The next morning, eager knocking rouses me from sleep. I groan as I open my eyes. Bright sunlight spills in through the window and I have to squint as my eyes adjust. The eager knocking repeats itself.

"I'm coming," I call out, my voice thick with sleep. I extract myself from JJ's grasp so I can get up. He doesn't even flinch as I move his arm off of me and roll out of the bed. I pull on last night's jean skirt to cover my lower half and I open the door. I'm met with Kie's wide smile.

"You don't have to slap me," she says in a whisper. I go out into the hall and shut the door behind me. "You might even high five me."

"Oh?" I ask excitedly.

She beams. "We kissed. A lot. Made out, actually. Groped each other a little."

"Wow, I will high five you for that," I say, and she holds her hand up so I can slap it with mine. We both laugh. "So what now?"

"I don't know. We were both pretty drunk so we didn't really talk about feelings. We'll see how things go when he wakes up." She looks back towards the living room, where he's sprawled out on the pullout bed. "Have you looked outside? We've got quite the mess to clean up."

"Yeah, I saw last night. Do you want to go ahead and start?" I ask.

"Not really, but we can."

I manage to find a couple trash bags under the sink in the kitchen, and I hand Kie one before we go out in the yard. We work for over an hour, just us, and we make a decent dent in the trash in the yard. Sarah joins us in the yard and immediately lends a hand.

"Why do boys sleep so long?" she asks as she gathers trash.

"So they don't have to do this," I joke. I move my bag to the end of the picnic table and sweep everything off of it into the trash.

"You're probably right. You guys must've started a while ago," she says, looking around. "It doesn't look as bad as I remember it."

"It's been over an hour," I tell her. "The boys aren't getting out of cleaning though. They can pick up all the shit in the house. I say once we finish the yard, we call it quits."

"Cheers to that," Kie says from the other end of the yard. Her bag is almost full.

We finish up outside and leave the bags on the back porch. Upon heading back into the house, we find all three boys in the living room, lounging on the couches.

"Good, you're up. We've done our share of cleaning up. Y'all get to deal with the house," Kie says as she steps over a couple discarded cups in the floor. She sits beside Pope on the couch. They give each other a small smile and he places his hand on top of hers.

After a few minutes of complaining that they have so much to do, the boys get to work cleaning up the house while Sarah, Kie, and I relax on the porch and talk about the party last night. Once we run out of stories, we try planning out our day.

"Kie and I work this evening until 9:00," I say. "But if we want to all plan something for tonight..."

"Or maybe... separately?" Kie suggests. "Kinda trying to hang out with Pope one on one, ya know?"

"Oh, yeah, of course. Did you guys already make plans?" Sarah asks.

"No, but I'm gonna ask," Kie says.

"So this is going to be a thing, huh? All the Pogues coupling up?" I ask.

Kie shrugs. "I guess so." She lets out a laugh. "And to think, I was the one who made up the rule. Do you even know why I made it up?"

"You has said it was to 'keep things simple' as I recall." I think back to a few summers ago when Kie has first brought up the 'no pogue on pogue macking' rule that became her mantra.

"Yeah, it was that, but I was worried Pope was going to get left out," she says. "I had a huge crush on John B back then," she shakes her head at the thought, "And I saw how you and JJ were always flirting and I thought, what if y'all got together, and what if John B likes me back, and then Pope was alone? It made me feel bad, so I basically told everyone they weren't allowed to like each other."

"John B, really?" I say with a laugh. "He's like a brother to both of us."

"Yeah it was a weird summer," she says with another laugh.

"I'll say." We're quiet for a moment.

"I wish I could've been friends with you guys growing up," Sarah says. "I like you guys better than the kooks."

"We're honored," I say, speaking for everyone. "And speaking of the Pogues, we should probably check on the boys. They've been alone for a while."

********************************

We head in to check on the boys, and they've actually made pretty decent progress. We sit inside and talk to them as they finish up, and then we all have to go our separate ways due to everyone's work schedules. John B takes Sarah home on his way into work, Pope takes Kie home, and JJ gives me a ride on the back of his bike over to my house before he has to get ready for work.

"Do you want to do something after I get off work tonight?" I ask him.

