"Let me have the keys," JJ says as we walk out on to the front porch. "I'm driving."

"When did I say you could drive my Jeep?" I ask.

"You didn't, but please?" He pouts and gives me puppy dog eyes. He tries again when I don't respond. "Please Sunny? You know how much I love you right?"

I sigh and hand him the keys. "Just drive normal though, okay? None of that off-road shit you tried last time," I say, referring to him driving out on the public beach to ramp sand dunes. You aren't even allowed to drive on any of the beaches here. I was surprised we didn't get caught.

"Normal driving, on the road, got it." He runs to the Jeep and jumps in the drivers seat. "Buckle up, babe, we're going on a wild ride," he says as I climb into the passenger seat.

"JJ, you promised," I whine.

"I'm joking. Chill," he says. "I got this."

I love to watch him as he drives. The way one hand grips the steering wheel while the other rests on the gear shift. The way his muscles contract in his forearm as he shifts gears. The way he chews his bottom lip and squints his eyes in the setting sun. He is attractive, I'll admit that without hesitation.  But I can't think of him that way. He's my best friend, and I have Tyler.

"Leave it on, I'm gonna head out," I say as we pull into John B's driveway behind the van.

"You don't want to come in for a minute?" JJ asks, sounding disappointed.

"I have to pick up Tyler. We're meeting Sarah at 7:00." I unbuckle my seatbelt and climb out, rounding the front of the car.

"Okay." He sets the parking break and jumps out. "Since the cell towers will go down from the storm, plan to be at The Wreck around 9:00 AM day after tomorrow."

"I'll be there," I promise.

"Wait." He grabs my arm as I'm about to climb back in the Jeep. "Stay safe tomorrow, okay?"

"You too," I tell him. He envelopes me in a tight hug, holding on much longer than necessary. "I'll see you the day after tomorrow, JJ, it's not that long!" I complain, but I giggle.

"Okay, okay. I'll see you then. Bye Sunny," he says softly.

"Bye JJ."

I head back across the island to Figure 8, rolling up to Tyler's house at ten til 7:00. I honk and he comes out.

"Hey gorgeous," he says as he climbs into the Jeep. He leans over and plants a kiss on my lips. "What did you do all day?"

"Had a nice swim, helped my mom unload stuff she bought for the storm, ate pizza."

"Sounds boring as hell," he says with a laugh. "I hit the back nine at the country club with Rafe and Topper."

"Oh, nice, how'd you do?" I ask.

"Shot four under. Not my best, but definitely not my worst."

"I'm glad you had fun with the boys."

We pull into the lot at Kildare Stadium. The parking lot is already pretty full, despite the big storm rolling in. Most of the people who attend the baseball games are kooks, and they usually pay people to ready their houses for hurricanes, so this is just another night for them.

We find Sarah at the front gate right at 7:00. She's with her brother and Topper. Guess they've made up.

"Hey Sunny, hey Tyler," Sarah says with a warm smile.

"Hey," I reply. The boys do some kind of handshake with each other, then promptly ignore us as they begin talking about their golf game from earlier.

Seeing they're distracted, I motion for Sarah to distance herself from them a bit. "So, you and Topper made up?" I ask.

"Yeah. We're okay," she says as she smiles, but it doesn't meet her eyes.

"Oh. Well, good then." I look back at the three boys.

Once the boys decide to stop ignoring us, I end up having a decent time. Topper and Sarah really do seem okay, and neither mentions their fight. I get a text halfway through the game. I turn away slightly to check it when I see it's from JJ.

JJ 🌊
How's date night with
Toolbag Tyler?

Can you not with the
nickname? Everything's fine.

JJ 🌊
Just fine? Out with your
boyfriend and things are "fine"?

What are you getting at?

JJ 🌊
You just don't seem to
like spending much time
with him.

Well, I do.
Stay safe tomorrow.
I'll see you soon.

"Who were you texting?" Tyler asks, his eyes full of curiosity.

"Kie. She was saying her parents are keeping the restaurant closed tomorrow to get it ready for the storm, so they didn't need me to come in and work," I lie smoothly.

"Why do you work there? It's not like your parents aren't loaded," he comments.

"Because I like making my own money. I'm not going to rely on my parents' financial support forever," I say. He rolls his eyes at me.

