Jared

“Jared! Jared! Jared!”

He laughed and foam shot out his nose. Sullivan and Brady finally put him down.

“Sixty-four seconds,” Vera announced.

“Told ya,” Jared yelled triumphantly.

“Alright, alright,” Caroline replied. “I stand corrected. You are king of the keg stand.”

Jared laughed as he stumbled to the couch and sank down next to her. “Fifty-three seconds is still respectable. I’ll let you stay queen.”

Caroline snorted, but gave him a crooked grin. “Fine, but don’t expect me to bow to you.”

“You get to pick the next contestant,” Sullivan called, pointing at Jared.

“Fine, Brady. Truth or dare.”

“Truth,” Brady replied smugly.

He was promptly booed and Jared had to wait until the taunts of ‘lame’ and ‘loser’ died down.

“Most embarrassing place you had sex?” Jared asked.

“Trick question!” Sullivan shouted. “Brady’s never had sex!”

“Sex with your mom was pretty embarrassing, Sully,” Brady shot back.

Sully promptly tackled Brady and after a good-hearted beating from the team, Brady finally called mercy and admitted the most embarrassing place he ever had sex was in port-a-potty during the St. Patty’s Day parade in Boston.

After the laughter died down, Brady was out for blood. “Your turn, Collins. Truth or dare?”

“Dare,” Jared said arrogantly.

Brady grinned like a fiend. “Seven minutes in heaven with Caroline.”

“What are we in fifth grade?” Jared scoffed. “No way. New dare.”

“Come on,” Caroline taunted. “What’s the big deal?”

“I have a girlfriend,” Jared growled.

“Then don’t do anything you’ll regret.”

“You only have to last seven minutes,” Brady teased. “Or you could always forfeit and admit what a loser you are.”

Jared glared at Brady for a minute, but then he stood up and dragged Caroline behind him.

Beth

Beth nestled under Parker’s arm in the chaise lounge in her room. Both of them sat in comfortable silence, gazing at their initials dancing in the flickering shadows of the few candles Parker had relit. She could’ve stayed like that forever, her head resting on his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart while he stroked her hair.

Parker

“So what now?” Parker finally asked.

“I guess I break up with Jared.”

“In Colorado?”

Beth sighed. “I really shouldn’t do it over the phone.”

“How do you want to do it?”

“I don’t know. My parents agreed I could go to Aspen after the wedding, so I guess I’ll get a plane ticket and do it face to face.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t want to rub you in Jared’s face.”

Parker smirked and Beth swatted him. “Don’t be such a guy. You won. I picked you.”

“Say it again,” Parker begged, his ego soaring.

Beth turned in his arms and he stared into her stunning brown eyes. “I picked you, Parker.”

“Screw Jared,” he said pulling Beth into his lap and kissing her.

But as luck would have it, Parker’s guilty conscience wouldn’t leave him alone. Jared’s ugly mug kept popping into Parker’s mind. This wasn’t how he wanted to start things with Beth. She was right, she needed to be free of Jared first. They’d waited this long to be together. They could wait a few more days. He kissed her once more, then pulled back to look down at her smiling face. Brushing her silky hair back he said, “Fine, go to Colorado. But let me fly out there with you. Then when it’s all over we can celebrate.”

Beth

Beth was skeptical. It would be hard to have a clean break with Jared if Parker was waiting in the wings. But then again she’d already wasted so much time figuring out how she felt about Parker . . .

“I don’t want to lose anymore time with you,” he said softly.

Beth’s heart skipped. How could she say no to that? Especially when she felt the same way. “Well, you did promise me hiking, bonfires and S’mores,” she teased.

Parker smiled with the warmth of the sun. “Then hiking, bonfires and S’mores it is.”