Dean and I relaxed in the lounge chairs, soaking up the sun's rays, absorbed in our own thoughts. Mine should have been about finding another way to talk to Tyler, but instead they were about Dean kissing Melaney.

Finally, I had to ask. "So why did you kiss Melaney? Because I banned it?"

Dean continued to gaze at the clear blue sky. "That was almost two years ago."

"I still want to know why you did it," I probed, even though I could tell from his annoyed tone that he did not want to talk about it.

After several seconds of strained silence, he answered without looking at me, "Because she's kind and clever and beautiful, inside and out. She's also -"

I waved my hand to stop his explanation. "Hello. I know all of Melaney's good qualities. She is my best friend."

He sat up straight and glared at me. "You think she's too good for me."

Now I had his attention. "I didn't say that!"

"No, but you thought it," Dean countered. "That's why I never told you that I kissed her. I knew you would disapprove."

"I don't want my best friend to get her heart broken," I said softly, trying to control my temper.

"Have some faith in me." He tapped his chest with his fist. "I am capable of being a good guy."

"Faith?" I snorted. "I know you too well, little brother. I've seen some of your beach bunnies and biker chicks. How many girls have you gone out with in the past three months?" I asked, recalling prior blonde bimbos in teeny, string bikinis and Goth girls in all black, leather, and tattoos.

"Not fair!" He crossed his arms over his chest. "I move around a lot in the summer."

"I'll bet you've left a trail of broken hearts from central PA to the Atlantic coast."

"I'd be monogamous if I had a girlfriend like Melaney. She'd keep me on the straight and narrow." He sounded so sincere. I almost believed him.

"You can't be kept, Dean. You're a free spirit. To be happy forever after, you need to find someone as wild and crazy and amazing as you."

"Do my ears deceive me, or was that a compliment?" he asked, smirking.

"Your ears are fine, but my head is killing me. Could you find me some pain reliever?" I pleaded, rubbing my forehead with the ice pack.

"It almost kills you to say something nice about me, doesn't it? Your face has this greenish tint to it."

"Please just get me some ibuprofen," I urged as my stomach churned. "Don't steal it. Be your charming self and ask nicely."

"Okay. I'll be back soon. Don't throw up!" He got out of his lounge chair and headed to the counter.

"I'll try not to." Wanting to vomit was a sure sign that I had a concussion. How was I going to explain the lump to my parents? Thinking made my head pound harder. Dean could concoct a logical excuse for me. He had plenty of practice fabricating alibis and getting females to give him gifts.

I watched him sweet talk the pretty brunette at the snack bar into locating some medicine for me. In less than five minutes, he came back with two pills in one hand and an iced tea in the other.

"Good work, Don Juan." I took the pills and popped them in my mouth and then washed them down with the iced tea. "Did you get her number?"

"Actually, I got two." Dean held up his hand. Two phone numbers were written on his palm.

"The snack bar girl and . . .?" I asked, placing the iced tea on the ground beside me.

"The hot blonde in line," he bragged.

"It's always fascinating to watch you work your magic on gullible females. Could you teach me some of your tricks so I can mesmerize Tyler?"

"Sorry, no tricks. Just good genes. Just be yourself," Dean advised, returning to the lounge chair.

"You know we aren't blood relatives," I reminded him.

"I'm oozing with charm. Some of it had to rub off on you over the years."

"You're oozing with something all right," I teased, rolling my eyes.

"Hey, you're the one who said I was amazing."

"That was the lump talking."

"How are you feeling?" he asked, looking only slightly guilty.

"I've been better." I'd also been a whole lot worse. "So how am I going to explain this to my parents?" I pointed to the ice pack melting on my head.

"Let me think." Dean posed with his knuckle pressing on his chin and his elbow resting on his knee like The Thinker statue. After a moment, he opened up his hand with a flourish and suggested, "You were riding on the carousel and fell off the horse while trying to grab the brass ring."

