Our prize ended up being a car trunk full of beer, various bottled cocktails, and a few sodas, which we shared with the whole group in the parking lot.

“See, wasn’t I right?” Stevie threw her arm around my shoulders, coming up to Hunter and me. “Pairing you two up? You work well together. Like two fine-assed ninjas.”

I shot her a warning look. She winked back.

“Think it was more gravity than our ninja skills.” Hunter chuckled, playing with the wilted label on his beer someone forced in his hand. He had yet to take one sip from it. It was more like a prop to him. Something to hold. Drinking and driving wasn’t even a fleeting thought to us anymore. We had been forced to learn that lesson painfully.

The light from the barn lit the side of his face that was scratched up. The incident of our tumble flashed in my mind. As if I were a marionette being controlled, my lips tugged at the corners of my mouth, instantly covering my face in an enormous grin, until a snicker escaped. Hunter caught my gaze, his eyes glinting with the shared joke. Lightning crackled up my spine. I looked down at my feet nudging at a rock.

“Yeah, what did happen?” Stevie motioned between our scratched faces, with one eyebrow curved. “Things tend to get really physical when you two are left alone together.”

Shut up, my eyes conveyed to her. I didn’t want him to know I told Stevie about the night we made out on the floor of the physical therapy room.

Instead of getting weird, Hunter laughed, nodding his head. “It seems so.”

“Where is your girl?” I asked Stevie, wanting to distract her from the topic of Hunter and me.

Stevie looked over her shoulder, shrugging. “Not sure.”

“Uh-oh. Trouble in paradise already?”

“It’s why I don’t bother learning their names.” She nudged me with her hip, dropping her arm from me. “She’s too sweet, not experimental enough. She only likes girls.” Stevie winked, tapping both mine and Hunter’s butts. “And with asses like his, I can’t leave out either. It would be too selfish and cruel of me. You good here for a bit?” She took a few steps away from us.

“Good.”

“Awesome because I already have my eye on Tarzan over there.” I loved instead of learning their names she had Disney nicknames for them.

I looked at the bonfire to see a tall guy with broad shoulders and long brown hair, which waved past his shoulders. Very fit. “Nice ass.” I gave her a thumbs up.

“I know.” She nibbled on her bottom lip and smiled mischievously, then lifted an eyebrow in seriousness. “I promise I will not drink, leave, or abandon you. Friends first. And if you want to go, let me know.” When she saw me nod, she turned to Hunter. “You take care of my girl till I get back.”

“Of course.” Hunter tipped his bottle at her.

She twirled around, sashaying up to her new conquest.

“I feel bad for him,” I sniggered.

“Don’t.” Hunter leaned back into the car, propping his leg on the bumper. “She might have met her match. I know him. Chris is a serious player. At least a girl a night with him.”

“Then they’ll both be fighting to escape through the door first tomorrow morning.”

“Try the car door in forty minutes.” Hunter smirked, and I laughed. He was probably far more accurate.

“Hey, sexy.” Sunny came up from behind me. At the sound of her voice, my spine seemed to grow spikes. Jayme, he’s allowed to talk to anyone he likes. You are only friends. Why was I getting jealous? I never got jealous with girls flirting with Colton. And they did. All the time.

“Hey,” Hunter responded neutrally.

She didn’t even look my way as she sidled up next to Hunter against the car, a beer in one hand, a cigarette in the other. “You haven’t been around much.”

“Nope.” Again, I couldn’t pick up on what he was feeling. He wasn’t inviting conversation, but he also didn’t sound put out either.

“You gonna be around later tonight? I’d love see you.” Her voice went low and full of intention.

“Not sure.” He shrugged, his gaze going over my head.

Muscles along my jaw clenched. Hello? Was I even here?

Sunny looked over at me and her head bobbed. “Ah, got it.” She shuffled her foot over the gravel, taking a drag of her smoke.

Hunter stayed silent, not meeting my gaze.

I wanted her to go, which made me want to go. Run, Jaymerson. You know it’s for the best. I took a step back. Hunter’s eyes darted to me.

“Where are you going?”

“I think I’m gonna go find Stevie.” I pointed over my shoulder.

“Thought she put me in charge of you tonight?”

My eyebrow curved up. “Are you saying I need a babysitter?”

“Definitely.” A barely-there grin crept up his mouth.

“You should talk.” I teased back, motioning toward his face. Cuts and grazes covered one side of his face.

“You should see yours.” He used his beer bottle to point at my face.

Out of the corner of my eye I could see Sunny watching us, her face hard. She flicked the ashes of her cigarette on the ground with a snap of her wrist.

“We should probably clean the one on your cheek, looks kind of deep.” He dropped his foot from the car bumper. “I have a first-aid kit in my truck.”

I reached up and touched the cut on my cheek and cringed. Dried blood and gravel coated the wound.

“Don’t want it to get infected.” Hunter tipped forward, peeling his body off the car and standing straight. He set down the full beer on the bumper. “Truck’s down there.” He turned toward the end of the lot and glanced back at Sunny. “See you later.”