"Sure. Like what?"

"I don't know. I just want to spend time with you," I tell him.

He smiles. "I'll pick you up from work at 9:00, then." He leans in and gives me a slow, sweet kiss. "I'll see you tonight for our date," he says with a wave. He takes off on his bike towards the cut.

I have several hours before I have to work, and my long stretch of time between now and my shift at the restaurant inspires me to have a little self care day. I start with a nap. Upon waking, I deep condition my hair, use body scrub in the shower, do a face mask, the works. I even curl my hair and put on a few swipes of mascara.

I head downstairs feeling refreshed. I find my mom in the kitchen, making a batch of lemonade with lemons from one of our trees. She looks at me as I climb up on one of the bar stools.

"You look awfully pretty for an evening at work," she comments as she measures out sugar.

"Oh, thanks," I tell her.

"You're welcome. So what's with the fancy hair and makeup?"

"Um, I dunno, I just felt like making an effort for once," I joke.

"Maybe you have a little date tonight?" she asks, a sly smile growing on her face.

"Something like that," I say with a shrug.

"What are you two doing?"

"Don't know yet. He just said he'd pick me up from work."

"Hmm. Well have fun. Do you want me to take you to the restaurant?" she asks.

"Yeah sure. I just need to grab my stuff. I'll be back down in a minute." I rush upstairs and throw a change of clothes into my backpack, wanting to have something to wear besides old khaki shorts and my work T-shirt for whatever we're doing tonight.

Mom drops me off at the restaurant, and even though my shift is only five hours, it drags on for what feels like an eternity. I continually check my phone for the time, growing more frustrated by the hour.

"Dude, what's your deal?" Kie asks after I check my phone for the hundredth time.

"I just wish today wasn't so slow," I complain.

"What difference does it make?" she asks.

"JJ said he was going to take me on a date tonight, and I'm just... anxious to see what that means," I say.

"A date? Is that why you did your hair and put on makeup?" she asks. I nod sheepishly. "Is he going full boyfriend on you?"

"I don't know. He didn't say what we were doing, and when I've tried to ask him, he just tells me 'you'll see' and leaves me wondering." I glance at the time again. 8:50 pm.

"I can't even imagine what he'll come up with. He's not really the romantic type," Kie says with a laugh.

"He's really sweet sometimes," I remind her, and she nods.

"With you, maybe," she says. "Literally never seen or heard of him doing anything sweet."

"I guess I'll have to tell you all about it then," I say with a smile. "I'm going to go ahead and change."

"You brought a change of clothes?"

"Of course I did. Do you think I'm going out on a date wearing this?" I motion to my "The Wreck" T-shirt and loose shorts.

"I guess not," she says with a shrug. "Go on and change, and then you can wait for him here at the bar." She taps the counter.

"Okay." I head through the double doors to the employee bathroom with my backpack. I check my hair in the mirror, fluffing the curls a little. They're a tad looser than they were when I first got here, but my hair still looks good. I shed my work clothes and pull on my date outfit - my favorite pair of frayed denim shorts and a red crocheted halter top. I slip my feet back into my Vans and give myself one last look in the mirror before stuffing my work clothes in my bag and slinging it over my shoulder.

When I walk back out into the main dining area, I see JJ talking to Kie. He's traded his usual loose cut-off tank, cargo shorts, and boots for a tight, white T-shirt that contrasts with his tan, muscular arms, jeans that hug his hips just right, and white converse high tops. Such a simple outfit, but he looks like a model. I swoon internally.

He smiles and runs his hand through his hair when he sees me. "Hey, are you ready?" he asks.

"Yeah, just gotta wait til 9:00," I say, glancing at the clock on my phone.

"Go on, we're dead. A couple minutes won't make a difference," Kie says. She gives me a light push towards the end of the bar, smiling at us.

"Come on," JJ says,  grabbing my bag off my shoulder. He takes my hand and leads me out of the restaurant. I'm surprised when I see John B's van in the lot. "Borrowed her from JB for the night," he says when he sees me eyeing it.

"Oh, okay. So what are we doing?" I ask as I climb into the passenger seat.

