw worried glances at me every so often. We were driving around for a while, and when I finally stopped crying, I noticed that we were already on the other side of town. We had arrived at the Harrison Resort, the place where Blake took me on our first date. "I didn't know where to go, so..." he trailed as the car reached the lobby entrance. "It's okay, this is fine,” I gave him a weak smile. “I just need some air," "Taya, whatever it is that's making you so upset, you know you can tell me, right?" I nodded my head lightly, but I wasn't speaking still. I didn’t think it was fair to unload on him about Judah. So we sat there in silence for a few minutes. I was already tired of crying at this point, so I started wiping my

TAYA’s POV : My eyes widened in shock and my breath was stuck in my throat as I read the screen. Judah Calling... I debated with myself, whether or not I should answer him. It was 2.30 AM right now. What could he possibly have to say to me at this hour? But against my better judgment, my thumb swiped across the screen and I pressed the phone to my ear. "Hello?" I said in a whisper, careful not to wake Blake up. The person on the other line didn't say anything, but I could hear him breathing. Judah? Why are you calling me? – I wanted to say, but I didn't say it. I couldn't sleep. Thinking of you. – I imagined hearing him say it, but he was just quiet. There were no words being exchanged. Just empty breaths in the air. An

TAYA's POV : "Dude! Where exactly are you? Your mom's been calling me and I've been covering for your ass all day," Hallee was yelling at the top of her lungs as soon as I picked up her call. "I know, sorry," I whispered as I tiptoed away from the bed. "I'm with Blake," "You're with who?! What? How did that happen?" "It’s a long story. I'll tell you later," I shushed her quickly as I stole a glance over to Blake, who was still sound asleep. It was almost 5 in the afternoon now. After we got up in the morning, Blake and I ended up staying around the resort, enjoying a wonderful brunch, spending some time at the beach, before returning back to the room to take a nap. He looked so peaceful and I couldn't help but notice his gorgeous features as he lay there sleeping. "Is everything alright? You just up and left last night and you told your

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * O N E   M O N T H   L A T E R * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * TAYA's POV : "I can't believe today's finally here... the first day of our second semester as high school seniors!" Hallee sighed dramatically as she pulled open her locker door. "Yeah, winter break went by so fast," Gabe said, leaning his back against the next row of lockers. "Think about it, in just seven months, we'll all be leaving for college," Hallee squealed as her eyes darted to the collage of NYU stickers all over the insides of her locker wall. "Have you heard anything from NYU yet?" I asked her. Our play was a great success and she had sent in footage from our play as her portfolio in her application to NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.&nbs