Ben spotted his mother talking to some guests on the far side of the yacht. He made his way to her quickly. When he caught her eyes, he jerked his head to the side. She made some gracious apologies to the couple whom Ben did not recognize and followed him.

"Mom, how long until we're docking?"

She gave him a wary expression.

"We stay out here until the fireworks are over. We've been doing it for years, and everyone knows that."

Ben made a loud noise of frustration. Leia rolled her eyes.

"I should have known you'd be dying to get out of here early," she said. "Is it so bad to spend a little more time with your family?"

Ben had predicted she'd give him a hard time. "I have somewhere else I need to be."

"Hmmm," replied Leia. "Could you be trying to get to that girl you've been texting?"

"What –"

"Oh Benjamin honey, you've been sitting over there staring at your phone with the goofiest smile. It doesn't take a genius to figure it out." She patted his arm affectionately.

Ben just pursed his lips.

"So who is this girl?" Leia needled. "You could have invited her here."

"No!" yelled Ben before composing himself. "I mean, no, it's not like that. We're just friends."

"Well, okay, what is this 'friend's' name?"

Ben peeked at his watch. "Mom, I really don't want to talk about this. I want to know if I can get out of here."

"Fine," said Leia, holding up her hands and shaking her head. "I won't ask more. I'm just glad that you're seeing people again. Not every girl is like Natalie."

Ben scowled. "Can we not, Mother?"

Leia sighed. "It's too early to ask Wedge to pull the yacht in, but I guess you could take a jet ski if you really want. We're not that far out. You could leave it at the dock."

"Thank you Mom," Ben said brightly, giving his mother a quick peck on the cheek.

She looked him up and down. "You're not really dressed for it."

"I don't care; it will be fine." He started to take off toward the lower level. He heard his mom call out behind him.

"Find Threepio. He knows what to do."

The family's butler wasn't his favorite person, but at least he would have someone to help him. Ben searched for a few minutes and finally found the tall, thin man in the kitchen, wearing the same sparkly gold vest as always.

"Hey Threepio, I need you for a sec."

"Master Ben," said Threepio, in his crisp European accent. Ben suddenly realized he had no idea where he was from despite knowing him his whole life. "What can I do for you?"

"Mom said you could help me get a jet ski out. I want to go back to the dock."

Threepio's eyes widened. "Why Master Ben, I hardly think that's a wise idea. There are a million things that could go wrong. You're not dressed properly and the sun is setting."

Ben rolled his eyes impatiently and clucked his tongue. There was no more anxious person on Earth than this guy. As a child Ben had received more lectures from him about the dangers of sneaking cookie dough, climbing trees, sitting too close to his computer, playing too many video games, and on and on.

"Well, what do I know," said Threepio wistfully. "I'm only a lowly butler." Ben had heard that before a time or two. "Follow me sir."

They went to the far end of the yacht, where there was a built in mini garage. Threepio opened the latch and the door lifted up to reveal a pair of new looking jet skis. Ben pulled off his navy blazer and handed it to Threepio, who took it and showed Ben where there was a storage compartment in the seat. After rolling up his sleeves, Ben peeled off his leather boat shoes and watch and put them and his cell phone in the seat. He climbed on and took in the controls. It had been years since he had been on a jet ski, but he rode them often growing up and remembered the process well.

Threepio typed in some controls and the jet ski lowered gently into the water via a ramp using hydraulics. Once Ben was settled, Threepio called out some directions for which dock to leave it at and Ben threw him a salute. He turned it on and drove off in the direction of the barely visible marina. He sped along between boats in the busy bay until he finally came near the shore. Narrowing his eyes in the waning light, he spotted the numbers lining the dock. Finally, he found his parents' location and brought it in. An attendant helped him bring the jet ski up onto the dock. Ben ignored the man's confused look at his fancy, wet clothes and busied himself with putting his shoes and watch back on. He tossed the attendant a few dollars and went to call Mitaka, angry at himself he hadn't thought to call him earlier.

When Ben pulled Mitaka's name up on his phone, his hand stilled. He had promised Mitaka the weekend off. Last night, he had fully expected to spend all of the holiday with his parents and the rest of the weekend sulking alone at his condo. Ben briefly considered calling Mitaka anyway, but decided he couldn't renege. He looked around anxiously. He wasn't too far from Theed Beach, but he needed to drive if he had any hope of making it in time. Quickly, he downloaded the Uber app and ordered a car. While he waited for "Xander," he sent a text to Rey.

I'm not too far away. Be there soon.