He tosses my bag behind the driver's seat. "I got a whole little thing planned," he says as he looks over at me. "You'll see when we get there."

"Okay," I say, watching the road as he drives. We're headed East. He drives in comfortable silence, humming  and tapping his fingers on the steering wheel along with the radio. He takes us to the access point for the Gold Coast, and quickly jumps out of the van after parking. He heads around the front of the van and opens my door for me, then slings open the sliding door in the back. I watch as he pulls a blanket and a plastic bag from the convenience store out of the floor. He slams the door shut.

"Follow me," he instructs. Together we walk out on to the large expanse of beach. It's completely void of other people. He walks with purpose to a small pile of logs and wood scraps that look perfectly placed, as if he had already been here to set them up. It's a clear, cloudless night, and the moon is bright and full. "Hold this," he says, handing me the plastic bag. I take it from him and watch as he spreads the blanket out by the wood pile,  then takes the bag back from me and pulls out a bottle of lighter fluid. He squirts it over the logs and pulls a matchbook from his pocket. "Stand back," he says, striking a match and tossing it on top of the soaked logs. The wood goes up immediately, warm flames bursting to life. "Sit," he says, gesturing to the blanket. I sit, and he plops down next to me, now revealing the contents of the bag.

He puts the lighter fluid in the sand next to our blanket. "Wine," he says, holding up a familiar looking bottle. "From Sarah, not from the gas station," he clarifies with a chuckle. "There's also water," he says, pulling out two bottles. "You always say you're thirsty after work and chugging wine isn't a good idea. Also got your favorite candy." He places a bag of tropical skittles in my lap. He pulls out a bag of original skittles for himself. "I know it's not much, but the plan is to sit here together, eat our candy, get a little tipsy by this fire, and look at the stars while we just... talk. About whatever you want, for as long as you want, or until the fire burns out and it gets cold."

My heart squeezes in my chest at all of this. I couldn't think of a more perfect evening, and it's so sweet that he got my favorite candy and the water. I feel like I mentioned once, maybe twice, tops, that I always felt thirsty after work.

"This is perfect," I say, pulling his face towards mine and placing a kiss on his lips. "And Kie said you weren't the romantic type."

"This is romantic?" he asks. "I just tried to think of some stuff you like and hoped for the best."

"Romantic is exactly what this is," I tell him.

"So I'm nailing this boyfriend thing?" he asks.

I laugh. "Yes. I told you it was easy."

He shrugs. "Only because I know you so well."

"Don't doubt yourself," I say, turning serious. "You are perfect."

"Far from it, actually. But I'll take the compliment," he says, bumping his shoulder against mine.

We're both quiet for a moment, and I take a few sips of water as my eyes scan the beach. "Did you come here earlier and build this fire?"

"Yeah, it took me forever to collect the wood. I dragged it from all over. I had to do it ahead of time because I didn't want to get all sweaty and gross before I sat next to you all night."

I laugh. "So thoughtful of you."

After I finish my water, JJ produces a wine corker from his pocket and opens the wine for us. We pass the bottle back and forth between us as we look up at the sky, pointing out constellations. After the wine is gone, we lay back on the blanket and hold hands as we talk about parallel universes. We hypothesize about our alien doppelgängers and what they're doing. Do they know each other? Are they best friends? Are they a couple? So they have crazy super powers? The possibilities are endless.

My stomach hurts from laughing so much at our crazy ideas. As we concoct more theories, I idly think about past dates I've been on. They usually consisted of fancy dinners at expensive restaurants, elaborate outings to the mainland to see a concert or somehow make our way into a bar or club we definitely weren't old enough to be in, or something else ridiculously bougie like a private helicopter tour of the Outer Banks islands. Sure, they were cool in the moment, but I can't recall a single time where I had been as genuinely happy or had such innocent fun.

I don't have to dress or act a certain way with JJ. I don't have to worry about saying the right thing, or not being awkward, or holding in my inappropriate remarks that pop into my head. My family and social status don't matter. I get to just be me.

"What are you thinking about?" JJ asks, letting go of my hand to push up on his elbow. He looks down at me.

"The fact that it's so easy to be with you."

"What do you mean?" he asks.