I shook my head slowly so the ice pack didn't fall. I hadn't ridden the carousel since I was in elementary school.

"Okay. Melaney hit you in the head with a golf club while playing miniature golf."

I shook my head again. That actually did happen once. Melaney was aiming for Dean and accidentally hit me by mistake.

"I've got it! After getting off the tilt 'n' whirl, you were so dizzy that you backed into the seat with your head."

That sounded like something I would do. "Perfect."

"You know what else would be perfect?" Dean asked.

"What?"

"A chocolate and peanut butter twist. Let's get ice cream before the concert."

"Okay. We have over an hour before it starts."

"Do you want anything else to eat in the meantime? Snack bar girl beckons."

The brunette motioned for Dean to come over and talk to her.

"Not right now. Tell her thanks for the medicine for me, and be careful. Line girl keeps looking in this direction. You don't want to start a cat fight."

Dean waved at the blonde and then swaggered over to the snack bar. Typical. Dean thrived on conflict and chaos. I avoided both whenever possible. I preferred to sneak around incognito.

I put on my sunglasses, shifted the lounge chair to the horizontal setting, re-positioned the ice pack on my head, and closed my eyes. After a while, the medicine dulled the pain, but my head still throbbed.

I wished I had Dean's confidence. I would walk right up to Tyler and ask him out on a date. I wondered where Tyler was now, if only he was thinking about me too. That would be sweet! With that happy thought floating through my mind, I dozed off.

"Jasmine. Please wake up!" Dean implored in a faraway voice filled with terror. "You aren't supposed to fall asleep if you have a concussion."

I slowly opened my eyes. I had such a wonderful dream: I was swimming in the Pacific Ocean with Tyler and a sea turtle. I didn't want to return to reality.

Dean held up three fingers. "How many fingers do you see?"

"W for why. Why did you wake me up?" I whined. "I was having the best dream."

"It's time to get ice cream."

"Okay," I agreed with reluctance. "I hope Tyler has a sweet tooth."

Dean held up his cell. "I just checked his texts. He'll be at the concession stand in ten minutes."

I shook the remaining ice cubes out of Dean's shirt, tossed it to him to wear, and threw my belongings into my beach bag. I quickly slipped on my sundress and sandals. This was the moment I'd been waiting for all day. "Let's go!"

Dean and I approached the concession stand just as Mimi and June disappeared into the ladies' restroom. Perfect timing! Tyler and Todd left the counter holding their treats. Todd Pratt was Tyler's best friend and constant sidekick. With his white blonde hair and light blue eyes, he appeared pale next to Tyler's darker features, even though both guys were tanned from the summer sun. It was rude to stare, but I couldn't stop myself. Besides, they were staring at me earlier.

Todd sipped his chocolate milkshake, and Tyler had an ice cream bar in one hand and a baby cone in the other for Mimi, no doubt. A less confident girl would be too scared to talk to such gorgeous guys, but I had to pull up my bikini straps, forget my earlier humiliation, and be fearless like Dean. I'd gotten Tyler's attention. Now I had to keep it.

I walked up to Tyler as he took a bite of his ice cream bar. "Hi, Tyler, right?"

He could only nod because his mouth was full.

"I'm Jasmine. I wanted to properly introduce myself and thank you for rescuing me. I would have drowned before the other lifeguard noticed."

"Yeah," Todd agreed. "That lifeguard was too busy talking to Mimi."

I ignored Todd and stared straight into Tyler's deep blue eyes. "I'm so lucky you were there. Melaney said you're a lifeguard."

"Yes," Tyler confirmed. "I work at the Milltown Community pool on Tuesdays and Thursdays."

"Jas. Sorry," Dean interrupted, "but my watch must have stopped. I guess it's not waterproof." He pointed to the clock on the wall above the counter. "The concert starts in just two minutes. Let's get ice cream later."