Xander pulled up in a Honda Accord, and Ben squeezed himself into the backseat. His driver was a bit younger than Ben if he had to guess.

"Having a good Fourth?" Xander asked conversationally.

"Um, yeah," said Ben. He caught the man's eye in the rearview mirror, and realized he was waiting for more. "Uh, how is yours?"

"Great," responded Xander immediately. "Barbeque and the beach, what could be better? What about you? Were you boating?"

Ben watched Xander's eyes dip a bit in the mirror to take in Ben's outfit. Ben looked down and immediately felt ridiculous. He had at least lost his blazer, but he was still in expensive topsider shoes, plaid shorts, and a white oxford shirt. He looked like he belonged on the cover of Preppy Boaters Monthly. Furthermore, his clothes were damp from his impromptu jet ski excursion. He needed to change.

"Hey," said Ben, changing the subject. "Where do you buy your clothes?"

The outgoing driver seemed taken aback. "Sorry, what?"

"If you were to buy clothes, where would you go?"

"Like in general?"

"Yeah."

"Um," the driver thought a second. "I don't know, Target, Old Navy?"

"Great," said Ben. "Are any of those around here? I need to make a quick stop."

"I know of a Target not far from here. It would only be a few minutes out of the way if you wanted to go."

"Yes," said Ben. Xander adjusted his GPS.

"What did you wear to the beach today?" asked Ben.

Xander was clearly trying not to act too weirded out. "Swim trunks, tshirt, flip flops," he said finally.

"Ok," said Ben. They drove the rest of the way in silence. When they got to Target, Ben asked Xander to wait for a few minutes. Inside the store, Ben looked around awkwardly. He had been to Target during college for various things, but certainly never for clothes. He looked at the ceiling until he spotted a sign indicating men's clothing, and followed it. When he got there, he grabbed the first pair of swim trunks he saw, and also a gray v-necked t-shirt. He followed the signs to "shoes," and found a pair of khaki flip flops.

Pulling out his phone, he shot off another text to Rey. Had to make a quick stop. Is there anything you need?

Almost immediately, her response came in. No, but we're out of snacks, so grab something if you're hungry. We're near marker 7. See you soon!

Ben immediately diverted his path from the cash registers to the food aisles. He found a sign that indicated snacks. Once there, he stood silently studying the racks of food. What kind of snacks did people bring to the beach? He glanced up and down. There wasn't a single item that didn't contain gobs of sodium and MSG. Sighing, he figured that was the kind of food Rey and Finn were probably looking for. Kylo Ren was almost definitely a fan of this stuff.

Finally, he snatched up a bag of Doritos, a bag of barbeque potato chips, and a package of Oreos. His arms were getting full, but he managed to slip a six-pack of Coke Zero on his pinky finger. Feeling ridiculous, he made his way to a register. When he unloaded his purchases onto the conveyer belt, he remembered something. He asked the cashier a question and ran off in the direction she pointed. He returned a moment later with a cheap looking backpack, and tossed a pack of breath mints onto the belt as well.

Once he had paid, he went into the bathroom and changed as quickly as he could. He checked himself in the mirror and smoothed his hair. Now transformed into Kylo Ren: Chill Weekend Bro, he stuffed his boat wear into his new backpack, yanked off all tags, and made his way quickly back to the parking lot. Xander looked at him but didn't say anything except to confirm that they were still headed to Theed Beach.

"Yes, marker 7 please, if you know where that is," replied Ben. Feeling embarrassed, he opened up his Uber app and gave Xander a five-star rating and a healthy tip. It was only a few minutes before they pulled into a crowded parking lot off the boardwalk.

"Marker 7 starts right over there." Xander pointed. "Thank you Ben. Hope you have a good Fourth."

"You too," said Ben, climbing out as quickly as he could. Then he took a breath and turned around, making sure to catch Xander's eye. "Thanks for everything."

Xander smiled and pulled away and Ben went to find Finn and Rey. He walked onto the sand for a while, looking carefully out into the dim light of the sunset. Finally, he spotted the two of them sitting on adjoining towels, playing cards. Rey was in a black bikini and Finn was shirtless, wearing only swim trunks. Ben ducked behind a group of people playing volleyball and yanked off his new tshirt, stuffing it into his backpack. Casually, he walked over to Rey.

"Hey guys," he said.

"Hey! You found-" Rey turned around to greet him and stopped speaking abruptly. She coughed a bit. Finn whacked her on the back.

"Sorry," she said. "Frog in my throat there. We're happy you're here! And you have snacks!"