She flicked her smoke again and looked away. “Yeah. Later.” She did not sound happy.

I spun around and followed Hunter. We walked silently together to his car. I desperately wanted to know how he felt about Sunny, if he would be seeing her later. But I would never ask.

When we got to Hunter’s truck, he opened the passenger door, where he pulled a box from the glove compartment and unlatched it, grabbing a packet of disinfectant wipes. Struggling to open it, he put the corner of it between his teeth and ripped it, spitting out the top.

My hand automatically went to grasp it from him, but he ducked it out of my way.

“Let me do it. You can’t see.” He stepped in closer, his fingers tapping at my jawline, tilting my head back. My gaze landed on him. He was so close I couldn’t focus on him. I gazed over his shoulder, staring at the cloudy night sky, watching my breath vapor in the crisp air.

The cool cloth touched my cut, and I flinched. “Sorry,” he whispered, his brows creasing.

“It’s okay,” I replied, then smiled. “You’d think I’d be able to handle a little cut, especially after what we went through.”

His lips pressed together as he continued to clean my cut. One hand gripped my jaw, to hold my head in place. “It’s because we’re not expecting such a small thing to cause so much pain.” His attention shifted to my eyes, then back on my cut. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. His words could have meant nothing, but my stomach still rolled with nerves. Tense energy gathered like a dust storm in my chest. Through my lashes, I watched him. His blue eyes held such intensity and depth.

“You are different from what I thought,” my voice came out soft.

“Really? How so?” I could hear a slight mocking to his words.

“Why do you let people believe those things about you?”

“What things?”

“You’re going to force me say it, aren’t you?” My lids narrowed. “Fine. All the things you’ve heard me say about you: failure, druggie, stupid, bad boy, has a baby…” This was the biggest rumor of all. I’d tried to hint about it to Colton a couple of times, but he had steered the topic away, and I didn’t feel right bluntly asking.

“How do you know they’re not true?” He stopped cleaning my wound and stared down on me.

My throat constricted, struggling to swallow. “Because I know.”

“You don’t.”

“Are you sure?” I challenged, not sure where the sudden brazenness came from. His eyes locked on me, examining. The moment became intimate. Terrifying. A hint of emotion flashed over his face but disappeared quickly, making me question if I even saw it.

His phone buzzed, shattering the tense moment.

His gaze dropped away from mine as he plucked his cell out of his pocket, looked at his message, and shoved it back into his pocket. The boy was constantly being texted. By who? For what? I had no idea.

He leaned past me, grabbing a small butterfly bandage from the kit and placed it gently on my cheek.

“There,” he breathed out, taking a step back.

“Thank you.” I touched the binding. “We should clean yours too.”

“I’m good.” He shook his head, moving around me. “I’m used to being cut up and bruised.” I stepped to the side as he stuffed the kit back in his glovebox and shut the truck door. The dark encased us in a private world. His phone vibrated again, but this time he ignored it.

“Hey, you two, stop making out over there and join the party.” A slightly accented man’s voice, sounding to be Australian, hollered over at us. Embarrassment immediately struck my cheeks like a hammer. I jerked my head to see the guy, Chris, aka Tarzan, beckoning us over.

“Seriously? What did I just say?” Stevie smacked him.

“Oh, right. Sorry. Carry on.” Tarzan gestured for us to stay put.

With everyone opposing our friendship, it was nice to have one person encouraging it. Even if she was not sly about it. Stevie was blunt, loud, direct, and non-apologetic, and I liked her for that. She wouldn’t stab you in the back or betray you. She’d tell you what she thought, straight to your face.

Embarrassment still controlled most of my emotions, and I looked through my lashes at Hunter.

He cleared his throat. “Probably should get back.”

“Yeah,” I agreed.

He moved to let me walk past him first, then got in stride with me. Music abruptly blasted from Jones’s black Honda, filling the air with energy. It slipped over my skin, giving me a bounce in my step.

“You want a drink?” Hunter pointed to the huge trunk full of alcohol. “Technically it is half yours.”

“No.” My automatic response mindlessly replied. I paused. Was I saying no because I really didn’t want one or because my parents would disapprove? Had the word no been programmed in me? Stevie said she would not drink tonight. What was stopping me? Because I did want to have a drink. Not get drunk or anything. Just relax. “Actually, yes. But do they have anything else than beer?”

“Let’s check.” Hunter’s shoulder brushed mine, steering me toward the ice chests. He leaned over, going through the hodgepodge of bottles. “Think you’ll like this.” He palmed a bottle and stood up, twirling it before he twisted the top off and handed it to me.

“Impressive.” The dew from the bottle trailed down the dark glass, dampening my already cold hands. “Thanks.”

“Part of the service.”

“Part of what service?”

“Babysitting.” He winked.

“Future father of the year award here.”

I felt my foot being inserted into my mouth before I even finished. Hunter glanced away, a nerve in his jaw twitching. What if the rumor is true? What if Hunter does have a baby with someone? My intestines clutched with the thought.

