I wake up hot the next morning. I'm flat on my back and JJ is basically on top of me. He has one leg over top of mine and his arms are wrapped around my bare torso because my shirt has ridden up as we slept. My shirt is bunched at my chest, where his head rests.

"JJ, wake up, I'm too hot," I tell him, trying to push him off of me.

"You can't help it you were born attractive," he says groggily. His eyes don't even open.

I chuckle. "No, like temperature. I'm too hot with the blanket and you on top of me," I complain.

He slowly unwinds his arms from around my back and rolls over. He has lines on his face from sleeping on my wrinkled shirt. "I slept like I was dead. What time is it?" he asks.

"You'll have to check. My phone's beside you on the nightstand."

He rolls over and looks at the time. "9:30," he says.

"I don't know what time my parents will be home today," I say.

"Say no more. I don't want to get you in trouble." He sits up and runs a hand through his hair. He leans over and grabs his shorts to pull them on. "Thanks for letting me stay, Sunny."

"Any time," I tell him. I watch as he leans down again and pulls on his boots. He stands and checks his pockets for his belongings.

"Will I see you later today?" he asks, turning around to look down at me.

"At some point, I'm sure," I say. "Kie asked me last night if I wanted to work at the Wreck today, so I'm headed down there soon, but we'll be done at three."

He nods. "Okay. Well, I'm heading out. Thanks again," he says. He leans down and presses a kiss to my cheek. He's out my bedroom door before I can even react.

I lay back and hold my hand to my cheek where his lips once were. I can't fight the smile growing on my face. I know it's not much, next to nothing, really, but I can't help the way my heart races at the thought of him kissing me on the cheek twice now. Maybe there is something to what Kie said at the party the other night.

I quickly shower and get ready for the day. By the time I'm set to leave for the restaurant, my parents still aren't home, so I leave them a note with my whereabouts on the counter. It's not busy yet when I arrive, but it's still pretty early for there to be a lunch crowd. Kie is wiping down menus at the register as I walk in.

"Hey, you look chipper this morning," she observes as I grab a stack of menus and get to work.

"Do I?" I ask. I spray cleaner on a menu and wipe it off with an old rag.

"Yeah. Very bright eyed and bushy tailed," she says with a laugh. "Hey, did you ever hear from JJ?"

"Yeah, actually. He, um, came and spent the night," I say casually.

"No wonder you're in such a good mood!" she teases.

"Come on. Nothing happened. We literally just went to sleep," I tell her.

"Did he say why he wasn't at your parents party?"

"Yeah. He got into it with his dad. You should see his face," I say.

She frowns. "I hate his dad."

"Me too," I say. "So, plans this evening?" I ask, changing the subject.

She shrugs. "I'm sure we'll get into something."

Business starts to pick up at the restaurant for the lunch rush, and we're busy until it's time for us to leave at 3:00. We're climbing into my Jeep as the group chat gets a text from John B.

John B🤡
Night boating and shenanigans this evening, anyone?

I tell Kie to let him know I'm in. As everyone replies that they are coming, she lets me know our meet up time is 8:00 at the chateau. I drop her off at her house with a wave, letting her know I'll pick her up around 7:45.

I find my parents in the house when I get home.
"So, how was the honeymoon suite at Turtle Bay?" I ask them.

"It was wonderful. I'll spare you the details, but your father made me feel twenty-two again," Mom says with a mischievous smile.

"Yes, please spare the details," I say, mimicking gagging. "But I'm glad you guys had a nice night."

We chit chat a bit and I head upstairs to hang out for a bit before dinner. I watch a movie and take a short nap, then pack my backpack for the night, unsure of what additional plans may spring out of the evening boat ride and drinking.

I head back downstairs and throw my backpack by the door before sitting down at the dinner table. "Plans tonight?" Mom asks as she sets a plate in front of me.

"A little night boating, I dunno," I say, digging into the meal.

"You staying somewhere else tonight?" Dad asks, eyeing my backpack.

"Probably Kie's," I lie. "I'm working at the restaurant again tomorrow."

"Oh, okay. You're really raking in the cash aren't you? I know the Carreras pay you under the table." Mom takes a bite.

"Yeah, I'm not doing too bad. I spend most of my money there, though," I say with a laugh.

