A/N: Just a heads up that a scene towards the end of the story gets very racy (lmao, I sound like my dad). Obviously, no actual sex takes place—otherwise, this story would be M-rated—but it is definitely a hard T-rating. Consider yourself warned.

Chapter 3: Warm Front

Jen had her eyes closed, her earbuds in, and the world tuned out.

The more she thought about what Nikki and Jude told her earlier, the more she realized they were right. Her friends reminded her that her responsible mode had an off switch. It didn't need to always be on. She wasn't always needed as the mom of the group—having to consider everyone's needs and neglect her own.

She'd been working overtime at the Penalty Box so she could earn the position of assistant manager, preparing for her duties as senior-class president in the fall, applying to her dream universities—all while constantly cleaning around the house, maintaining a new relationship, and making time for her friends.

Needless to say, she'd been on her grind. She earned this.

Besides, it was nice not to be consumed by responsibility. It was also nice not to make other people's problems her own for once.

Robbie and Diego were Jonesy's responsibility, not hers. She'd let him deal with the consequences.

It's only fair, she thought before being forced back to reality by someone tapping on her shoulder.

She opened her eyes to find Nikki, Sydni, and a teary-eyed Caitlin before her.

Her brow furrowed as she took out her earbuds. "What happened?"

"Let's see: seventeen hellish years ago, the antichrist was born," Nikki said. "But you might know her as Tricia."

Jen noted the frustration in Nikki's expression, the distraught in Sydni's, and the melancholy in Caitlin's. "She did something to you, Cait?"

With a heavy heart, Caitlin nodded and gave her the briefest summary of what happened.

Jen got up and gave her a hug. "That's awful that she would do that to you. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay." She donned a tiny smile as Jen let her go. "Besides, at least me and Sydni got to see Nikki kick her butt."

Jen turned to Nikki with wide eyes. "You fought Tricia?"

"Somebody had to."

"Wow, I can't believe I missed all that."

"Don't worry; just know that she got her ass handed to her. But, anyways, we came to ask if Caitlin could stay in your room for the rest of the day."

"Oh, of course," Jen said without hesitation. "Need me to keep you company, Cait?"

She shook her head. With a weak voice, she said, "No, thanks. I'd rather be alone right now."

Her maternal instincts kicked in once more. "Well, at least let me walk there with you."

"Okay," her heartbroken friend replied.

Thus, Jen strolled towards the sliding glass door that led to the living room with them. Before she could even make it inside with the three of them, however, she found herself bombarded with water balloons and powerful blasts from a water gun.

She shrieked before turning around to face the culprits: Robbie and Diego.

A groan slipped through her lips. Why couldn't all the Garcia boys just disappear?

"What are you two doing?" she asked them.

"Just enjoying the party, stepsis," Diego said with a haughty look stuck on his face as he lowered his water gun.

She'd be damned if his annoying, devilish smirk didn't resemble Jonesy's. "Can't you enjoy it without humiliating me?" It was bad enough that she was the victim of a water balloon attack a couple hours ago.

Robbie pretended to ponder her question. "…Nah."

"See, flirting with babes and annoying the shit out of Jonesy is fun and all, but it gets kinda boring after a while," Diego explained. "But annoying the shit out of you never gets old."

She wanted to yell. It was one thing for Jonesy get on her nerves and try to put a damper on her day, but for his brothers to do the same to her? It made her long for the days where the only sibling she had to deal with was Courtney.

"Ugh, just leave me alone!"

"No can do," Diego said before blasting her with his water gun again.

She ran behind a group of teens from her high school, taking shelter behind them so she wouldn't get sprayed by him.

Diego and Robbie tried running after her, but she sprinted from the patio to the grass, bobbing and weaving between her peers in an effort to escape from Jonesy's bothersome brothers.

She ran so fast and so blindly that she collided into someone, slamming into the other person's chest.

"Hey! Watch where you're going, sis!"

She stumbled backwards before regaining her balance. She then looked at who she bumped into.

Of course I'd run into Jonesy of all people.

She crossed her arms. "I'll watch where I'm going when your stupid brothers learn how to leave people alone!"

Jonesy frowned. "They're harassing you too, huh?"

