JJ drags the cooler out of the boat and brings it inside the chateau. We gobble down the oyster crackers and fruit in an attempt to sober up a bit, and it works for everyone but JJ and I. The others want to go surfing, but I still feel too unsteady on my feet.

"I think I'm gonna sleep this tequila off, guys," I tell them when they start to head out back to grab their boards. "I'll take the spare bedroom if you don't mind, JB."

"Yeah, go for it," he says.

"I'll stay with you. I'm still pretty drunk, too," JJ says, turning back towards me.

Kie rolls her eyes. "Jesus, you two."

"What?" JJ asks.

"Oh, I think we'll just stay here alone and 'sleep' while everyone else is surfing," she says in a high pitched voice.

"I'm actually going to sleep, Kie. I didn't get much sleep last night." I fold my arms over my chest.

"Yeah, same," JJ says.

"You slept fine last night," John B says. JJ gives him a look.

"Okay, you kids have fun. Wake me up when you're back," I say, wandering into the hallway. I hear the three bound for surfing exit the house, and JJ follows me into the spare bedroom.

I flop down on the bed, opting to stay above the covers since there's no power. The house is stuffy. "Will you open the window?" I ask JJ as he shuts the door.

"Yeah." I hear him move to the window and slide it open partially. "You're in the middle of the bed," he complains.

"Oh, you're napping in here with me?" I ask.

"Yeah, unless you don't want me to," he says.

"No, you can." I scoot over and pat the bed.

He lays down on his back next to me. "Come closer." I roll over and tuck myself into his side. He wraps both arms around me and sighs. "That's better," he says.

I fall asleep almost instantly, quickly lulled to sleep by his steady heartbeat. The next time I'm aware of my whereabouts, he's shaking me awake.

"What?" I ask groggily.

"They're back from surfing," JJ says, sounding disappointed.

"Oh." I sit up and rub my eyes. "How long did we sleep?"

He shrugs. "Couple hours I'm guessing?"

"I think I'm still a little drunk. But that was a good nap." I climb out of the bed and open my backpack in the floor. I pull out shorts and a shirt and put them on.

"That's mine," he says, looking at my shirt.

I look down at the faded Pelican Marina logo. "Oh, sorry," I say, looking back up at him. "I'll give it back after I do laundry next time."

"Don't worry about it."

I hear the back door of the chateau open, and chatter fills the house. The two of us walk out of the bedroom and into the living room, where Kie, Pope, and John B have taken up residency on the couches.

"How was your 'nap'?" Kie asks, putting air quotes around the word.

"Good. I'm less drunk than I was before you left," I tell her. She rolls her eyes. My phone rings in my back pocket, and we all look at each other, surprised at the sound. "Wow, that's the fastest we've ever gotten service back after a storm!" I pull my phone out of my pocket. It's Tyler.

"Hey, Tyler," I say pointedly, looking at the others. They fall silent.

"Hey, baby, you guys get through the storm okay?"

"Yeah, everything's good," I tell him.

"Cool, cool. Um, you wanna come over? My parents are going to be gone most of the day," he tells me.

"Oh, um, sure, I guess."

"Don't sound so fucking excited," he says, his tone flat.

"No, it's not that it's... never mind. I'll be over in a little bit," I promise him. We say our goodbyes and hang up.

They all look at me. "I need a ride back home. I'm gonna head to Tyler's for a while."

"Cool, ditch us for your boyfriend," JJ says sarcastically. I frown.

"I've gotta head into town to take Kie and Pope home, so I can take you out to the farm after I drop them off," John B says, rising from the couch.

"Family car ride!" Pope says.

"Well if everyone is going..." JJ shrugs.

"Okay, lets roll."

John B drops me off at my Jeep and I immediately climb in and head to Tyler's. I probably shouldn't be driving yet, but whatever. As promised, his parents are gone.

"Hey gorgeous," he says as I walk into his house. He immediately presses his mouth to mine, pushing his tongue through my lips to deepen the kiss. He pulls back quickly. "Why does your mouth taste like liquor? Have you been drinking?"

"Oh, um, Mom found a batch of kombucha she forgot about and we drank it earlier. It was pretty strong tasting," I lie.