She slid over a bit to make room on her towel and he plopped down beside her. Her brown hair was in a bun like usual, but it was windblown and messy, and he had to keep himself from smoothing it away from her forehead. He could smell the suntan lotion on her. She was dazzling. In the corner of his eye, he saw Finn scoff a bit and crack a crooked smile. Next to Ben, Rey dove into the Target bags eagerly. She tore open the Doritos. After a few generous handfuls, she spoke.

"Oh sorry, I guess I didn't really ask permission."

Ben chuckled. "I brought it for everybody." There was a brief period of silence while Rey munched away. Ben grabbed a few tepidly. He'd be lying if he said he didn't enjoy them.

Finn was working on the other bag of chips when he piped in. "So tell us, what is a Ren family party like?"

"What is any family party like?" he said, deflecting.

"You tell us," said Finn. "Rey and I didn't grow up with families."

Ben felt silly. He didn't know that about Finn, but he did know that about Rey. "I'm sorry."

Finn waved his hand. "No worries. You didn't know. So is it a backyard barbeque?"

"It's outdoors," said Ben truthfully. "Just a casual gathering of my parents' friends. It's always the same. They chat, drink, eat. My dad gives some speech. Nothing special, really."

"Did everyone lay into you?" asked Rey, peering at him with a sneaky smile. "Have you graduated to marriage questions like you expected?"

"I sure did," said Ben, rolling his eyes. "I got a lot of sympathetic shoulder pats and 'you'll find someone's."

"Well, why aren't you married?" cut in Finn abruptly.

"Finn!" yelled Rey, leaning over to swat him. "You can't ask him that, you jerk! We're supposed to be the fun respite from the party!"

Finn rubbed his arm and acted hurt. "What?" he said defensively. He turned to Ren. "You're what…twenty-nine? Thirty?"

"Twenty-nine," confirmed Ben.

"It's a fair question!" said Finn. "Have you ever been married before?"

"No," said Ben, happy to put that to bed.

"Ren, you don't have to answer anything he asks," said Rey, giving Finn the stink eye. "This is ridiculous. Who wants a Coke?"

Finn's phone buzzed and he practically dove for it.

"It's Rose!" he cried. Rey crawled over and tried to see the screen. "She just got off her shift and asked me to come by her place where she and her sister are going to set off some fireworks."

"Oh my gosh!" Rey gave Finn a high five. "Go, get!"

Finn started to gather his things, but slowed down after a moment. "Wait, Ren how did you get here?"

"Uber."

"That means I'm you guys' ride," said Finn. "I hate to ditch you."

"Pshhh," said Rey dismissively. "We can just take another Uber. You should not even still be here talking to us. We'll be fine. Go!"

Finn leaned in, gave Rey a quick hug and whispered something in her ear, and then put out his fist towards Ben. After a moment too long to be comfortable, Ben realized Finn was waiting for him to pound back. He finally reached out, and Finn smiled.

"Have fun you two," said Finn as he picked up his collapsed umbrella and strolled off. To Ben's disappointment, Rey slid over to Finn's vacated towel. She stretched her legs in front of her and cracked a can of Coke. Ben followed suit, and for the next few minutes, they sat sipping their drinks in silence and watching the sun slowly set over the bay. The beach was busy, and there was noise all around them, but the air felt still where they sat.

Ben kept sneaking side-glances at Rey, trying to gauge how she felt about their current state. Often, on dates, when Ben fell silent, he felt the aura change. His dates would shift uncomfortably, or jabber on nervously to fill the quiet themselves.

With Rey, there was none of that. Her gaze was steady on the horizon, and she had a faint smile on her lips. Once she finished her drink, she set it down and wrapped her arms around her knees. Ben took an indulgent moment to take in her whole body. Her toes were painted but chipped, and her legs were long and shapely. Her waist was narrow, and her breasts were small but cute in her little bathing suit top. He stared at the back of her graceful neck, each vertebrae shifting slightly with each breath she took. He pictured himself kissing his way up and burying his nose in her hair.

"It's so beautiful," she said finally, breaking their silence. "I wish I took more time to come out here and just watch the sun set."

"I know what you mean," replied Ben. "I don't know the last time I saw the sun disappear below the horizon. I liked watching when I was a kid."

"I guess I'm turning you back into wee little Ren," teased Rey. "Fireworks and sunsets. Do you still do anything that you liked doing when you were little?"

Ben thought for a moment. "I like to read," he said. "When I was growing up I was kind of into nerdy books, like Lord of the Rings and the Redwall series. Some people picked on me for it. I don't read as much now as I should, but I do read a bit. Always fiction. It's a great way to escape."