"Yes. As if it wasn't bad enough that you were messing with me earlier."

"Hey, I'm just tryna have a good time. Robbie and Diego are just being outta pocket."

Perhaps he had a point. Despite the aggravation the Garcia brothers had filled her with, she found herself the least mad at Jonesy right now. Yes, he could be irresponsible and impulsive, but his brothers were just downright chaotic evil.

She sighed. "So, what do we do?"

"Well, I was almost about to give in to their freaking blackmail, but you know what?" he asked with returning bravado. "I'm not going down without a fight. I'm not gonna let them play me like a chump."

"And I'm not gonna let them ruin the rest of my day."

He smirked at her. "So, are we gonna reclaim this backyard or what?"

She found herself smirking back at him. "Definitely… So, what are we gonna do?"

"Beat 'em at their own game."

"How so?"

"Well, for starters, I have a whole bunch of water guns in the shed they don't even know about. I'm talkin' super soakers."

She raised an eyebrow. "Go on…"

Sydni watched as Nikki closed Jen's bedroom door, leaving Caitlin to sulk in solitude.

The two of them stood in the hallway, looking at each other.

"So…" they said in unison.

"I hope Caitlin will be alright," Sydni said, looking down.

"Don't worry about Blondie; she'll be fine. For someone who wears a size zero, she's deceptively strong," Nikki said.

"Yeah, but I still feel bad that she got her heart broken. Of all the things that happened today, I never expected for her and Benj to break up."

"Me neither. But I guess today took a few unexpected turns. Kicking Tricia's ass certainly wasn't in my plans for today, but here we are."

Sydni walked towards the steps, saying, "I wish you could've kicked Heather's ass while you were at it."

"Oh, yeah, I've been meaning to ask: what did she say to you?"

"She kept listing reasons why Alejandro wouldn't date me 'even if my life depended on it,'" she said with air quotes.

"What a bitter bitch." Nikki placed a hand on her chin. "Huh, maybe I should've kicked her ass after all."

"Fighting both of them in one go? That would've been iconic." She sighed. "It would probably make me feel better, too."

"How so?"

"By knowing that she'd think twice before popping up every time I'm within a hundred feet of him."

"I don't know about that. Heather's the type to get her ass handed to her several times over before even thinking of giving up. She's persistent, I'll give her that."

"Great. I guess she'll always be on my ass then."

"Relax, Bambi. We'll be on hers before she ever gets to yours. That's a promise."

A warm grin appeared upon her face. She debated where she should give her a hug or not, but decided to go for it. "Thanks, Nikki."

"Anytime." Once she let her go, Nikki noted, "You know, you seem to really perk up whenever I call you Bambi." She raised an eyebrow. "Any particular reason?"

"I've mentioned my friend Michaela to you before, right?"

"Yeah, a few times."

"Well, she calls me Bambi, too—only when she says it, it's short for bambina, not the Disney character."

"Ah, okay."

"Yeah. So when I perk up, it's just because… it reminds me of home when you say it."

"Well, it's nice to know that, Bambi," Nikki said, giving her a knowing smile. "Now, come on; let's go back outside. I'd rather not spend the rest of my day thinking about Tricia and Heather."

"Good call," Sydni agreed. As they descended into the living room, she asked, "So, are things good with you and Jonesy?"

Nikki rolled her eyes. "I'd rather not think about that lunkhead right now either. He really knows how to speak without thinking first, and it seriously pisses me off."

Sydni toyed with a lock of her hair. "Sorry. Forget I even asked."

"It's fine. If there's anyone I need to hear a sorry from, it's him. Him and his big mouth," she said as they walked out the door and into the backyard. "Anyways, we should go find Jen. I think if she's around those Garcia boys much longer, she's gonna go postal."

"Agreed. I'm surprised the backyard hasn't become a crime scene yet."

She and Nikki walked further into the backyard, straying away from the patio and onto the grass when somebody approached them.

Sydni's breath almost hitched in her throat when she saw him. "Alejandro."

"Hey, Sydni," he said.

Her eyes looked him up and down, trying to assess if this was really happening. Once she deduced that this was actually reality and he really just approached her, she managed to ask, "S-So, how've you been?"