"Oh, right," he says, not looking completely convinced. "Let's go upstairs." He grabs my hand and pulls me through the house and up to his bedroom. As soon as the door shuts behind us, he presses me up against it, kissing me hard. He begins lifting my shirt over my head with one hand while his other pulls at the button on my shorts.

"Tyler," I say as he discards my shirt and moves his mouth to my neck. He doesn't respond. He pushes my shorts down to my ankles. "Tyler," I try again, a little louder this time. His hands travel up my back and pull on the clasp of my bikini top. I grab his arms and push down. "Tyler, stop," I say forcefully.

He stills and backs away a few inches. "What?" He looks genuinely confused.

"I don't... I'm not... in the mood for this right now," I tell him. "I thought maybe we could just chill and hang out."

He takes another step back as his expression hardens. "Why aren't you in the mood?"

"Because I'm just not! Is that not a good enough reason?" I ask.

"You gettin' it from somewhere else? From that fucking trashy 'best friend' of yours?" he asks loudly.

"What? No, I—"

"Get the fuck out of my house, Sunny." He yanks the bedroom door open, bumping me with it. "Leave."

I quickly bend down, snatching my shorts and shirt from the floor and pulling them back on. I storm out of the house and climb into the Jeep. I'm raging as I start the engine and put it into gear. How dare he accuse me of cheating on him? I think back to earlier today, and JJ's tongue sliding over my chest to lick the salt off for his shot. I frown. I guess I'm not as innocent as I pretend to be. Honestly, I'm being kind of a trash girlfriend right now. It's not really fair to Tyler.

Not ready to go home, I drive aimlessly around the island for a while. With each passing minute, I grow more and more resentful of my relationship with Tyler, and by the time I decide to go home, my mind is made up. I have to break up with him, and soon. I'll do it in person, too, so he knows I'm serious.

I'm settled completely into my decision when I get a text from Topper. Curious as to why he would be texting me, I open the message.

Party at my place tomorrow night, 8:00, bring whoever you want.

This could be the perfect place to break up with Tyler. I wouldn't do it in front of a big crowd, of course, but it would be best to do it in a more public setting. Less chance of him going absolutely psycho on me. Hopefully.

I switch over to the group chat.

Kook party at Topper's
tomorrow night. Any takers?

Kie🏳️‍🌈
Yeah no thanks.

John B🤡
Are you crazy?

Pope🤓
I'm closing at Heyward's tomorrow night. Maybe after I'm off work.

JJ🌊
I'd be happy to go drink fancy booze with you.

Okay, one, possibly two takers.
Kie or JB, if you change
your mind, let me know.

And just like that, my plans are set for tomorrow night.

*******************************
Topper lives in a gigantic house near the country club. Being so close to the club, his parents go there nearly every weekend, staying until the wee hours of the morning, or sometimes not even coming home at all because they end up passing out in one of the suites solely designed for members who get too hammered and can't make it home. Based on the number of cars I see in the circle drive as JJ and I pull up to the party, I'd say he's banking on tonight being one of those nights.

"Pope says he's still on the fence about coming," JJ says as he looks at his phone.

"I kinda figure he won't come. Oh well. At least I have you. I might need back up tonight," I say as we climb out of the Jeep.

"Back up for what?" he asks.

"Uh, well, I'm going to break up with Tyler," I tell him.

He looks incredibly surprised for a moment, then regains his composure. "Why?"

"We just don't click anymore, you know? Like, I'm not into it. I've been thinking about it for a little while, and I decided tonight's the night. I thought a public setting might make him less likely to do something crazy."

"Are you afraid of him?" he asks me seriously.

"No, no, it's not like that. It's just he's so loud when he gets mad. I thought if I did it with other people around it might keep that at bay," I tell him.

"So you're going to dump him in front of all his friends?"

"No, I'm not going to announce it to everyone. I just thought... I dunno. It seemed like a good idea when I first planned it," I say.

"Look, you do what you need to do with Tyler the Tool," he says, using his nickname for him. "But don't stray too far. I don't want a repeat of your fight at the spring break party."

I grimace are the memory of the party. "Yeah..."

