"Ugh," I groaned, pushing the store door open and trudging over to the main desk. I tossed my bag behind the counter and rubbed my eyes. A yawn started, stopping me in my tracks for the full stretch affect with it.

"Way too early to be here," I grumbled to myself before heading for the back to find Jesse. He had been pretty busy buying new inventory the last two days and I haven't seen him much. Things hadn't changed between us, something I wanted desperately to bring up, but was too afraid to ruin our friendship by asking the dreaded question: "what are we?"

I stepped into the back and glanced in between the large aisles of inventory, but didn't see him.

"Jesse?" I called out, walking over to the desk.

"Yeah?" He responded from somewhere in the back.

There he was. I sat in the rolling chair next to the desk and kicked my feet up. He came strolling in through the far aisles, his hair slightly disheveled, like he had been digging through something.

"Hey," he grinned as he walked toward me, his flip flops smacking with each step. "You wouldn't happen to know where the recent shipment of wax went, would you?"

He set his iPad on a tall file cabinet next to the desk and flipped his head forward, shaking out his hair.

"By the way, it's disgusting back there," he mumbled upside down before moving upright again and smiling.

"Oh right," he laughed. "Not a morning person."

I shrugged, but nodded in agreement with him.

"Why on earth did I have to be here so early?" I sighed.

He moved closer to the desk, picked up my feet and sat down with my feet in his lap. I stared at them on his thighs, trying to find the meaning in it.

"I need your help with something before Florida," he replied, resting a hand on my ankle as he leaned against the wall.

I cleared my throat at the feel of his hand on me. "Okay, what is it?"

"I'll show you in a bit," he smirked. "Maybe you should get some coffee first."

I rolled my eyes and removed my feet from him, setting them on the floor.

"Hilarious," I mocked. "But true."

He stood up, holding a hand out for me to help me up. I carefully took it and he brought me up out of the chair and toward him. Standing directly in front of him, he didn't let go of my hand.

I glanced down at my hand in his, but he pulled away slightly, repositioning it to spread his fingers, matching mine. I looked up at him just as he slipped his in between mine.

My heart raced.

"Is this what you wanted to show me?" I challenged. "What you probably did with other girls back here in high school?"

He chuckled. "Baby Dess," he leaned forward, his face mere inches from mine. "You couldn't handle it."

The build up left me deflated and annoyed at his comment so I shoved him away, but he caught my hand and jerked me back into his chest. Stumbling, he wound an arm around me to steady me.

"I'm kidding," he breathed, his hazel eyes burning as they watched me. Letting go of my hand and keeping his arm around me, he tucked some strands of my blonde hair behind my ear.

"No you're not," I managed to say, struggling to breathe through the nerves he sent through my body.

"I'm sorry for making you come in early," he murmured.

"You should be," I grumbled.

"It might have been an excuse," he admitted.

I raised an eyebrow in question.

His response was to lean forward, his nose grazing mine. "To do this," he whispered against my lips. Drawing my body into him, his lips met mine, softly at first as if to see if I would allow it.

Like I was going to stop the sudden electricity coursing through my veins. I wound my arms around his neck in response, parting my lips against his. He pressed me closer to him with his arm, deepening the kiss, but remained gentle.

When he pulled away, I was sure my expression matched his. Excited. He swallowed and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly, like he was struggling not to smile.

"As wonderful as this distraction is, I really do need coffee," I finally murmured.

The smile cracked and he pulled back with a soft laugh. He tipped his head slightly to his left to say let's go.

I followed him out of the store. While waiting for him to lock the door, I noticed something in the lifeguard station right in front of us.

I squint my eyes, holding a hand over them to see clearer. Was that who I thought it was?

I moved closer.

"What the—" I whispered to myself as I witnessed hell literally freeze over before my eyes.

"What are you doing?" Jesse asked, strolling up beside me. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and leaned down toward me, facing the direction I was looking.

"Who is that?" He asked.

"I think it's, no it can't be," I murmured.

"Isn't that Olivia and—"

"Carter," I said. We looked at each other, confused.

"Strange," he narrowed his eyes.