Rey's eyes were on Ben now. She was listening carefully. Ben loved that about her. She made everyone around her feel like she cared, from her coworkers to the random customer. The tough thing was that it made it hard to discern whether her interest was her just being Rey, or something more.

"I can't say I have the patience for long books," she said, "but I know how much they mean to some people. You know, Coruscant Hills may not be much, but there's a great library off 51st Street. You should check it out."

"Good idea," said Ben.

"You should read some of the things you liked reading when you were young," she suggested. "It's good sometimes to reacquaint ourselves with our younger selves. No one will make fun of you now. Well, maybe Porkins will." She grinned.

Ben snickered back. "Porkins can't hurt me."

"No, I imagine not, not when his favorite book is 'The Idiot's Guide to Trafficking Hybrid Squirrels,'" she said, holding out her hand as if writing the title across the air. Ben chuckled along at her continuation of their old joke.

"What about you?" asked Ben, turning the tables. "What did you like to do when you were a kid?"

Her face changed a bit and she looked down at her knees. Instantly, Ben went to apologize.

"I'm sorry," he said. "You don't have to talk about it."

"No, it's okay," she said, looking back at him. "My childhood was…not great." She held up a hand. "Don't apologize; it's not your fault."

She looked up at the sky, which had turned a fading shade of orange. She was silent for a couple minutes. Ben frantically tried to think of something to say that could divert the path their conversation had taken, but then she spoke back up.

"I guess when I was pretty young I was really into the sky, like stars and clouds and stuff. I always imagined I could fly. Sometimes I'd be able to get some books from the school library, and I read everything I could about planes and spaceships."

Ben nodded along encouragingly, but her eyes didn't leave the sky as she continued.

"One year on Christmas, some charity brought some toys to our group home. They were new toys. It was really exciting for everyone. We each got to pick one thing, and they had this pilot Barbie. I loved her. I named her Captain Raeh, but spelled it R-A-E-H, so I guess named after me but not? I was ten, so who knows. At some point, one of the younger kids got a hold of her and popped her head off. I put it back on, but she never looked the same after that. I did bring her here to America, though, when I was thirteen. I was so excited to finally ride an airplane. I felt so free, flying over the ocean, above the clouds. But then I got here, and…"

She stopped, and Ben wanted to ask what she was going to say. He wanted to reach for her hand, rub her knuckles, and tell her it's ok, it will all be okay now. He made a resolve that on the count of five he would…

"Hey look!" Rey cried, as her arm shot out and pointed. "Churros! Have you ever had those?"

"Uh, what?" sputtered Ben, yanked from his daydream. He followed her finger to see a white food cart not far from them with a little line forming.

"Those churros!" said Rey. "They're so good. They fill them with chocolate or caramel and add sprinkles. I haven't had one in ages. We have to get them." She started rummaging in her bag.

Ben stilled her with his hand. "I'll get them," he said. "Come on, let's go."

He expected Rey to argue, but she was so enthusiastic that she jumped up and pulled him by the hand over to the cart. While they stood in line, they chatted mindlessly about which toppings to get. Rey ended up choosing caramel, and Ben got chocolate. He reached into his swim trunks' back pocket for his wallet, and found it to be empty.

Ben started slapping all his pockets desperately. Feeling his ears burn, he looked at the churro cart man.

"I don't suppose you take Apple Pay?" Ben asked weakly. The man shook his head.

"Ren, what's wrong?" asked Rey.

"It's…my wallet," said Ben. "I must have left it at Target."

"Oh no! Here, let me grab mine." She ran over to their towels and Ben turned back to the line behind them apologetically. He wanted to bury himself into the sand at his feet and never emerge. Not only was he holding up all these strangers, but Rey was bailing him out yet again. A moment later, she ran back towards them, waving her wallet around. Ben was so humiliated he couldn't even enjoy the sight of her running in her bathing suit.

Back at their towel, Ben searched through his backpack, careful not to show off its contents, but it was fruitless. He could clearly remember pulling out his wallet in the bathroom and setting it carefully on the toilet paper dispenser. He just must not have grabbed it when he put on his new clothes, in a hurry to get out of there.

"Here," said Rey, holding out her phone. "I found the number for Target. Give them a call."

He took the phone gratefully and made the call. He explained his predicament to the operator and sat on hold while they looked for him. A new voice greeted him.

"Hi sir, we have a wallet here that one of our employees turned into Guest Services this evening. We have to verify it's yours. Can you give me your name?"

Relieved, Ben almost answered her, but caught himself and glanced sideways at Rey. She was nibbling on her churro but listening. "Um, well, there's a couple credit cards, some cash…"

"Okay, but what is the name?"