We finish dinner and I head out after helping mom with the dishes. It's a glorious evening. Not too hot, not too humid. The sky is filled with brilliant oranges and pinks as I make my way across Figure 8 to pick up Kie. We're the last to arrive. JJ's and Pope's bikes are in the driveway behind the van. I park and jump out quickly, grabbing my backpack.

We enter the house without knocking. We find the three of them gathered in the kitchen. John B is filling a small cooler with beer, and Pope is tearing open a bag of ice to dump on top. JJ lights up when he sees me. His bruises look a little better than they did last night. I give him a small smile.

"Alright, full squad's here. Let's roll," John B says as Pope pours the ice over the beer. He grabs the cooler and we head out the back to the HMS Pogue. Kie takes captain's duties and starts up the boat.

"Okay, so plan is to take the intracoastal out to the drop off and watch the sun set," John B tells everyone.

"Well doesn't that sound romantic?" Pope says. He reaches into the cooler and begins passing beers out to everyone.

"Can we not just do something nice and relaxing?" John B asks.

"I think it sounds nice," JJ says, reaching for his juul when he sees me pulling out mine.

"See? JJ likes the idea," John B says as Kie steers us out of the channel.

"We just need to chill sometimes, man," JJ says as he blows smoke rings with the vapor.

Kie speeds up the boat as we leave the channel and make our way into the intracoastal. Despite the perfect weather and the brilliant sunset, there's hardly anyone out on the water. I sit back on the stern and enjoy the view as we speed along.

"And there's Sarah's house," John B says wistfully as he stares at Tannyhill when we pass.

"Yeah... What happened to the whole 'Sarah was just a one time thing' mindset? I know you keep calling and texting her," Kie says.

"Uh..." John B stalls.

"Look, your business, but if Topper comes after you, I'm not stopping him," she says, folding her arms over her chest.

"Topper isn't going to find out. Besides, she said she's dumping him," John B says.

"Hmm, we'll see," I say, taking the final drink of my first beer. I crush the can in my hand and open the cooler to grab another.

The familiar ding of a text message being received pierces the air. John B pulls out his phone and looks down, smiling as he sees the name flash across his screen. He swipes at his phone. "Shit..." he says, running a hand through his curls.

"What's wrong?" Pope asks.

"Nothings wrong," he says. "It's just... Sarah invited me over tonight." He looks at all of us. "Because no one is going to be home."

"Oh, so she's jonesin' for some of that John D, huh?" JJ jokes. I give him a look.

John B chuckles. "I guess," he says, trying to not look like he's about to jump out of the boat and swim there now.

"You're going to bail on us for pussy?" Kie says in disgust.

"No! No. Um, not.. right now, anyway," he says sheepishly.

"Oh come on!" she says.

"They won't all be out of the house until like 10:00! That's an hour and a half hour from now!" he exclaims. Kie angrily looks away, turning the boat around. "What are you doing?" he asks.

"I'm heading to the restaurant. You can drop me off there," she says, her tone icy.

"Kie, come on, we still have time to hang out!" I say, trying to smooth over the situation.

"I'm suddenly not in the mood."

Not wanting to get on her bad side even more than John B already has, the rest of us sip our beers quietly as she takes us to The Wreck. She pulls up to the dock and jumps out, not bothering to tie off the boat. She walks off without so much as a wave.

John B sighs as he watches her go. Pope surprises me by speaking up. "I'm gonna go check on her, you guys can go ahead without me."

"Your bike's at the house, how are you gonna get home?" I ask.

"I got legs. I can walk. I'll get the bike tomorrow," he says, jumping out on the dock. "I'll see y'all later."

John B sighs again as Pope walks off. "Boy John B, you sure now how to ruin an evening," I say with a chuckle.

"I actually really like her, Sunny," he says as he takes the driver's seat and starts up the boat again.

"Yeah, I can tell," I say. "But maybe you could've been a little less obvious with your response to her request for a dick appointment?"

JJ laughs. "Yeah man, maybe try not to show how pussy whipped you are in public."

"At least I'm getting the pussy I'm whipped by," John B retorts.

"Well thats an awkward thing to say," I say, taking a long sip of beer. JJ looks away.

"You're both absolutely ridiculous," he says, pointing at us over his shoulder as he drives.

