Jessica's POV

Once I had gotten home, away from Bradin, I knew I had made a mistake. It was ridiculous for me to have turned him down and his look of anguish would haunt my mind for a long time. He had looked so utterly sincere and hopeful…and then I crushed that expression. I was the reason he was so upset lately…I was why he was so depressed and cranky. Why was I so afraid of being with him? He was different than with Sara but for the past month he was with a new girl every few days…could I trust him? After all, he had said he was only with those other girls because of his pain over me… Ugh…

I whirled around to retract my former statement. I had to be a gigantic moron to turn down Bradin… It was a freaking dream come true that he asked me out, that he said those things and meant them… And I had turned him down. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

I ran the rest of the way back to the beach. He had moved. The empty area we were in was now completely empty. I saw a crowd on the other side of the beach and searched for him there.

I finally found him, leaning on a tree, separated from the others.

"Bradin, I was an idiot," I started. "I'm sorry… I know I should trust you by now…and I've wanted to be with you all my life, I don't know what came over me." Bradin turned to face me, lopsided smile on his face and suddenly he roughly pulled me closer to him and kissed me intensely. Okay, didn't expect that… Something about him didn't feel right… He didn't seem like himself.

Bradin continued to kiss me forcefully when I felt his hand, which was on my waist, slide under my shirt onto my skin. That didn't disturb me too much until his hand started moving upwards…

I pushed his hand down, and said jokingly, "You really are a horn dog, aren't you? One minute after I agree to go out with you and you're already trying to get my shirt off." Bradin's lips pushed against mine again but his hand refused to remain at my waist.

"Bradin, stop it," I said, the teasing tone gone. "I'm not going to do that." Bradin toyed with the collar to my shirt and chuckled.

The off-ness I had noticed finally clicked. "Have you been drinking!"

"Little of this, little of that," he grinned, brandishing a nearly empty bottle. He leaned in again and laid his lips against mine for a third time. I shoved him back.

"You knooow, Sara put out," he slurred.

"Yeah well Sara also ran off somewhere with her dad's money and still can't be found," I said sarcastically, "Unless you haven't noticed, I'm not Sara. What, getting antsy without any action?"

"Actually," he garbled, "I've slept with maybe half of the girls I've dated at school." This revelation hit me hard. He really was a horn dog! That had to be, what, 30 girls! Bradin's hand lay on my upper thigh and he continued, "'Course…I've been wanting to screw you since school started." Okay ew! My jaw dropped and I spun around and kneed him in the stomach, slamming a fist in his face at he same time.

I started walking off before I spotted the car Ava allowed Bradin to purchase sitting in the nearby parking lot. I sighed and whirled around, back to Bradin who was kneeling in the sand. In a quick motion I snatched the keys he had hanging out of his pocket and shook my head. I saw him start to raise the bottle to his lips again and with a sigh I grabbed it out of his hands.

"Honestly…" I muttered with disgust, leaving him behind.


The next morning, Bradin rolled over, grimacing at the bright light. Wait, his room was curtained… Blinking, Bradin realized painfully that he was on the beach. Bradin groaned and clutched his head. He felt three times worse than the day after Founder's Day… he must've really gone off. How much did he drink?

After Jess had left, he had stumbled upon a party where alcohol was offered. He was just going to take a sip, remembering how hammered he got last time. But the rejection had hit him harder than he thought.

Bradin absently wondered if anything had happened after Jess left. Everything that happened after his first few swigs was a fuzzy fog.

With a moan, he struggled to sit up. Ava was going to kill him if he didn't get his ass home. He reached into his pocket and came up empty. He frowned. Did he lose his keys? When the searing ache in his head began to dull, Bradin realized there was another throbbing. The spot near his eye was really sore and as he slowly stood up, he nearly doubled over from the pain in his stomach. Really, what the hell happened last night?

After struggling for a good while, Bradin managed to drag himself home. What would his aunt say when she found out he'd been out all night and had been drinking?

Bradin attempted to sneak in, but the hour was much later than he knew.