Strange was an understatement, if there was anyone that hated Carter, my ex, more than me, it was Olivia. She tried to have him thrown in jail just because she could last year. It was slightly hilarious, but still wrong. For no reason on this earth would they be caught together.

"No Jesse, you don't get it," I murmured as I returned my gaze to the two in the lifeguard station. "The other night she said something to me before I...you know..."

"Went all John Cena on her ass?" He joked. I shot him a look and he raised his hands. "Kidding, well, what was it?"

"I don't really remember," I shook my head. "Something about the golden siblings finally taking their fall?" I wondered out loud.

I looked away from the strange pair and bit my lip. She talked about how I had daddy issues, ugh, why did I have to drink?

"It's probably nothing Al," he tried to reassure me.

I glanced at him.

He sighed. "Okay, yeah, it's a little odd."

"What are they, like, planning things against us or something?" I wondered out loud.

"I don't know why, you two have enough to work out as it is," he mumbled.

"Uh, thanks," I frowned, crossing my arms.

"No offense," he smiled. "But where is the motive? Who cares?"

"Exactly, who would care? But Olivia is psychotic," I raised my eyebrows.

He shrugged in agreement.

"We can talk about it over coffee," he pointed south to the coffee shop, clearly hopeful.

I shook my head. "Oh no, I need to get closer."

He pursed his lips as the hope fell from his face and sent me a disapproving look.

"What?"

"As entertaining as this could be for me, you're an employee of mine and it didn't go well for me the last time you decided to snoop," He raised his eyebrows.

I sighed. "Not even remotely the same."

"You're right," he laughed. "Olivia is worse."

A couple of years ago, Lissa and I had it in our heads that some guy from the BBQ stand further down was following her home. We convinced Jared and Jesse to help out. Long story short, the guy actually lived two houses down from Lissa and Jared and Jesse nearly got their asses kicked.

"Psht," I brushed it off, glancing back to watch them. They were leaving.

"Oh!" I said eager to follow them. I crouched down and ran over to the edge of the wall to the beach. Hiding behind it, I peeked over to watch them walk together to a car. Must be her car because Carter certainly wouldn't be able to afford it.

"Alice," Jesse sighed, walking up behind me.

"Shh," I said urgently and grabbed his hand, ripping him down beneath the wall with me.

"We're going to find out what they're doing," I demanded.

He rolled his eyes. "And when you find it's nothing?"

I glance at him with a smirk. "Then we get coffee."

"Or we can go now," he matched my smirk, suddenly wrapping his arms around my waist and propping me over his shoulder.

I let out a squeal and slapped his back. "Jesse," I growled as my head hit his back with each step. I glanced up only to see the odd pair staring straight at us. They looked livid.

"Jesse let me down, they're staring straight at us," I said urgently.

"So let them," I felt him shrug. "Let the people who couldn't have us know we have each other."

My heart jump started at that and for a moment I was happy he couldn't see the blush creeping over my cheeks.

"Better yet," he started before lifting me off of his shoulder and placing me in front of him. "Let them know I'm yours."

I'm yours.

He grabbed my face with both of his hands and brought his lips to mine hungrily. I felt myself melting into him, my body sealing itself into his as his tongue met mine.

When he pulled away, I was breathless, almost intoxicated by the kiss. I had to actually shake my head to snap myself out of it.

I slapped his chest. "Jesse!"

He smiled despite my annoyance because I'm sure he knew that wasn't my only reaction.

"You're going to have them planning our murders, jeez," I sighed, turning around to walk to the coffee shop.

"Oh, don't be so dramatic," he joked, falling into step beside me. The wooden boardwalk was creaking underneath the weight of our steps and despite the early hour, the sun was already bearing down today. It was going to be a hot one, and I don't just mean the sun.

He held the door open for me when we made it to the shop, making it difficult to conceal the smile that the act gave me.

"Alice!"

I turned in the direction of the voice and when I saw who it was, I beamed. Lissa and Demi have been in their own worlds lately, Demi with Jared and Lissa...well, I'm actually not sure what she had been up to.

They stared suspiciously at the two of us, making Jesse laugh.

"They clearly haven't gotten the memo," he murmured, snaking his arm around my waist, sending my heart into a frenzy. There was something so real about the situation, it was no longer just us, it was everyone getting to see how we felt about each other.