I'm in a sour mood for the rest of the game. I take Tyler back to his house in silence. "What's with you?" he asks as I pull up to his driveway.

"Nothing," I say. "I'm just tired. I need to get home, I have to help my parents with the house tomorrow."

"Whatever. Come here," he says, pulling me towards him. He plants a kiss on my lips. "Love you Sunny."

"Yep. I'll see you after the storm is over," I promise him. He waves as I pull away.

I get home around 10:30 and head to bed, knowing tomorrow will be a long day of putting the finishing touches on the house and our property to prepare for the storm.

**************************************
Mom wakes me early the next morning with news that the storm is going to make landfall earlier than previously projected. We rush through breakfast and I throw on old clothes to help my parents get the farm ready for the storm. We don't live along the coast, but the island isn't that big, so everywhere is vulnerable. Even though she did a lot yesterday, it still takes us several hours to lock up the barns and various storage units and make sure all the equipment is secure. We don't have much help because most of the employees live along the coast, and my parents told them to get their houses boarded up instead of coming into work.

The wind starts to pick up around lunch time, and the rain starts about an hour later. It starts out slow, but quickly becomes torrential rain, the kind that soaks you instantly. We head into the downstairs hallway when the rain and wind gets so loud that we have to yell to hear each other even though we're inside the house. We bunker down for what feels like an eternity. My stomach is in knots as I think about JJ and John B at the chateau. It's been around since the 1920s and has withstood countless hurricanes, but I can't shake the fear that something could happen to them.

The power goes out during the worst part of the storm, as does cell service. We sleep in the hallway that night as the storm still rages outside.

I wake first the next morning. My stomach is still in knots as I worry about my friends. There's no cell service still, so I can't even text them. It's just past 7:00 AM. Mom and dad are still asleep, so I tiptoe around them and open the makeshift door they boarded over the hallway entrance. Sunlight spills into the living room from a gap in the hurricane shutters. I head upstairs and slip on a pair of shoes to go out and survey the yard.

Outside, it doesn't look as bad as I thought it would. I can see a handful of shingles lying in the yard, and several trees have limbs missing, but overall, we came out okay. I wonder how the rest of the island looks.

I go back into the house and hear rustling from the hallway. My parents must be awake. Mom emerges first, frowning. "I am too old to sleep on the floor like that," she groans, clutching her back. "Did you go outside already?"

"Yeah. A few shingles came off, some downed limbs. Not too bad around here."

She starts a pot of coffee. "Everyone meeting up this morning?" she inquires.

"Yeah, I'm supposed to be at The Wreck at 9:00," I tell her.

"Ah, I miss those days. Day after a hurricane, boating around the island with my friends looking at all the damage. Higher than a Georgia pine," she says wistfully.

"Right. I'm gonna get a quick shower and I'll be back down," I tell her. "Save me some coffee."

I take a shower, moving quickly through the motions so I don't run out of hot water. I put on my bathing suit under my clothes and pack my backpack before heading back downstairs. I head to the kitchen to find my mom making us a limited breakfast of toast and cereal. They must not have connected the stove to the generator this time. I eat in silence as my parents talk about splitting up the survey of the property to check for damage. Dad offers to take me down to the restaurant to meet my friends.

He drops me off around 8:45. Kie is waiting out front for me. "Hey, come help me pack the cooler!" she says as I climb out of dad's truck. I wave to him as he drives off.

"Yeah, what are we packing?" I ask as I follow her inside.

"Well, alcohol, obviously, and some snacks I guess?" She takes me behind the bar and starts to dig through the beer cooler. I bend down and look at the liquor selection. I find a bottle of tequila shoved in the back. It has a bit of dust on it.

"You think they'd miss this? Looks like it's been there awhile." I hold up the bottle to show Kie.

"Oh shit, tequila? Sunny, come on." She loads handfuls of beer into the cooler.

"What?" I ask, looking back down at the bottle.

"Do you not remember what happened the last time you drank tequila?" she asks.

"Uh.. remind me?"

"You flashed me your tits!" she says with a laugh.

"Oh, right, well I'll keep them covered today," I promise. She takes the bottle from me and puts it in the cooler.

"If we're bringing tequila, grab a few limes and a salt shaker," she instructs, pointing to the small fridge under the bar. Inside I find a whole bag of limes. I grab several and throw them in the cooler.