"I've been doing great. You?"

Despite her mouth going dry, she said, "Never been better. Enjoying the party?"

He nodded. "Especially now that I see you're here."

She felt a warmth in her cheeks. "Oh, wow."

"Oh wow," sis? He's flirting with you and all you have to say is "oh, w—

"So, I was hoping I could get your number." He flashed a charming smile at her. "Maybe we could get to know each other a bit, hermosa."

Oh my God, he just said I'm pretty. I'm gonna pass the hell out, she thought.

"Sure!" she said, sounding too eager. Keep the little bit of cool you have, bitch. "I mean, sure. Um, I'd really like that."

"Great," he said. He opened his contacts app and handed her his phone.

Though she remained skeptical that this moment was real, she typed her name and number into his phone and handed it back to him.

"Thanks. I'll hit you up soon."

She gave him a goofy grin. Stop smiling so hard, she chastised herself, forcing herself to dial it back. "Okay. Cool."

"I guess I'll see you around, Sydni." He winked at her before leaving.

"Yeah. See ya," she said, waving at him as he left, wondering if she waved for a little bit too long.

Nikki snickered, reminding Sydni of her presence. "You know, I kinda wish Heather was still here so I could see her head explode right now."

"Okay, so that really just happened?" she asked, needing further confirmation that her crush just got her number.

"Yep," she said with a smirk. "He really just got your number."

"Shit," she said, feeling a sense of… victory?

Despite Heather's threats of winning this so-called war they were engaged in, she felt like the victor. She felt butterflies fluttering around her stomach and her heart thumping in her chest.

Then she remembered Caitlin and how her heart broke before this happened. The fact that, for the briefest of moments, she celebrated her own victory and forgot Caitlin's loss made her feel incredibly hollow. Her own heart ached for Caitlin, seeing that heartache was (and still continued to be) a familiar feeling for Sydni herself.

Though she tried to put on a happy face as she walked with Nikki, she found herself stuck with one question: What did I do?

Sitting in a lounge chaise beside the pool, Diego closed his eyes in smug bliss. "I can't believe we got rid of big bro and Jen. That was too easy."

"I know, right?" Robbie asked, sitting in an adjacent chaise. "They didn't even stand a chance."

"Ha! Chumps."

"Who are you calling a chump, pendejo?" an all-too-familiar voice asked.

Diego kept his eyes closed, unbothered. "You, mamón." Suddenly, he found himself blasted with two powerful streams of water. He leaped from his seat and onto the patio, startled by what he felt and what he saw. Jen and Jonesy stood before him. Both of them had two water guns in hand. "What the—"

"What's wrong, Diego?" Jen taunted. "Can't take the heat?"

He furrowed his brow and reached for his own water gun. "Of course I can."

Robbie quickly leaped from his seat, ready to grab from his supply of water balloons and help his middle brother—until Jonesy hit him with two blasts of water, causing him to fall back onto the chaise.

Jonesy cackled and taunted, "Too easy," before getting sprayed in the face by Diego.

He smirked at his older brother's discontent. "You were saying?" he snarked. Then he got sprayed in the face and the chest by Jen.

She replied, "He said that was too easy."

After recovering from Jonesy's earlier attack, Robbie chucked a few water balloons Jonesy and Jen. One of them managed to hit Jen, but it didn't stop her from blasting him in the chest.

Diego fired more and more rounds of water at Jonesy, trying to fight him off and get him to admit defeat. He noticed, however, that the water pressure in his gun grew weaker.

Shit, he thought. Seeing that the water supply in his gun was running out, he opted to start running.

Jonesy bobbed and weaved through startled peers to fire at Diego.

Likewise, Robbie found himself running from Jen after running too low on balloons.

Before Jonesy's brothers knew it, they were both trapped between the corner of their fence and their older siblings.

"We gotcha now," Jonesy said, a victorious grin emerging. "Might as well give up."

Diego was prepared to let his pride talk back and tell his older brother that he was still ready to fight and blackmail him—until his younger brother spoke up.

"Fine. We'll leave, okay?" Robbie said with a huff. "I just wanna go back and finish playing Assassin's Creed."

