It had been five months since Harry and I had kissed and made the decision to give ourselves a year to figure things out. One thing we were supposed to accomplish in this year was to win our families over to the idea of a relationship between us.

I decided it was time to broach the subject with my mom. She knew the Styles family well enough, and I hoped she would at least consider the idea before making harsh judgments.

We were walking through the mall, pushing Rachael in a stroller with the other girls walking along in front of us.

"Mom," I said hesitantly.

"What is it, Sweetheart?" She asked somewhat mindlessly.

"I think I'm ready for a relationship," I said.

"That's wonderful, Lise!" She said. We walked on for a bit longer. Then she asked, "Do you have someone in mind?" And she gave me a little smirk.

"Well...."

She could sense my reluctance to continue. "Well, who is it, Lise?"

"You might not like the idea, so just keep an open mind, okay?"

"Oh, Lise, it's not Harold again, is it?" She cringed. I had told her enough about Harold that she knew he wasn't exactly "my type."

"No, Mom, it's not Harold." I paused. Finally I whispered, "It's Harry."

My mom stopped dead in her tracks and slowly turned to look at me. "Lise!" She whispered sharply. "You can't be serious!"

I bit my lip and looked away from her harsh gaze. "I am serious, Mom. I'm in love with him."

She was silent for a long time, and then we were interrupted by the Grace. "Mommy, can we ride on the train?" She asked, referring to the miniature locomotive in the middle of the mall.

"Of course, lovey," I said, digging out several coins and getting the girls situated on the train. Then I walked back to my mom and waited for her to say something.

"Lise, surely you must know how inappropriate that is!" She snapped.

"Why, Mom?"

"It just is. He's so much younger than you."

"Well, Mom, you were the one who said, Age shouldn't matter one bit if you love someone," reminding her of her exact words to me about Harold.

"Well, that was different," she said curtly.

"Different how?" I pressed.

"It just is. Harold is older."

"So? I'm older than Harry? Why does it matter?"

"It's just not right," she said, as if she wanted to drop the subject.

"I love him, Mom."

When I said that, she lost it. "Stop it, Lise! Harry is young and good-looking, his family has money, and you see all the potential he has as a musician. Of course, you'd find him attractive! It doesn't mean you're in love with him."

"But I am in love with him, Mom," I whispered, on the verge of tears.

"It's time for you to grow up, Lise!"

That was the end of our conversation since the girls' train ride ended. We shared an awkward ride home in painful silence. When she dropped me off and got ready to leave, she said, "I'm sure you'll find the right person some day."

I already have, I thought as she drove away.

I stayed in a funk for days after I talked with my mom. Was I really just obsessed with Harry because he was so handsome and exciting and had so much potential for his future? Of course, his looks struck me the first time I saw him, but I don't fall in love with every hot guy I meet. Harry and I had built a solid friendship for nine months before we admitted our true feelings to each other. He understood me in ways that few people did. He was sweet and funny and so insightful. There was no way I was into Harry just because of his looks. I really felt like he did - like he was my soul mate. So what if there were ten years between us?

I found it particularly challenging because my mom had never been so harsh with me before. She made it seem like I was murdering people or committing some other mortal sin. I couldn't believe how upset she was. I hoped that time would help her to calm down and see things more rationally, but if she didn't start to accept my feelings for Harry, would that change the way I felt about him?

I decided that I might as well bite the bullet with my sister, too. If my entire family was going to label me a pervert, then I might as well get it over with.

"Hey, Maggie, it's Lise," I said when she answered her phone.

"Hey, sis, what's up?"

"Well, I need some more relationship advice," I chuckled.

"Oh, no, it's not Harold again, is it?" She groaned.

"No! That's exactly what Mom asked!" I laughed.

"Well, maybe it's Harry, then. He's a little hottie, isn't he?" She asked lightly.

I didn't say anything.

"Lise." She said in a serious tone. "Tell me it's not Harry."

"It is Harry," I said quietly.

"Ohhhh," she mused. "Um, well, he is really cute, but he's kind of young, isn't he?"

"Yeah, he's really young. That's why I wanted your advice. He's very mature, Maggie. You know – you've met him. He's so good with the kids and he's my best friend."

I heard her sigh on the other end of the line. Then she said, "Are you sure you're not just lonely?"

"No, I'm not just lonely!" I snapped. "Forgive me if a very attractive, sweet, funny and sensitive guy happens to be interested in me. So what if he's young? He's an adult and he's in college."

"So, you know he's interested in you, too?"

"Yeah. We, um, kissed at his dad's birthday party. But I didn't tell Mom that part."

"Holy shit," my sister gasped. "And you didn't say anything until now?"

"Well, Harry and I talked about it and decided we should wait one year for him to go to college and meet some more people, and then see if we feel the same way."

"And he was okay with that?" She questioned.

"He wasn't crazy about it, but I told you, he's mature for his age. He keeps insisting that he's not going to find anyone else, and that he's in love with me."

"Well, I guess that kind of makes sense, then," she said. "It sounds like you two are doing the right thing. He is a pretty sophisticated for a college kid. And I know he gets along really well with your girls. I guess I just have to let the whole thing sink in a little."

"Thanks for keeping an open mind, Maggie."

"Sure thing, sis. But what I said about Harold still applies to Harry – he is not allowed to move you to England!"

I laughed as we said good-bye.