"You know Bradin, I really thought after our last talk you wouldn't have gone out and gotten drunk again," Ava's voice was cold.

"Aunt Ava-" Bradin winced.

"You are not to leave this house unless it is for school or to go to your surf team. No parties, no dates, and you are not going to be allowed to go to Football or baseball games. The only reason I'm not revoking your surfing is because you've already made the commitment. This is in effect immediately and will last until February, minimum." Ava cut him off. "Do you have any idea how foolish that was? If Jessica hadn't stopped by to tell me what happened, I would have called the police!"

"…Jessica?" the words hit him.

"Yeah. You'd have better thank her until your voice goes dry because she came by to drop off your keys, saying how she knew you were way too intoxicated to drive." Ava said. How did Jessica get his keys?

"I'm sorry," he mumbled feebly.

"Just go to your room. Jay's got some lecturing of his own he wants to dish." Ava sighed. "And by the way, these keys are staying with me. You've lost the privilege of a car."

Bradin went to his room as told but couldn't keep the confusion out. How did Jess end up with his keys? A thought hit him. Oh my God. Did she go back?

Bradin listened to Jay's useless words and was thrown some Tylenol and an ice pack. "You'd better just sleep it off. It's your best bet." Bradin thanked him and washed his face. He looked up at his reflection and grimaced. He looked like ass. There were dark bags under his eyes and he looked pasty.

Bradin spent the better part of the day throwing up and lounging in his bed. After racking his brain, brief flashes of fragmented images from the previous night flew through his intensely pained head but not enough for him to have a grasp on what happened.

"Aunt Ava…" Bradin faltered. This was not a time to get in her face. "Would I be able to drop by Jessica's house to thank her for the keys? It'll just take a half hour."

"Fine, but this is a special case and the only time you'll be going anywhere for three months." Ava sighed. "And if you aren't back in half an hour, 10pm on the dot, you'll have an extra two weeks grounded."

"Thank you," he said gratefully, "I swear I'll be go there and be back as quickly as I can."

Bradin was about to walk out the door when Ava warned him, "I know you probably don't remember anything, but be gentle with her. When she stopped by, she looked hurt and angry."

Not a good sign… "Do you know why?" Bradin questioned.

"I asked but she didn't say," Ava replied. "Listen, just keep in my mind that you may not know what happened, but that does not in any way make the things that happened non-existent. She'll have remembered and, drunk or not, it was still you there that night and you'll have to take responsibility for that."

Bradin nodded before heading to Jessica's place apprehensively. So, she had returned to him and noticed that he was drunk enough to take away his keys. And she was pissed. But perhaps she was pissed for the sole reason that he was drunk, nothing more. Somehow, he found that hard to believe.

He took a breath and knocked on her door. "Uh, hi," he stammered when she answered.

The expression on her face ranged from surprise to anger to disbelief. She shut the door in his face. Bradin exhaled and said, "Jess…can we talk, please?"

"I really can't believe you showed up," she said through the door. It opened a crack. "You don't remember, do you? What happened?"

"…I'm sorry, I don't…" Bradin muttered. "D-did you go back to the beach?"

"I did," she answered shortly.

"I really have no idea what I did…I wish I did, but… well, I wanted to thank you for looking out for me last night…I heard you took away my keys." Bradin said uncomfortably. "I'm sorry if I did anything ass-like to you, if I did none of it was intentional…"

"Uh huh," she looked down.

"Please Jess, I don't even know what I did wrong," Bradin pleaded.

"Bradin, I don't even want to talk to you. I don't want to look at you, I don't want to be anywhere near you." She bit out.

"Could you help me understand…?" Bradin begged.

Jessica just said, "I'll see you around town, I guess." And shut the door.

Bradin leaned against the door. "Jess! Come on! Jessica!" She didn't answer. With a sigh, Bradin stared at the door for a moment longer before returning home. He had to remember what happened!


A/N: Thanks for reviewing everyone! 20 more til 100! And brand new Summerland in 39 mins for me, but oh no, it looks as if there'll be trouble for Bradin : ' (