"No way." Diego's brow furrowed. He couldn't believe his younger brother was giving up this easily. "C'mon, Robbie, Jonesy owes us for this."

"If we didn't get our money before, what makes you think we're gonna get it from him now?" he asked.

Diego glared at both of his brothers.

Jonesy added, "Yeah, you two aren't getting squat."

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I give up. Happy?"

"Very," Jen said.

His brothers walked away grumbling, but that didn't prevent Jonesy from spraying them both in the back one last time.

They both turned around and side-eyed him.

He shrugged. "Had to get the last laugh. You know how it is." Diego flipped Jonesy off, to which he replied, "Love you too, bro."

Once his brothers finally left the backyard, Jonesy and Jen sat their water guns in the grass. They revelled in the success of "Operation: Reclaim the Yard."

He turned to her and scratched the back of his head. Now that he had a chance to think without growing frustrated about his brothers, it touched him that she helped him take them down.

"Hey," he said, grabbing her attention, "thanks a lot for helping me get rid of Robbie and pendejo."

"No problem." She smiled at him. "You may be a pain in my butt, but they're even bigger pains in my butt."

"Good to know." His jovial mood faded when it occurred to him how he and his brothers upended Jen's day. He couldn't help feeling a tiny pang of guilt. (Maybe his conscious was getting some use after all.) "By the way, my bad for annoying you and stuff earlier. I know I pissed you off, so"—he braced himself for his next words—"I wanna give you half my profits from the party."

She gaped at him. "Really?"

"Yes, really. I guess it's the least I could do."

"Jonesy, you don't have to."

"Hey, I'd rather fork over my cash to you than my brothers. But, if you wanna turn it down, I'd be more than glad to—"

"I'll definitely take it," she said, cutting him off.

He chuckled. Maybe he and Jen were more alike than he perceived. "I thought so. I'll give it to you later after I count it."

"Deal." She gave him a warm smile and a brief hug. Despite his behavior, she remembered why he was still her friend. He could be an impulsive jackass, but his heart was in the right place. Out of all the Garcia boys, he was the best one (not that she'd confess that to him anytime soon). "Thanks, Jonesy."

"Anytime, sis."

Shortly before sunset, the party had ended and all the partygoers had left. The gang (minus Caitlin, who went home earlier to tend to her heartbreak) stuck around for a while. They continued to hang out with each other, just as they did earlier in the day (before Jonesy turned it into a day party).

Even though he chatted with the guys, Jonesy couldn't help glancing at Nikki as she laughed with Jen and Sydni.

He knew she avoided him on purpose. It dug under his skin.

He just wanted her to give him the time of day—or, rather, night (seeing that the sun had set). It was agonizing to be iced out by her, especially when he yearned to talk to her about today's events. He wanted to chat about her fight with Tricia, how much money he made from the pool party, and how he and Jen reclaimed the backyard from his brothers. He wanted to chat with her about all of it, all while making her laugh and smile.

But he couldn't do that if she was still keeping him at arm's length.

"Well, I think I should go," Sydni said, pulling him out of his thoughts, "My skin is seriously pruning."

As she got out of the pool, Wyatt said, "Yeah, I think I should go home before it gets too late."

"Ditto," Jude said.

Jen agreed as well, more than ready to head to her room for the night.

Nikki cast one last glare upon Jonesy and said in a frigid tone, "Looks like I should go home, too."

"Wait up, Nik!" he said, calling after her.

While her other friends vacated the backyard, she stopped in her tracks.

"Please stay, babe."

Her eyes pierced his. "Why?" It was less of a question and more of a dry statement.

"Because I really wanna talk to you about earlier."

She sneered. "If you're wondering when we can engage in a threesome, the answer is never."

"It's not about that, Nikki—just freaking hear me out!" he snapped, letting his frustrations out. He then realized it wasn't effective to begin an apology by raising his voice at her. After calming down, he said, "Sorry… Listen, I just wanted to apologize for what I did. I'm sorry for not taking your sexuality seriously and asking you those questions about other girls. I know I made it seem like a big joke."

"That's not the issue, Jonesy," she said with a furrowed brow. "The issue is that you were putting me on the spot about being bi. You assumed I found every girl within a given vicinity hot. And just because you do, that doesn't mean that I do. I'm attracted to girls, yes, but it's not something to get off about. I thought you of all people would understand that."