I stared down at the label of the drink. A ripped apple cider sticker hung loosely from the bottle, showing signs it had been sitting in melting ice for too long. The beverage met my lips, and I swallowed a huge gulp. The sweet liquid cascaded down my throat. I smacked my lips together.

“Like it?”

“Yeah.” I read the label. “It’s good.” I took another sip.

“Thought you’d like it.” We both grinned at each other.

I glanced over at Stevie, flirting shamelessly with Tarzan. I still was uncomfortable drinking, knowing Stevie probably would love to be having a beer right now. She liked her flirting along with a cocktail.

“I’m not drinking tonight.” Hunter nodded over at Stevie. “I’ll get you both home.”

“I’m staying at Stevie’s tonight.”

“Well, then I’ll be sure you get there.” He meant it. I had no doubt we shared the same philosophy on drinking and driving now.

“For once don’t worry about everyone else. Have fun. I promise I will get you home safe.” Hunter made me feel protected, and his gesture was like someone handed me a free pass. An unexpected urge to not think for a moment took over.

In a few hours it would be my eighteenth birthday, and I wanted to let go. Forget for one night what had happened in the last six months.

“Okay. Let’s make a deal tonight. I will loosen up if we don’t talk about the past or the future. Nothing outside of this parking lot. Only fun,” I challenged him.

An impish smile bowed up the side of his mouth. “Deal.” He picked a soda from the chest and clanked it against mine, my grin matching his. He took a small swig of his soda, while I slugged back my cider. A tingling sensation warmed my muscles and relaxed my shoulders.

“How’s my girl doing?” Stevie’s arm slid around my shoulders. Chris strolled up beside her.

“Good.” A smile spread over my face.

“I see you are following my guidance tonight. I couldn’t be more proud.”

“Hunter said he will get us home.”

Her eyebrows arched up. “Oh, did he?”

Hunter didn’t respond, just held Stevie’s stare. She turned back to me. “I think it’s a good plan. Tonight of all nights, you need to get silly. Celebrate.”

“Is tonight special?” Chris’s Aussie accent was slight but you could hear it.

“It’s my girl’s—”

I knocked my hip into hers. “Because we kicked your ass at flashlight tag.” I motioned at Hunter and myself. I hated people knowing it was my birthday or making a big deal of it. I shied away from being the center of attention and only wanted to be the one who planned someone else’s party.

I normally stayed home on my birthday and had dinner and cake with my family. The cake was usually one Reece picked out.

“Kicked my ass?” Chris thumbed at himself. “I don’t think so.”

“Come on, Singer. You should be used to that feeling by now.” Hunter nudged him playfully with his elbow.

“Don’t be mucking with me in front of the ladies.” Tarzan charmingly winked at us, then muttered to Hunter, “Wanker.”

Hunter merely nodded in compliance, chuckling.

“Boys.” Stevie rolled her eyes. “It’s why I sleep with girls.”

“Wait, what?” Chris’s face perked up, looking over at Stevie in disbelief and interest. “Seriously?”

She grinned, grabbing my arm. “Since the hot piece of ass over here is getting us home tonight, want to get a drink with me, Whiskey?” Stevie gave Hunter and Chris a playful wink and led me over to the trunk containing the alcohol. She glanced over her shoulder.

Chris stood with his mouth ajar, staring at her. “Oh yeah. Hook. Line. And sinker.” She leered, smiling wickedly at him.

I leaned over to grab another cider when a deep siren blared through the cool night air. All our heads glanced down the lot. Blue and red lights began to circle the parking lot, coming in from the entrance.

“The cops,” someone yelled, cracking a bolt of fear in my chest. Clusters of bodies began to beeline in all directions, running from the patrol. Their sudden movement sparked a panic to jerk my head and body around in circles.

“We need to get out of here.” Chris took a few steps back, talking to Hunter. “You and I can’t be caught. Not with tomorrow night…”

Hunter instantly reached out, grabbing my arm. “Come on.” He nodded to his truck.

“This is the police. Stay where you are,” a deep man’s voice shouted into the night.

Yeah, right. The four of us ran, our feet hammering the ground. The last thing I wanted was to call my parents from jail. Again.

Swirls of people, lights, and cars created a buzz of confusion and chaos. Dirt from the vehicles peeling out dusted the air with a thick haze, quickly dividing the four of us. I searched around frantically.

“Hunter?” I screamed, scurrying bodies blurred around me. The cloud of dust created faceless figures, like a tornado of ghosts circling around me. “Hunter!”

A hand darted through the hazy whirlwind, interlacing with mine. “Don’t let go,” Hunter ordered, tugging me through the maze of people.

“Whiskey?” Stevie’s voice hollowed over the commotion, her tone anxious. I could barely distinguish her as she moved farther away from me.

“Stevie, she’s with me,” Hunter hollered back. “Head to my house. Chris knows where it is.”

We darted for his truck, scrambling in. He tore from the parking lot, and down the road, away from the red and blue flashing lights.