The two of us head inside and I lead the way towards the kitchen. I tell JJ to make us each a drink as I chat up a couple girls from the academy. They start to check him out as he plays bartender for us, but the look I give them when I notice their stares makes them avert their eyes. When he finishes, he hands me a red plastic cup and we make our way through the crowd.

"What is this?" I ask, taking a sip.

"I dunno. I just dumped some shit together and mixed it with juice," he says, taking a drink from his own cup.

"Oh. Well, it's a little strong, but I don't hate it. This is my one drink. I have to drive us home later," I remind him.

"Yeah I know." He takes another drink and looks around as we keep moving through the house. I lead us out back to the patio. Several people are already very drunk. A handful of people are in the pool fully clothed, passing a blunt around. One of them is Rafe Cameron.

"My beautiful Sunflower! How are you, gorgeous?" he calls out to me from the water.

"Really?" JJ mutters under his breath.

"Hey Rafe," I say, trying to be nice.

"Join us! The water feels great!" he says, beckoning to me.

"Thanks, but I'm good. White shirt and water don't mix," I say, pointing to my outfit.

"I'm sure no one will mind," he says with a flirty smile. JJ huffs angrily.

"Not happening," I tell him.

"Aww, come on Sunny, ditch that pogue and come swim with us!" He sticks his bottom lip out in an exaggerated pout.

"We're doing a lap. See you later, Rafe," I say, and I grab JJ's hand and yank him away from the pool.

"Fuck, I hate that guy," JJ says as we leave the concrete patio and head into the grass.

"Not as much as Tyler, I bet."

He chuckles. "No, not as much as him," he confirms. "Oh shit, there he is. Are you ready for this?" he asks.

"Where?" I ask, looking around us. Across the yard, I spot Tyler talking to Kelce, another one of my classmates. I don't manage to look away quick enough, and we lock eyes.

"He saw me," I say, turning around to face JJ. I take a deep breath and let it out. "I can do this," I say to myself.

"He looks thrilled that I'm here with you," he says with a smirk.

"Of course he does. He fucking hates you. Keep an eye out for me while I do this, will you?" I ask.

"I got you, Sunny," he says into his cup.

I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn around to see Tyler standing there, cigarette and red cup in hand. I give him a fake smile. "Hey, Tyler, good to see you." I hope I sound sincere.

"Sunny, I'd love to know what you're doing here with him," he says, looking me up and down. He gives JJ a look. "I didn't even know you were coming."

"Well, Topper invited me, and he said I could bring whoever I wanted," I answer him.

"So you made plans without me and brought trash from the cut?" he asks me. I feel JJ bristle beside me, but he doesn't make any sudden moves.

"Look, Tyler, can we go talk somewhere? Privately?"

He looks between JJ and I, then nods. "Yeah. Somewhere private."

I give JJ a glance as I lead Tyler over to a sparsely populated area of the yard. "So, um, we need to talk about something," I say as I look around. I see JJ watching us from where we left him close to the pool.

"Okay, what's up?" he asks.

"Um, well, it's... I.."

"Can you just fucking spit it out?" Annoyance colors his tone.

The words rush out. "I want to break up."

He stares at me, unblinking, for what feels like an incredibly long time. "You what?" he asks angrily.

"I'm breaking up with you," I say more confidently this time.

"No you're not," he says.

"You can't just say no. This is what I want."

"Well I don't give a fuck what you want!" he shouts. I see JJ slowly starting to move towards us.

"Tyler, please, keep your voice down," I beg. "I don't want to cause a scene."

"Well too fucking bad, Sunny! Because I'm fucking mad!" he shouts. JJ is well on his way over now. "Oh great, here he comes, Mr. Steal-My-Girl. You happy now bro?" he says to JJ as he approaches.

"Tyler just chill," JJ says evenly. A few people are tuning into the show.

Tyler raises an eyebrow at both of us. "Hope you enjoy my sloppy seconds, brother. This whore's all yours now." I look back at JJ as he frowns.

"Don't say shit like that, man," he says. "She's not like that."

"Look, it's whatever, right?" he says to me. "Should've happened months ago. Hell, I should've dumped you after you were moaning 'JJ' while I fucked you."

JJ stills behind me. I feel my whole body heat with embarrassment. I never told a soul about that; I had tried to forget about the incredibly tense and awkward moment. So glad I get to relive it now.