Neither of us respond to him. We get back to his house quickly and climb out of the boat. The three of us walk into the house. John B flops down on one couch and JJ and I sit on the other. John B grabs the remote and turns on the tv, navigating to Netflix and starting up a rerun of The Office, which the three of us have seen a hundred times.

"Oh, no!" I cry out, knowing right away which episode is playing.

"What's wrong?" JJ asks.

"This episode makes me cry," I tell him, and John B chuckles.

"Oh, the irony," he says under his breath.

"What one is it?" JJ asks, looking back at the tv.

"Casino night! When Jim tells Pam he's in love with her and she has to reject him because of Roy. Oh god, when the tears form in his eyes and one falls and he wipes it away..." I trail off, clutching my chest dramatically. "My heart," I whine.

JJ rolls his eyes. "He knew she was with Roy, that's his fault," he says. I give him a look, as does John B. He pretends not to notice.

We settle into watching the episode, but are disturbed by a knocking at the door. We look at each other.

"Maybe it's Pope? He did say he was coming to get his bike. I just didn't think it would be so soon." John B gets up from the couch and goes to the front door.

"Um..." I hear John B say as the door opens.

"Is she here?" an all too familiar voice asks.

"Uh, she's..."

John B is pushed out of the way as he enters the chateau. I look away from the tv to see Tyler standing in the middle of the living room, looking at me on the couch next to JJ.

"What are you doing here?" I ask him.

"I knew you'd be here," he says.

"That doesn't answer my question."

"Can we talk?" he asks.

"About what?" I ask.

"Just.. stuff. Can we have a conversation?" he asks. His eyes flicker to JJ. "Alone?"

I sigh. "I guess. We can go out back," I say, standing from my spot on the couch. "Come on." I walk out of the back door and down the steps. I hear him follow.

I lead us over to the old wooden picnic table. I sit on the table top and let my feet rest on the bench seat. He stands in front of me.

"So?" I prompt him.

"I miss you, Sunny," he says.

"Okay?"

"I love you, and I miss you. Could we... could we talk about getting back together?" he asks.

I'm shocked. "Are you serious right now?"

"Yeah I'm serious. Why wouldn't I be?"

"It's just a little strange you would track me down here and say you want to talk about getting back together," I say, folding my arms over my chest. "I know you started hooking up with random girls like immediately after we broke up. It just doesn't really add up."

"Look, I was just pissed about being dumped at Topper's the other night. I really do want us to work this out," he tells me.

"I'm not interested," I say bluntly.

"Sunny," he whines. "I love you! Does that mean nothing?"

I see his eyes flicker up to the porch, causing me to turn around. John B and JJ are both staring out the door at us. I turn back around and look at Tyler.

"I'm sorry, but it's not going to happen," I say as gently as possible.

"Why not?" he asks, the annoyance evident in his voice.

"Because I don't have feelings for you like that," I explain.

"You know, I shouldn't be shocked by this. All those times I've said I love you and you never said it back. Is it because of him?" he asks, pointing to the back door. "Tell me the truth. You dumped me for him, didn't you?"

I roll my eyes. "This is about me and how I feel. We just don't mesh well together anymore. I'm sorry that you love me and I don't return those feelings, but you have to accept that. I'm not going to date you out of pity."

"You should date me because I love you!" he shouts.

"Don't yell at me! You're not going to force me to do something I don't want to do! That's called being an asshole! I realize that being pushy and manipulative is how you usually go about things, but that doesn't work with me. I'm saying no."

"You're being a dumb bitch right now, you know that?"

"You think speaking to me like that is going to change my mind? Because let me tell you—" The sting on my cheek registers before I realize he's reached out and slapped me.

"Can you shut the fuck up for two seconds and stop blindly rejecting me before I can convince you to take me back?" he screams in my face as I clutch my cheek with my hand.

I hear the back door slam against the house as it opens. JJ's boots pound against the stairs and thump loudly against the earth as he crosses the yard and slams the heels of his hands into Tyler's chest, knocking him backward. He tries to recover from stumbling, but JJ's fist connects hard with his mouth, splattering blood across the grass. Tyler swipes his hand across his mouth, smearing the blood as he surges forward and throws a punch at JJ, who dodges it. He lands the second punch, though, a hard left hook into his eye. The skin splits just beside his eyebrow.

