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and start to openly date each other.
    I feel Marcus intertwine his fingers with mine as we push our way through the crowd, and I tell myself to stop thinking about Jake. Stop thinking about his smile at the game or about what Marcus said earlier—that he has been off.
    What is going on with him? I’m worried, though I shouldn’t be. He’s a big boy and can take care of himself. Besides, I’m here with Marcus, my boyfriend .
    We all find our usual place around the fire pit, and I nuzzle into Marcus while I try to discreetly study Jake.
    He seems fine. He has his arms locked around Mel as she burrows herself into his lap. Thankfully, our talk in the tree house a few weeks ago convinced him that he belongs with her, and they are still going strong. Therefore, my feelings are safely buried where they belong.
    “That was a hell of a game, boys,” Lucas says as he joins our group.
    Lucas is always welcome, even though he isn’t part of our core group. One, because he is a cool guy who always throws sick parties, and two, because this is his house and we aren’t assholes. We are all grateful to his dad for funding and accepting our underage drinking, whether it’s knowingly or not.
    “Thanks, man,” all the boys respond.
    “So districts then regionals then state, right?” he asks.
    “Yeah,” Cam answers.
    “If all goes well,” Marcus chimes in, followed by immediate groans.
    Cam throws his popcorn at him from across the fire, and we all laugh.
    “Thanks for the party, Lucas,” Jake says as he takes in the entire senior class spread across Lucas’s sprawling lawn. The pool and hot tub are already packed with people.
    We live in the middle of nowhere, Florida, but one positive is it’s almost always scorching hot which lends itself nicely to swimming in December. However, we are truly in the middle of the state, so we are nowhere near the beach, which would be the one perk of living in Florida.
    “Well, this one is thanks to ‘The State versus The Schneider’s.’ ”
    We all laugh. There’s always a different case we should be thankful for.
    “Lucas, one of the kegs is dry already.” Mindy, Lucas’s steady girlfriend, comes up to us in a state of panic.
    I laugh to myself because she’s already practicing being the perfect housewife hostess.
    “Relax, Min. There’s plenty more,” Lucas reassures her then turns back to us. “Catch you later, guys. Duty calls.” He gives us a nod before he heads off with her.
    I already have a beer in my hand. I’m not sure where it came from, but I don’t question it.
    I see Joel across the yard on the other side of the in-ground hot tub that is the size of a small pool and feel my body tense. I hope no one else notices he’s over there. I barely know him, but I know the incident earlier is too fresh for Jake, who is already on edge and looking for someone to focus his anger on. And now there is no excuse not to—no game, no coach down the hall, no school grounds.
    I decide I need to take things into my own hands. I don’t need these boys to protect me. I can take care of myself. In fact, I’m kind of pissed they feel like I can’t handle it myself, so I need to prove everyone wrong.
    I slam the rest of the continents of my Solo cup for an excuse to get up.
    “Hey, I’m going to refill. I’ll be right back.” I hop off Marcus’s lap.
    “Sure, I’ll take some. Thanks, D!” Cam shouts after me.
    I turn back to him. “I didn’t offer.” I give him my best wicked smile.
    “I’ll go,” Nate says as he gets up to join me. He takes orders from the rest while I figure out the best way to lose him so I can complete my goal of reaming out Joel.
    We start to walk toward the kegs, and I’m about to veer off with an excuse of using the bathroom, but Nate catches me off guard.
    “Hey, I wanted to talk to you.”
    “Okay …?” I ask, unsure where this is going.
    Nate looks back at our group. “What’s going on with Jake? I know you guys are close. Has he