A few days later, I invited Maggie to come with me to another one of Harry's gigs. She picked me up and this time we headed into downtown Minneapolis. This club was quite a bit bigger than the first one where he had played, and the place was really hopping. I knew Harry was talented, but I wondered if this crowd would intimidate him a bit. And he might not get away with sitting down and playing a few quiet numbers. He might have to tap into his inner Jagger to pull this off.

Maggie and I found a seat amidst the gyrating bodies and the pounding bass music. We ordered drinks and waited for Harry to be introduced.

It wasn't long before I spotted a familiar blonde weaving her way through the crowd. Victoria. She put on a fake smile and greeted me. "Hi. Lisa, right?"

"It's Lise, actually. And this is my sister Maggie," I told her.

"Well, it's nice to see you again. You and Harry must be pretty good friends."

"Yes, we're very close," I told her.

"Yeah, we've hooked up a few times, too," she said, tossing her hair behind her.

What the hell did she mean by that?

"Oh, well it's nice that you could make it to another one of Harry's gigs. It's great to see older people getting out to enjoy the club scene," she said.

I squinted at her a little and nodded. As she walked away, Maggie said, "Oh, she did not just go there!"

I asked, "Was that an insult?"

"Yup, it most certainly was."

I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Whatever."

We watched the people enjoying themselves around us – drinking, flirting, dancing, yelling over the loud music. Most of them were dressed a little nicer than we were. We were just in jeans and t-shirts, while many people were decked out in high heels and sequins. I made a mental note to ask Harry about the dress code before attending his next gig.

Soon, the MC introduced Harry as "the hottest new performer in the Twin Cities." His name and reputation must have been spreading fast.

Harry came onto the stage much more confidently than he had the first time I saw him. He walked up to microphone with his guitar strung over his shoulder. He wasn't quite Mick Jagger yet, but he was certainly gaining confidence.

"Thanks so much for having me," he spoke into the microphone, delighting many of the young women with his British accent. He began to sing and everyone hushed. After the first song, people started dancing and it seemed that something changed in Harry. It was like he absorbed the energy of the crowd and really started singing his heart out.

I couldn't believe how much he'd blossomed in the year I'd known him and I couldn't believe this adorable and talented kid from England was my best friend.

And I still couldn't quite believe that I had fallen in love with him.

Or that he was in love with me.

When Harry finished his set, once again, he came to sit with us. He leaned in and kissed me on the cheek in greeting. I looked at Maggie while he was doing so, and she raised her eyebrows at me with a wide smirk. Then he hugged Maggie. "Thanks so much for coming, really. It means the world to me," he smiled.

"You're welcome, hot stuff," she smirked again. "You're pretty talented."

Harry blushed and said a shy thank you.

Victoria managed to make her way over to us again and sat uncomfortably close to Harry. He didn't seem phased by her forwardness, but Maggie and I exchanged knowing glances. This girl was all over Harry and he was completely clueless.

"Do you wanna dance, luv?" She asked him, putting on a sickeningly fake British accent.

"Not right now, thanks," he said politely. "I'm visiting with my friends."

"Well, maybe when your friends leave, we can have some real fun," she cooed. "I'm sure they can't stay long anyway."

I saw the fire in Maggie's eyes with Victoria's words, but I gently shook my head at her, silently communicating, Just let it go. Maggie was a feisty one, for sure, and she was no stranger to cat fights. But obviously, we were above whatever little game Victoria was playing.

When we left a little while later, Maggie said, "Wow, that Victoria chick is kind of a witch."

"Yeah, she's clearly got a huge crush on Harry, too."

"Don't worry about it," Maggie consoled. "He's way out of her league."

I knew that Harry and I had something much deeper than he and Victoria could possibly have in such a short amount of time; and she didn't seem capable of anything "deep" anyway. But she still made me uncomfortable. I knew that I had to be true to my word and give Harry the chance to discover whether he truly loved me, but with Victoria on the playing field, I suddenly didn't like the odds.

Several days after my uncomfortable mall outing with my mom, she finally called me.

"I'm sorry for being so hard on you the other day," she began.

"It's okay, Mom. I know it's kind of a shock. But would it make a difference if I told you that we haven't rushed into anything? We admitted our feelings to each other in May, but we decided to wait a year to see if we still felt the same way. I wanted to give him time to go to college, meet some more friends, get a little jumpstart on his career."

"This has been going on since May and you never mentioned anything to me???" She was on the verge of losing her temper again.

"Well, look at how you reacted!"

"True," she sighed. "It does make me feel better that you're giving it some time instead of jumping right into a relationship. The age difference still makes me uneasy, though."

"I know, Mom. But Harry is very mature, and we were close friends before anything romantic developed. Who knows? Maybe he'll still find someone else and it won't even be an issue. But I hope not. I don't want to get my heart broken again."

"I know you don't, Sweetie. Harry is a very nice boy and I do trust him. He seems to have a very good head on his shoulders. I just don't want you to rush into anything, and I guess you're not."

"Thanks, Mom. Just give it some more thought, okay? Get to know Harry more and you'll see what I see in him. What does Dad think?" I asked, knowing my mom must have told him.

"He was shocked, of course, but he hasn't said much about it. I can't really tell what he's thinking."

I hoped that my mom would continue to soften up towards the idea, and that she would be able to convince my dad that it wasn't outrageous. Obviously, I was an adult and I could do whatever I wanted, but I certainly wanted my parents' blessing when it came to something so important to me. Hopefully, they would come around.