"Okay, snacks?" I say, clasping my hands together.

"We can take oyster crackers, um, I think there's some granola bars in the back, maybe see if there's more fruit?"

I head through the double doors into the back cooler. I grab a bushel of grapes and a small bag of apples and take them back through the doors. "This should be enough, right?" I ask as I place the fruit in the cooler.

"Yeah. Hey, it's almost 9:00, we need to head out to the dock," she says. She struggles to lift the packed cooler off the counter.

"Shit, there's too much in there. You grab one side and I'll grab the other and we can split the weight." I help her get it off the counter and we get on either side of it.

With one last glance at the front door to make sure it's locked, we head out back and walk down the dock to wait on the boys.

"So how'd Tyler's house hold up?" she asks.

"How should I know? Cell towers are down," I remind her.

"I didn't know if you went over there early this morning to check on him," she says.

"Nah. He's fine. I'll see him eventually," I say.

"You know, for someone who's your boyfriend, you don't seem too concerned with him most of the time."

I sigh. "Can I tell you something?" I ask. "And you can't repeat it." She makes an X over her heart and mimics stabbing it. "I'm kind of just... over it with him."

"So why don't you break up with him?" she asks.

"I mean, I think I'm going to, eventually. I have to find the right time. I don't want him to think I'm like, into someone else or something. It needs to be organic."

"Okay, but you are into someone else, so why not just be honest?" she replies.

"Who do you think I'm into?"

She looks out into the water as the HMS Pogue approaches. "He's rolling up in this boat right now."

The three boys have pulled up at exactly 9:00 AM. I can't help but feel like a weight has been lifted when I see JJ is unscathed from last night's storm. John B pulls the boat right up to the dock.

"Someone take this thing," I say, motioning to the cooler. Pope reaches out for it and nearly drops it, underestimating it's weight.

"What the hell is in here?" he asks as he shakily lowers it to the bottom of the boat.

"Um, some snacks, beer," Kie ticks off the list.

"Tequila," I add.

"Tequila?" JJ repeats, his interest piqued. I open the cooler and show him. "Didn't you show Kie your tits the last time you got drunk on tequila?"

"She brought that up too!" I say with a laugh.

"Well, let me know if you're feeling squirrelly today, I don't want to miss the show this time," he says, bumping against my shoulder.

I shove him. "Pervert," I say, but I can't help but smile.

"You love it," he says loud enough for only me to hear.

"Okay, so I thought we'd go down all the channels and the intracoastal, scope everything out, then anchor out in the marsh. Cool with everyone?" John B calls over his shoulder as he drives.

We all reply back with varying versions of 'yes' as he guns the throttle and takes us out into the intracoastal. The damage from the storm is extensive, but not catastrophic. The power will definitely be out for at least a few days on some parts of the island. We can see several downed utility poles as we make our way around the island.

I quickly grow bored of looking at the destruction and reach into the cooler for the tequila. I struggle to get the top off.

JJ gently takes it from me. "I like where your head's at," he says, breaking the seal and removing the cap from the bottle. He takes a drink of the tequila. "Woo!" he says once he swallows.

I take the bottle from him and take a drink. I fight back a cough from the strong liquor. "Oh, god, I need the limes and the salt," I say, handing JJ the bottle and digging into the cooler. I pull the salt shaker and one lime out. "Who has a knife?" I ask.

"I have my pocket knife," Pope says, reaching into his pocket.

"Can I use it to slice limes?" I ask.

He opens the blade and hands it to me. "I can't believe y'all are doing tequila shots at 9:30 in the morning."

"It's JJ and Sunny, what do you expect?" Kie says as she sips her beer.

I take the knife from Pope and use the cooler lid as my cutting board. I slice the lime into six equal parts and scoop them up in my hands. I head back to the stern and sit down, separating the lime slices into two piles. I motion for JJ to sit across from me. "Okay, ready yourself," I say. I lick the back of my hand and sprinkle salt on the wet skin. I pick up a lime wedge with my salty hand. "Give me the bottle," I tell JJ. I hold out my hand. Once I have the bottle, I look at the tequila, then back up at him. "Here goes nothing," I say cheerfully. I take a gulp of the tequila, then quickly lick the salt off my hand and bite into the lime wedge. I hold my hands up in victory when I finish.