"Okay," I told Dean, forcing my voice to be sweet, even though I wanted to growl at him for interfering. I turned back to Tyler and proposed as casually as possible, "Maybe I'll see you at the pool sometime."

I had no clue how Tyler felt about my proposal. His expression was impassive.

Dean and I walked toward the amphitheater. As soon as Tyler was out of sight, I questioned Dean, "What's the big hurry? Melaney is saving us seats."

"Actually, I'm not staying for the concert. I'm supposed to meet a friend at the carousel at three. I don't want to be late."

"Which girlfriend?" I asked, assuming the friend was female.

"No one you know."

"Well, you didn't have to interrupt my conversation with Tyler. You knew how much I wanted to talk to him, today."

"I saw Mimi leaving the bathroom and figured you didn't want her to see you with Tyler. You know what she's capable of when she's jealous."

"Yes, unfortunately." I shuddered. I'd been a victim of Mimi's jealousy once, an experience I definitely did not want to repeat. "Thanks for saving me from Mimi."

"Anytime. But now, I am late. Enjoy the concert."

"I will. Have fun on your date."

"I'll email you soon." He walked toward the carousel, and I headed for the amphitheater.

I found Melaney at the end of the fifth row from the stage.

"So have you already forgiven Dean for his latest felony?" Melaney asked when I sat beside her.

I raised an eyebrow.

"Attempted murder," she explained, touching the back of her head.

"Yeah, I could never stay mad at him for very long, and . . ." I paused for dramatic effect. "I saw Tyler at the ice cream stand! I introduced myself and had a short conversation with him. He might have invited me to the community pool if Dean hadn't interrupted."

The DJ came on stage to announce the band.

"I'll tell you about it later."

I was so ecstatic about finally talking to Tyler that I spent most of the concert in a daze. The music was awesome, but my head pounded with every beat of the drums.

The pain became even more excruciating as the medicine wore off. By the last song, I was eager to leave. The band bowed and went behind the curtain. While the audience clapped for an encore, Melaney and I slipped out of our seats and walked back to the car.

I thought I saw Dean carrying a toddler with short, blond curls on his shoulders.

"Hey, Melaney. Is that Dean?" I asked, pointing in his direction, wondering if my head injury was now affecting my vision.

She turned to look, but the guy disappeared into the crowd. "I don't see him anywhere."

"I wish he'd stayed for the concert. He wouldn't tell me who he was meeting. He's always so secretive about his girlfriends. It's like he's embarrassed to introduce them to me."

"You do have a lot of dirt on him."

I laughed. "Oh, the stories I could tell."

We reached the car, tossed our bags in the back, and got in the front. Melaney put on her seat belt, and I sat on top of mine. She started the engine and followed the long line of vehicles out of the grass parking lot and on to the main road.

"Speaking of stories, why didn't you ever tell me that Dean kissed you?" I probed.

"Because I was angry at Dean and you," she explained in a scratchy voice that revealed her irritation. "I resented being the subject of one of your private jokes!"

"But I never dared him to kiss you!"

"I realized that eventually, but I didn't want to talk about it. So, I just let you think I was angry about the cricket incident."

"I can't believe you kept a secret from me all these years! I thought I knew everything about you, Melaney Miller. What else aren't you telling me?"

Melaney shook her head and kept her eyes focused on the road.

My headache was more intense than my curiosity, so I decided to discontinue all further questions until tomorrow after Sunday school. I needed to close my eyes and sleep. Maybe I would dream about Tyler and the sea turtle again.

Before I drifted off into dreamland, I mumbled, "Oh. My alibi is: I hit my head on the seat when I got off the tilt 'n' whirl."

A/N: Video above is How Sweet the Sound by Citizen's Way.

"Nothing can separate us from Your LOVE!

Oh, Your love, it will always be.

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound!"

What is your favorite sweet? Let me know in the comments. Mine is mint chocolate chip ice cream.

Forever Remember to Live, Laugh, and LOVE! - 3L