Leith pulled up to Mary's house mere moments after Bash drove away, which meant Mary was forced to answer the door in Bash's T-shirt and basketball shorts having had no time to change. This is less than ideal, she thought. She was hoping to keep some things to herself at least until she had had some time to really figure out her feelings. She opened the door to an obviously enamored Leith and Greer. Leith's face registered the recognition of whose clothing she was in, but he had the decency to not looked surprised or say anything. Maybe he's just had a lot of practice, she thought spitefully. Greer's eyes danced, like she fully intended to interrogate Mary at her earliest convenience. "Well I'll leave you women to it," Leith remarked nervously before kissing Greer goodbye and walking off to his car.
"So spill," Greer said the instant the door shut behind her. Mary laughed. "Mind if we save the whole story of both our nights for when the gang shows up? Otherwise you know we'll both be doing a lot of repeating ourselves," Mary stated factually. Greer shrugged as her acceptance.
They didn't have long to wait. Minutes later the doorbell rang again. As they swung it open, they were met with a veritable attack of hugs from Lola, Aylee and Kenna. "We were so worried about you, Mary," they called out in unison.
"No need. I had my knight in shining armor to protect me," she replied jokingly.
"He is kind of perfect," Aylee sighed dreamily. "I want one," Kenna added. But Lola and Greer said nothing, because they could see that there was a very definite imperfection in Mary's view of Sebastian at the moment.
"Let's head upstairs," Greer suggested. So, in Mary's bedroom piled onto her bed, Greer told her best friends in the whole world about losing her virginity. She assured them that it had been wonderful, perfect, everything she had ever imagined, and that Leith was the perfect gentleman. There were embarrassed giggles and lots of blushing from all but Kenna. It was no secret that Kenna was the most experienced of the group. As per usual, she offered to give advice and pointers if Greer ever wanted them.
Then Mary found herself rambling about her nearly perfect night with Bash. She told them about the magnetic connection she felt to him every time she found herself in his immediate vicinity. She told them about the embarrassing barely clothed moments, and how he hadn't once pushed her for anything. Then she blushed telling them about her embarrassing discovery. Kenna laughed, "I always knew he was a wild one." "How do you feel about that part of Bash's history?" Lola asked. Mary shrugged. "I don't know how to feel. I don't know anything about it really. And I have no claim to him. I have no right to feel anything," she said trying to convince herself more than them. "Of course you have a right to feel something!" Greer exclaimed outraged. "You have genuine feelings for him." "He has no idea about any of that, Greer," Mary simply said. "He remembers your kiss, Mary. You should see the way he looks at you, like he burns for you. And you should be happy he has a past, it means that you will be going to bed with a man not a boy," Kenna said. Mary shrugged. She still wasn't sure how she felt, but she had never even tried to look at it from the point of view Kenna had just suggested.
Bash, on the other hand, knew exactly how he felt. He was head over heels in love with this girl who wasn't even remotely sure how he would fit into her life. He had been turning down offers left and right, which was highly unusual for him. He hadn't been able to move past a simple flirt with anyone since he had found himself by the lake with her the first time. If she had only let me explain, he thought. He threw himself deeper into his work, his summer classes, and his fraternity, determined to forget for the summer that she hadn't been in touch.
Greer became a constant presence in Leith's life over the summer. She loved that they were both completely free to do as they pleased, no work or school to tie them down. Lola attended summer school at USC to get a jump on her math courses, with Benjamin of course. They had already mapped out nearly identical degree plans. Aylee spent the summer in France with her biological father like she did every summer. Kenna and her cousin went backpacking through Europe. Mary moved to New York City (across the country) for an internship at a prestigious law firm that her father had connections to. She was set on attending law school and determined to make her resume impeccable. She pushed all the thoughts of California and all the people in it from her mind.
Francis tried to push himself into the collegiate social world through Sebastian and his friends. But all he was really successful in doing was getting himself into a lot of jams that Henry found himself weaseling him out of. He tried to convince himself that a couple public intoxication charges and minor under the influence on top of that wasn't really a big deal. Bash tried to put some distance between them, when he realized that Francis was past listening to a big brother's reasoning.