Lissa's jaw dropped and Demi's eyebrows rose as she smacked Lissa.

"Ow!" Lissa yelped.

I ducked my head toward Jesse, letting my blonde hair cover my face to conceal the blush. His hand gently squeezed my waist.

"I'll get you a coffee, go talk to them," he smiled down at me.

"Wait," I frowned. "You don't know what I want though."

"Regular decaf," he spout off automatically, leaving me momentarily stunned that he knew it. "Which, by the way, is ridiculous. Who gets coffee if it isn't caffeinated?"

I rolled my eyes, but smiled gratefully before walking away wondering if he actually paid attention that much to my strange coffee habits.

"What just happened?" Lissa asked. "Am I seeing things Demi?"

"No, we just witnessed that," she confirmed as I took a seat at their table.

"That's what I thought, what the hell?!" she whispered in a yelling fashion. "You guys finally made it happen?"

"Liss, oh my gosh," I shook my head. "We just went on a date."

"And he's clearly in love with you," Demi added.

"And seems you're feeling the same," Lissa teased.

"Alright, alright," I laughed. "Take it easy. It's all new."

Lissa waggled her eyebrows at me and Demi giggled.

"I have more important news though," I crossed my arms and leaned them on the table.

"Give me the juicy gossip, I've been dying for some the past few days," she sighed.

I narrowed my eyes. "Yeah, actually," I began. "Where have you been?"

Demi choked on her laugh and Lissa sent her a glare.

"What?" I stared between the two of them. "What have I missed?"

Lissa slumped in her chair while Demi grinned. "Go on," she taunted Lissa. "Tell her where you've been."

"Okay, first off, it wasn't a total waste of time because I have some insane news of my own," she started.

"Get to the point," Demi interjected.

Lissa shot her a look before flipping her long hair over her shoulder. "As I was saying," she emphasized dramatically toward Demi. "I saw--"

"No, no," Demi rest her chin on her hand, smiling innocently. "Tell her the first part."

"Ugh, seriously," Lissa took a sip of her latte while I grew more curious. "I was with Jake."

My eyes bugged out as Demi slapped the table. "There it is!" she said.

"Shut up okay?" Lissa placed her face in her hands. "Wasn't my best moment," she said, muffled through her fingers.

"Are you serious?" I asked, shocked.

"Yeah, tell me about it," Demi rolled her eyes. "But now you may continue to the real story here."

Lissa leaned back up. "Okay, well, you wouldn't believe who I saw while I was visiting Jake."

Oh no, this was sounding familiar. Who else would surprise any of us by being together?

"Because it was a Dark's Light concert obviously and you know she's up Adam's ass so I shouldn't have been surprised to see her there, but him?" she shook her head. "Ugh."

I leaned back just as Jesse set my coffee on the table in front of me.

"Aren't you a gentleman," Demi teased. Jesse replied with a wink before pulling out a chair and sitting next to me.

"Nice to see you too," he said.

"Let me guess," I started.

"Oh boy," Jesse sighed. "Please tell me you three aren't scheming."

I ignored him and stared at Lissa. "Olivia and Carter."

"Yes!" she threw her hands up in the air. "Can you believe it? Like, what would they be together for? Talk about the real scheming."

"And you are," Jesse pursed his lips and nodded to himself, taking a long sip of his coffee.

"No!" I leaned forward. "We saw them in a lifeguard station just a few minutes ago!"

"No?!" Lissa responded, her eyes wide.

"Jesse wouldn't let me follow," I grumbled, shooting him a quick glare.

"Are you crazy?!" Demi said to him.

He looked at the three of us. "That's my cue, I'll see you back at the Shack, Al," he said quickly as he stood up. "Oh and try not to get Jared and I roped into this."

With that, he sent us a mock salute and exited the coffee shop.

We all stared at him for a few seconds before returning to our animated conversation, leaning further into the table to stay quiet.

"There's something seriously wrong with them, what are they up to?" Lissa questioned.

"I don't know, but a year ago they wouldn't have been caught dead with each other," Demi shook her head.

"Hell, at the beginning of the summer, I heard she shoved him off of a bike on the pier," Lissa added.

