Never Have I Ever Ridden a Bike by Alice Winters

Steps to making my best friend Lance realize I’m in love with him:
Bake him his favorite desserts.
Stare at him in a seductive way (I think).
Accidently open the neighbor’s mail.
Realize that the neighbor is being held hostage and we’re next.
Why is this list no longer about snagging Lance? Someone, please, send help.
Lance is too handsome to die, I mean… the bad guy’s not really going to kill us, right?
I have a knife so I can protect the man of my dreams.
I don’t know how to use the knife.
I have now stabbed myself with the knife.
How is this easier than telling Lance I love him?
This novella was originally published in the Heart2Heart Vol. 5 anthology, but it has been expanded to include an additional 7k words.