"My turn," JJ says, snatching the bottle from me. Gulp, lick, bite. He does it all without making a face.

"A true professional," I remark.

We each take two more shots, finishing off the lime wedges. "Shew," I say, fanning myself. "Three shots in and I'm already getting hot." I pull my shirt up over my head and toss it on top of my bag.

"Oh, you wore my favorite one," JJ says.

"This one is your favorite?" I ask, looking down at my bikini top.

"Hmm, wonder why?" Kie's voice drips with sarcasm. The bikini top doesn't leave a whole lot to the imagination.

JJ laughs sheepishly. "Cut up more limes," he says, trying to divert my thoughts away from Kie's comment.

"Okay," I say, moving back towards the cooler. I cut up two more limes and somehow manage to bring them all over to the stern without dropping any.
We pound four more shots a piece, and I strip off my shorts, wanting the least amount of clothes on as possible as my body temperature continues to rise.

"Sunny," Kie warns as I toss my shorts on top of my shirt.

"They're covered, Kie! I'm just hot from drinking the liquor," I tell her.

"You don't have to drink liquor to be hot, Sunny," JJ says as he lays beside me.

"Shut up," I say, lying back beside him.

"I can't, I'm too drunk," he replies.

"Hey, we're gonna anchor here and swim. Stay in the boat, you two," John B says. He, Kie, and Pope strip off their clothes and dive into the water. "Don't make us save your drowning asses," he warns as they swim away from the boat a little.

"Who are they to say we can't swim?" I ask. I sit up quickly and my head swims with drunkenness. "Oh, shit, never mind," I say with a laugh.

JJ sits up beside me. "No dude, my ass would drown if I tried to swim right now. I'd sink right to the bottom."

"How much did we drink?" I ask.

JJ fumbles around for the tequila bottle and holds it up. "Uh, like two-thirds of the bottle?"

"Fuck. No wonder I'm so drunk." I get up and wander over to my backpack to look for my juul. I find it and pull it out, placing it between my lips and letting it dangle as I walk back to my seat. I take a long drag before passing it to JJ.

He inhales and spins the device through his fingers. "Let me do a body shot off of you."

"A body shot?" I repeat.

"Yeah, remember when we did them at that spring break party a few months ago? With those girls from Tennessee? Where you pour the liquor—"

"Yeah I remember that, and what it is," I reply. I remember the party well. The same party I flashed Kie. It was an absolute shit show. Tyler and I had gotten into a huge fight because he said I was flirting with JJ. I got stupid drunk and made out with one of those girls from Tennessee just to piss him off even more. JJ talked about it for weeks afterward.

"Okay, so can I do it?" he asks.

"You just want to put your face in my tits," I scoff.

"Oh, I would never. Tyler certainly wouldn't approve."

I roll my eyes and sigh. "One," I say, acting as if it's a giant inconvenience. Tyler would have an absolute shit fit if he knew what I was out here doing, but I'm too drunk to care.

"Yes! Lay down." I lay down flat on the stern as he grabs one of the remaining lime wedges and the salt shaker. He balances the lime fruit side up between my lips and grabs the tequila bottle. He splashes a bit of the liquor across my chest and generously salts the area. I reach up and remove the lime from my mouth.

"I don't recall the salt going that low. It should be on the top of my boobs, closer to my collar bone," I say, looking down at my chest. The salt sits well down into my cleavage.

"Hush, I know what I'm doing. Now be still," he says. I put the lime back and hold still as he pours tequila into my belly button. I squeal at the coldness. "Okay, ready?" he asks.

"Yup, go for it."

He bends down and slowly slurps the tequila, then drags his tongue across my cleavage, making sure to get every last grain of salt. I clench my fists to keep from moaning from the feel of his mouth against my chest. I may have made a mistake in letting him do this.

"Hey! What the hell are y'all doing up there?" Kie yells from the water.

JJ quickly bites into the lime and spits it into his hand. "Body shots!" he says excitedly.

"Like spring break party body shots?" John B asks.

"Yeah," I answer him, sitting up.

"That almost qualifies as pogue on pogue macking. No dice, guys," Kie says. "Besides, what would Tyler say?"

"Oh fuck off, Kie, he only did one," I tell her. "And Tyler isn't going to find out."

"We're getting back in anyway, we see