I let out a deep breath. "It's Adam, it has to be, the other night she said something about Jared and I falling, I don't know," I tapped my fingers on the table in thought. "It has to be Adam? What other reason, other than her obvious hatred for human beings in general, would cause her to come after me?"

I waited for them to respond, but they seemed to agree.

"It definitely wasn't the first time she had threatened me, but I always thought she was just crazy," I chewed my lip.

"Well, she is," Demi leaned back into her chair.

"Yeah, but I never thought she would be literal 'come after you' crazy," I wondered out loud.

"That doesn't explain Jared though," Demi said.

I flicked my wrist. "He dumped her."

"Three years ago," she said incredulously.

Lissa and I simply stared at her.

"No way, no girl is that obsessed with a guy," she defended.

I raised an eyebrow.

Lissa snorted. "She's not obsessed, she's upset she was dumped. She never even liked him, it just made sense for the two of them to date."

"Yeah, so I'm not the only one who should watch her back," I bit back a grin, knowing she would be an obvious target since she was with Jared.

"Oh shit, hide your faces it's her," Lissa quickly held up a menu and hid behind it as the door dinged, followed by the sound of high heels clicking across the linoleum floor. Demi scrambled underneath the table, banging her head on the corner as she went down, but it was most likely too late.

I slid down into my chair, letting my hair fall, but I knew she would recognize us. Demi's red hair was a dead giveaway and I was wearing a Shack shirt. Dangit.

I glanced at Demi out of the corner of my eye and she was vigorously rubbing her head.

A laugh sounded behind me.

"You guys are actually just embarrassing," Olivia sneered. I cringed and Lissa slapped her menu down onto the table, her full bitch face out.

"You're actually insane, I can't believe they let you out," Lissa smirked. How she was always able to stay calm around Olivia, I could never figure out.

I finally turned around and bit back a laugh. She was glaring at Lissa.

"What are you wearing?" I said though a grin, my eyebrows raised in surprise.

"What are your talking about," she snapped.

She was wearing a UNICEF shirt. For children. Who she hates.

Demi crawled out from underneath the table and slid in next to Lissa.

"Take off the disguise Olive," Lissa said while she stared at her nails, acting bored. "We all know you eat children."

Olivia stood up straight and her jaw visibly tensed.

"Soon, you'll regret that little comment," she threatened.

"Hmm," Lissa looked up dramatically. "No," she stared at her and shook her head. "I won't, but I will regret not throwing my drink on you if you don't get out of here."

"How's Jake by the way?" Olivia smiled. Lissa tensed up.

"Let me guess," I sighed and turned to face her again. "You slept with him? Oh!" I placed my hand to my chin in thought. "I bet he doesn't like condoms either, huh?"

"Don't forget ladies," she smirked. "I had the guys you love first, how does it feel to be sloppy seconds after me?"

"Not Jesse though, right?" I challenged. Her smirk faltered for a second.

"Who would want Jesse Vanderlin?" she replied.

I simply stared at her, watching her become visibly uncomfortable at my silence. Her fake smile fell and her true colors showed in the shape of her glare as she stepped toward me.

"Don't think he's untouchable Dessen, you have no idea what I'm capable of," she said menacingly.

I stood up and met her glare with my own cool expression. "You forget that I don't care."

She gave me a quick once-over and let her icy smirk return. "Two weeks is a long time for damage to be done, but you would know wouldn't you? One day was enough to damage daddy's little girl."

It felt as if she had physically slapped me.

Lissa shot out of her seat, jumping in front of me. "Get out," Lissa threatened, towering over Olivia.

Olivia laughed, but Lissa stepped forward, bumping her with her shoulder. "Get out," she said again, much cooler.

Olivia huffed and grabbed her coffee off of the counter before leaving the shop laughing.

I let out a breath and Lissa whipped around to face Demi.

"Where were you?!" Lissa picked up the menu and slapped her with it. "Get your head in the game my fiery red head, we're at war."

"Ow," Demi replied, pushing her away from her head.

"Bitch," I breathed, still in shock by her comment.

Lissa grabbed my arm and my coffee, signaling to Demi to get up as she dragged me out of the door.

"Let's go tan," she determined.