"I can just be me. I don't have to pretend to be someone I'm not. I can say and do whatever I want, and I know you won't judge me," I explain.

"Shouldn't it always be that way?"

"Yeah, it should, but it hasn't been, at least in past relationships." I sigh.

"To be fair, I think I told you about a million times to dump that asshole. We could've been doing this for months, instead of..." he pauses to think for a moment. "Two weeks?"

"To be fair," I say, copying his words. "I've always been able to be me around you. Since we were little, you've always taken me at face value."

"I wouldn't want you to be any other way," he says.

"Same for you," I reply. We're quiet for a moment. "This is the best date I've ever been on," I tell him, and he smiles.

"Really?"

"Really."

He leans down to kiss me, a long, slow, gentle kiss; the kind that makes you want to melt into a puddle. When he pulls back, he kisses my forehead. "The fire is almost out," he says, looking at what's left in front of us. Everything has burned down, leaving a pile of ash and a few small pieces of glowing coals. "I should probably take you home."

I stifle a yawn. "Yeah, probably."

We get up from the sand and I grab our trash while he picks up the blanket to fold it. We make our way back to the van. He drives me back to the farm, old school Sublime blasting through the speakers, and we sing along at the top of our lungs until we pull into my driveway. He turns down the music and cuts the engine as I start to get out.

"Wait, wait. I'm going to walk you to your door," he says as he hurries to get out.

He jogs around the front of the van to open my door for me, and he walks with me up to the front door.

"This is where I leave you," he says as he winds his arms around my waist. I throw my arms around his neck and stand on my tiptoes to kiss him, another knee-weakening, earth-shaking kiss that leaves me breathless when we break apart. We say our goodbyes and I let myself into the house as he walks back to the van and starts it up. I hear him pull off as I shut and lock the door behind me.

I float up the stairs to my bedroom, my cheeks beginning to hurt because I'm smiling so hard. I change into sleeping clothes and fall into my bed with a content sigh. I fall asleep with a smile still etched on my face, excited for work tomorrow where I get to tell Kie how wrong she was and how perfect our date was.

***********************************

I wake early the next morning, despite not getting in until almost 2:00 AM. I bound down the stairs, full of energy, to find my parents in the kitchen having breakfast, as they do each morning. They're surprised to see me up so early, and not dragging my feet because of the early hour.

"You're up early," Dad comments as he lowers the newspaper from in front of his face. "I thought you were out late. I didn't even hear you come in."

"I got in a little before two," I say, giving my mom a nod of thanks as she brings over a cup of coffee for me.

"So, how was your date?" he asks.

"Great. Really great," I say, not bothering to fight the grin taking over my face. He shares a look with my mom.

"Good," he says. "Not to change the subject completely, but since there's been no mention of you know who, or any of his friends, lurking around, I think it's safe for you to start driving again. Just keep a look out for anything amiss."

"Oh, cool. I've kind of missed driving," I admit. "That means I can drive myself to and from work today. I work 11:00 to 3:00."

"Yeah, I think things are okay now. I'd say he's truly not going to bother you anymore. And the hearing is less than a week away." He looks at the letter with the hearing date stuck on the fridge with a magnet.

"Yep. Only a few more days until we really don't have to worry anymore," Mom says.

I nod. "Hopefully after that day I never see his face again. Well, I guess I'll see him at school occasionally, but other than that..."

The three of us finish breakfast together, and I skip upstairs to waste some time before getting ready for work. At 10:30, I take off out to the Jeep and climb in. "I've missed ya, girl," I say as I climb in the drivers seat and start up the engine. Town is surprisingly busy this morning, which is odd, but I don't think much of it at first. As I approach Main Street, I look around at the shops and take notice of the increase in foot traffic. It dawns on me. The tourists. I've kind of been in my own little world the last few weeks, and I've forgotten about the start of tourist season. I laugh as I watch a whole gaggle of pale-skinned tourists make their way to one of the kitschy gift shops, already sporting Hawaiian button-ups and T-shirts with the famous OBX logo on them.

I groan to myself as I roll up to the intersection and see that the stoplight has just turned red. There aren't even any other cars on the road at the moment. I hardly ever hit it red, thankfully, because it takes forever to change back to