"Oh," was the first word he could muster. "Well, don't I feel like a jackass?" He chuckled, but it was devoid of heart, especially since she didn't smirk at his rhetorical question. "Listen, I'm sorry, babe. I just hope you can forgive me."

She looked away, pondering his apology.

It left him hanging in suspense.

So he waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Just when he couldn't withstand the agony anymore, her eyes met his. "I forgive you."

A wave of relief washed over him. He smiled.

"Just don't do that shit again. It really pissed me off."

"Won't happen again, baby."

"Good," she said, appearing satisfied.

"So… does this mean you're not leaving? 'Cause we didn't really get to hang out that much today."

She shrugged. "I'll stay. I don't have to be home 'til midnight anyways."

"Cool," he said, walking into waist-deep water and hoping she would join him.

She did, going until the water pooled beneath her bosoms.

They remained beside each other in comfortable silence. The gentle splashing of the water and distant chirping from crickets spoke for them.

Even after their quarrels, he was grateful they could return to a state of normalcy. They'd always gotten on each other nerves, but never to the extent where it was impossible for them to make up.

"That was nice—what you did for Jen earlier," Nikki admitted, breaking the silence.

"She told you?"

She shot him a knowing look. "You do realize we share everything, right?"

"True," he said, wondering why he even questioned it. Nikki and Jen were practically sisters. "So, you think it was nice, huh?"

She nodded. "You might be a bigger pain in her ass than you are in mine, but you do know how to get your act right."

He chuckled. "Gee, thanks."

She smirked at him. "Anytime. You know, I'm really glad that you two are getting along better. God, I really thought you two were gonna have a falling out when your parents got married."

He quirked a brow. "For real?"

"Uh, yeah. You two kept going back and forth nonstop for weeks, remember? And it doesn't help that your endless amount of siblings got involved."

"Damn, do we really seem endless?"

"There's six of you in this house, not even including your parents."

"Technically, there's only five of us now that Courtney moved out. And Emma wasn't even born when our parents got married."

"Okay, but you get my point, right?"

"Yeah, yeah. There's a lot of us, and you're glad me and Jen haven't murdered each other."

"Wow, you really do listen."

"Um, I'm a great listener. I could listen to you talk all day, babe, even if it's about paint drying. Also, for the record, I really do care about Jen and stuff." He scratched the back of his head. "She's my sis, y'know? I love her."

She grinned.

"What?"

"I've never heard you say you love Jen before."

He facepalmed himself. "Aw, man. It's like Panera's Box opened after I told you I love you."

"...It's Pandora's box. And it's nice to hear that you love her. As much as I love 'funny Jonesy' and 'mischievous Jonesy'—"

"And kissing Jonesy," he added while wagging his eyebrows.

She rolled her eyes. "I also love 'compassionate Jonesy.' You can be a total softie sometimes and—dare I boost your overinflated ego—it's attractive."

"Suddenly, I've got the urge to tell everyone I love them."

She deadpanned, "And, suddenly, I've got the urge to take off my clothes."

"Need any help?"

"No thanks."

"Alright. Just let me know, babe."

"Will do."

"Soooo," he said, wanting to shift the topic, "are we gonna talk about you kicking Tricia's ass today or nah?"

"I take it you heard about that?"

"Heard about it? Babe, I saw that shit." His expression brightened. "You were amazing. You still know how to deck the hell outta somebody. I should know."

She chuckled. "I think you're the only one on the receiving end of my fists who's still in my good graces."

"You don't say. So, how'd it feel to hit her? I know it must've felt good."

"Oh, it felt sublime. Like, my hand was throbbing afterwards, but in the best way."

"Sadist."

"Guilty as charged." She snorted. "I may be into girls now, but certain ones still get on my nerves."

"Noted: likes women, but will also fight women."

"Yep, so jot that down."

"Got it," he said with a thumbs-up.

"So, Jen told me you had a problem with your little terrors—I mean brothers—today."

"Yeah, I did. I offered them money to stay away from my damn party and they still crashed it." He rolled his eyes. "It's like bribes don't work like they used to."