"No! Stop!" I yell, jumping down from the picnic table. I get in between them and try to push JJ back, using all my strength against his chest. Two hands grab the tops of my arms from behind and send me flying back into the picnic table. The edge of the table catches my ribs and I cry out in pain. I slump down on the bench, clutching my rib cage.

The next part happens so fast, I can barely make sense of it. JJ throws his entire body into Tyler, taking him to the ground. He pins him down by putting a knee to his chest. Over and over his fists slam into Tyler's face as Tyler tries desperately to fight him off.

"John B!" I yell towards the house, but I see he's already running towards the scene.

He runs over, wrapping his arms around JJ's chest and pulling him back, off of Tyler. "Hey, hey, you'll kill him!" he shouts as JJ fights against him.

JJ's chest heaves with adrenaline and anger. His wild eyes look at me. I have no idea what expression I wear on my face. Tyler groans from the ground. He rolls to his side and spits another mouthful of blood into the grass.

"Get him inside! I'll deal with Tyler!" John B yells at me. "Can I let you go and you go inside with Sunny?" he asks JJ. Tyler lets out another groan.

I stand up gingerly as John B slowly unwinds his arms from JJ's torso. I cautiously reach out and grab JJ's arm to turn him towards the house.

"Have fun whoring around the cut with that dirty pogue," Tyler mutters from the ground. JJ whips around and starts towards him again, but I quickly plant myself directly in front of him and place my hands on his chest.

"JJ, no, it's not worth it," I say through clenched teeth. I can feel how rigid with anger his whole body is. His muscles are tense under my palms. "Hey, look at me," I say more gently. I slide my hands up his chest and place them on either side of his face, forcing him to look away from Tyler and focus on me. "It's over. We're going inside." He stares right into my eyes, chest heaving with anger, but he doesn't budge. "Come on. You're bleeding."

He finally gives in after a beat, turning away from me and stalking into the house. I glance back at John B and Tyler in the yard as I follow JJ inside. I can't hear what John B is saying to him, but his finger is in his face and his jaw is clenched.

JJ stands in the middle of the living room. "Are you okay?" he asks. His voice shakes.

"I'm fine." My voice sounds hollow.

"He threw you into the table," he states.

"I'll be fine. Nothing's broken as far as I can tell." I take a deep breath and wince as my ribs expand. He frowns when he sees I'm in pain. I grab his arm and pull him with me to the bathroom. "Sit," I command as I close the bathroom door. JJ closes the toilet lid and sits down. As I gather my supplies, I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror. There's a red handprint on my left cheek. I wet a washcloth under the sink tap and move to stand in front of JJ. He spreads his knees so I can stand between them. I lift his chin with my hand and turn his face to the side so I can work on his eye first. He watches my face intently as I wipe at the blood that's run down his jaw, collecting in the stubble there.

"You have his handprint on your face," he says softly.

"I know." I step away from him and run the washcloth under the sink to rinse away the blood. "Give me your hand." He reaches out and I take his hand in mine, cleaning the blood off his split knuckles. I toss the bloody rag in the sink and dab Neosporin on his eyebrow and his knuckles. "None of them are deep. They'll scab over soon."

I step back and he regards me warily. "Are you mad at me?" he asks. "I know you hate when I fight."

"No," I answer. "Not this time."

He nods. "Why did he come?"

I sigh. "He wants to get back together," I say with a biting laugh. "As if I would even consider that."

"He thought yelling at you and slapping you like that was going to persuade you?" he asks.

"No, I'm pretty sure that came from me rejecting him," I say.

"Ah," he says. He stands up and reaches past me to open the bathroom door. I turn and lead us back out to the living room. John B is on the couch.

"I threatened him within an inch of his life if he ever pulls that shit again. I said we'd destroy him if we ever caught wind of him being on the cut," John B says to us. "Although his face is pretty much destroyed already, thanks to JJ."

"You saw what he did," JJ says.

"No, you did what you should've. I'm just saying he's gonna be nasty looking for a few days until it all heals." He puts his hands on his knees and uses them to push himself. "As exhilarating as that was, I'm gonna leave you two here and I'm headed to Sarah's. I'll see you later."