"Whoa, hey, man, not the time to air your dirty laundry," JJ says. Fuck. This is so embarrassing and demeaning.

Tyler takes a long drink from his cup and inhales his cigarette. "Okay, so, fuck you both, and like I said, enjoy my sloppy seconds." He claps his hand down hard on JJ's shoulder and moves around us, fading into the crowd.

I hide my face in my hands as he walks away. The people who were watching disperse and go back to the party. "Um, let's go." He tugs at my arm. "Come on."

"Yeah, coming," I say as I finally get my brain to coordinate with my body and I start moving. The two of us walk quickly through the yard and around the pool, heading back through the house and toward my Jeep.

We've been at this stupid party for less than an hour and I can't wait to get out of here. My cheeks are still hot with embarrassment. I try to rid myself of the humiliation as we climb in the Jeep.

"Are you okay?" he asks as I start up the Jeep and pull out of the line of cars.

"Do you think I'm okay?" I ask as I head out of Topper's driveway and into the street.

"Um, we could go to the boneyard? It's probably dead right now. Pretty sure everyone is at that party."

"Okay." I make a series of turns as I head out into the main road. The boneyard isn't too far from Topper's house. I drive us there in silence. I park the car and JJ starts to get out.

"What are you doing? Come on. You shouldn't be by yourself right now," he says when I don't move.

"Okay, I'm coming." I pull the keys from the ignition and follow him out to the driftwood covered beach. He was right. No one is here. He picks a large piece of driftwood facing the ocean and sits down. He pats the space next to him. I sit.

"So...what was all that about?" he says tentatively.

I lean forward, elbows on my knees, and put my face in my hands. "I can't believe he threw me under the bus like that."

JJ chuckles next to me. "That was kind of a shitty thing to do on his part."

"Oh, you mean embarrass the hell out of me? Or are you referring to him calling me a whore at the top of his lungs in front of everyone?" I ask, looking over at him. "Cause both of those were pretty shitty."

"Well, both. But I was specifically referring to the first one."

I sigh. "Ah. Well, I wish I had a good explanation for that."

"I'd kind of like to hear this story, to be honest. I'm wildly curious," he says.

I sigh again. "You know what? Fuck it. I don't think I could be any more humiliated than I already am, so why not?" I muse.

"I mean, you don't actually have to," he says.

I sigh and try to let go of my nerves. "No, it's fine. You already know. So, we were at a house party—"

"Wait, when was this?" he asks.

"Like a couple weeks before the spring break party," I tell him. He nods, indicating I should go on. "So, we're at the party and I'm super drunk on jungle juice—"

"Hold up." He interrupts me again. "Is this the party at that guy Dylan's house where I came and picked you up on my bike and I had to put you on the front so I could hold you up while I drove you back to John B's?"

"Yes! Can I just finish the fucking story before I lose my nerve?" I ask. He nods. I sigh. "So anyway, he's like, lets go up to this bedroom, so I'm like okay, and we go upstairs and lock the door and we start messing around or whatever, and he's like 'let's fuck' so we start doing that and...." I shrug. "I called him JJ instead of Tyler." I cover my face with my hands again as another rush of blood colors my cheeks.

I can't read his expression. "Okay," he says. "But why?"

"I don't know! It just came out!" I exclaim.

"So it sounds like you were picturing me while fucking Tyler, and you got too into the fantasy."

I lean my head back and groan. "Oh my god, you are not helping me get over my embarrassment."

"Sunny, if you want to sleep with me, all you have to do is say the word," he says. I take a peek at him and he smirks at me.

"You're supposed to be helping me here, not making it worse," I whine.

He laughs. "Okay, sorry."

"Also, do not ever tell anyone this. Not a soul." I give him a look.

"I won't," he says seriously.

He drops the subject after that. Slowly the blood flows back into place, and I no longer feel like a walking tomato. We stay at the beach for about an hour before it starts to rain. He helps me put the zipper top back on my Jeep so we don't get soaked. He has me take him to John B's, although we both know I'd never take him to his actual house. When he goes to get out in John B's driveway, he surprises me by leaning over and giving me a kiss on the cheek.

"Bye Sunny," he says softly as he shuts the door.