"Hey, sorry, you keep cutting in and out. Let me move." Ben spoke loudly enough for Rey to not miss it. He mouthed "I'm sorry" face at her and stepped a few paces away.

"My name is Benjamin Solo," Ben hissed into the phone as quietly as he was able.

"All right, Mr. Solo," said the friendly voice. Ben knew there was no way Rey could hear, but he still looked in her direction nervously as the employee practically shouted at him. Ben asked her to list all the things that were in the wallet, and he was relieved to hear that everything seemed to be in place. Someone could have a lot of fun with his credit limit. He was grateful for the honesty of strangers.

"We'll keep it locked up for up to a week," the employee told him. "I'll leave a note here that you have called in. Have a good night, sir."

"You too," said Ben, and hung up. He sat back down next to Rey.

"Good news?" she asked.

"Yeah, they have it," said Ben.

"Should we go get it?"

Ben knew that his financial advisor would have a fit that Ben didn't get up right then to get it, but Ben didn't want to jeopardize his night with Rey any further.

"I'll worry about it later," he said. "They've got it locked up. If we go now we'll miss the fireworks. Maybe they'll still be open when they're over. If not, I'll swing by tomorrow."

"Hopefully we can go tonight," said Rey. "I'd hate for you to have to waste money on a trip all the way out here for nothing." She handed him his uneaten churro, and Ben bit in. Some of the chocolate squeezed out the end, right onto his swim trunks. Rey giggled at him as he wiped at it with little success. His fingers were already covered in sticky chocolate.

"It's kind of a skill, eating these," she said, smiling. "Here, let me help."

Ben watched as she poured some water from her water bottle onto her towel, and started dabbing at his trunks, right on his thigh. He held his breath as she stroked gently until the stain was nothing but a spot of faded brown.

"There," she said, lifting the towel and her eyes slowly. "The rest should wash out."

Ben nodded, stuffing the last couple bites into his mouth. She handed him the wet towel, and he wiped his fingers. When he looked back up at her face, he saw her eyes fixated on his lips. His heart started pounding. She took the edge of the towel from him wordlessly and leaned in close. Her eyes narrowed as she gazed at his lips, like she was making up her mind on something. Ben allowed himself to lean in just a hair closer, until their foreheads were nearly touching. He could smell the cinnamon and sugar on her lips. Finally, Rey lifted the towel and wiped next to the corner of his mouth.

"Sorry," she whispered, pulling back. "You had some chocolate smudged, and it was hard to see in the dark." She looked up. "In fact, I bet the fireworks will be starting soon."

She scooted back until they were seated side by side, facing the water.

"I hope Finn made it to Rose okay," said Rey.

"Is she the girl from work he likes?" asked Ben, remembering their conversation from the other day.

"Yes," said Rey excitedly. "He finally got the guts to text her this afternoon. I'm proud of him." Her voice changed. "Hey, I'm sorry about those questions he was asking you. He's…he's a little too protective of me. Not that he needed to be of course," she added on quickly. "I know we're not like that."

"It's okay," he said, even as he tried to process her words. "After all, I had all that practice today."

She grinned at him, her dimples visible even in the waning light.

"I'm still sorry," she said. "And then I encouraged him to leave us when I didn't even stop to think about you. I told you we were both here when I asked you to come."

Ben smiled softly at that and shook his head slightly. He leaned in while keeping his eyes steadily on hers.

"He's not the reason I came."

Rey's eyes widened. Out of the corner of Ben's eye, he saw a bright red firework illuminate the sky and water below. The display was begging to be watched, but Ben didn't want to move his gaze from the gorgeous woman before him, one side of her face bathed in the soft reflective light of the fireworks. After a few fireworks had gone off, Rey gave him a wide smile. She turned her head towards the water and scooted the slightest bit closer to Ben's side.

Following her lead, Ben lifted his eyes up to the red white and blue light above him. And this time, he didn't need a mental countdown to slide his fingers across the towel slowly until they brushed Rey's. He felt her fingers curl around his tentatively. When he chanced a peek at her, he saw her lips fighting a teeny smile. Feeling braver, he took her whole hand solidly in his larger one. Neither of them moved any more for the remainder of the fireworks show.

Ben felt his spirits soar with each burst of light that shot through the night sky. His heart thudded along with each thundering boom. Being with Rey was just like the fireworks, a perfect paradox of brightness and fear. The evening darkness surrounded them, the night sky filled with smoke as the fireworks reached their end, but Ben had never felt so alight.