She feigned upset. "So disappointing."

"I know, right? They're not as easy to sway as they used to be. Those little shits are getting advanced."

"Free will's a bitch, huh?"

"Totally."

After an hour of chatting it up and swimming around with her boyfriend, Nikki toweled herself dry, getting the excess chlorinated water off her skin. Jonesy did the same.

"That was fun, Garcia. I think we really needed that after the day we've had."

He chuckled. "You don't say." He then noticed her pretty brown eyes flickering from his gaze to his damp chest as he ran his towel over it. Her eyes fixated on the way the water droplets made it glisten in the moonlight. (Unlike her piercing glare—which made him want to wither away and die—her gaze made him feel warm.) He peeped the way her lips upturned in delight. "Hey, are you checking me out?"

After drying herself off, she tossed her towel onto one of the chaises. "Of course. As much as you ogle my breasts, butt, and thighs, I can do the same thing to your features."

"By the way, all three of those things look amazing in that swimsuit. Actually, your whole body does." He set his towel aside and ran his hands along her lower back, rubbing on her behind. He couldn't help touching her, seeing that he hadn't done so all day. He felt deprived of it.

Luckily, she welcomed his touch on her physique.

She placed her palms against his chest, rubbing his pecs in slow circles. "And you certainly know your way around a pair of swimming trunks."

The hypnotic way her fingers circled elicited a purr from him. "To be honest, babe, it doesn't matter what you wear; you're always gonna make me want you."

The pressure of his grip on her behind increased, making her sigh. "And, sexuality be damned, you're always gonna drive me wild."

He dove in for a kiss, capturing her lips with vigor and hunger.

She reciprocated with equal amounts of desire. Muffled moans resounded inside his mouth. Her tongue flickered against his lips and he parted to let her in without hesitation. A need to taste him overwhelmed her senses. The way she kissed him screamed that she wanted more, and she could feel the same in the way he kissed her.

They parted for a split second and gazed at each other with longing eyes.

Moments later, she found herself lying with her back against the chaise and his body on top of hers. Her thighs ensnared his waist, clinging to him for dear life. Her hands ghosted up and down his bare back as they gave each other hungry kisses that sent her mind reeling with wild thoughts about him.

His hands gripped her thighs because, while she was desperate to taste him, he was desperate to fondle her. Her body caught his eye on the regular and, though he was able to touch her, he wanted to feel her. Feel her hips against his own. Feel her wonderfully thick thighs. Feel her tongue wander around his mouth.

They'd never had an encounter of this magnitude. There had always been a fire between them—something apparent in the way they kissed, something apparent in the way they quarrelled—but they never poured gasoline over that open fire in such a manner before. Their makeout sessions, while not always tame, managed to be warm and playful and fun. Yet this one was the result of swelling sexual tension that demanded to be felt. Being scantily clad and full of raging hormones and looking at each other like that set them ablaze.

He began to shift his hips against hers, coaxing hers into following his experimental movements. It took a moment for them to get in sync, but once their motions aligned, it felt like second nature to her. A sensation arose at the apex of her thighs; she felt a complementary reaction in his groin.

Feeling him press against her was not foreign to her. She'd spent plenty of makeout sessions on top of him, beneath him, and in his lap to know what it felt like. She would simply ignore it because it was Jonesy and he loved to let her know she turned him on. But, now, she wanted to entertain it.

"Mmm," she whimpered in satisfaction against his lips.

Even her moans sounded different in this context. Before, they were noises emitted in appreciation and encouragement. She moaned to let him know he'd done something enjoyable. Now, she moaned to convey desire. She sighed to express content. She whimpered to want more.

He parted from her, leaving her mouth tingly and yearning. He placed his lips along her neck and gently sucked on her skin.

"Jonesy," she cooed.

The honeyed way she called his name floated through the air. He reveled in it. He lived for it.

He went from sucking on her neck to giving it languid licks, sending her head spinning around and around and around. His mouth moved to her jawline, pressing kisses along it as his hips slowed down. Her hips followed his lead.

"Oh," she moaned as the motion between them stilled.

He could feel her chest heaving against his. He lifted his head, gazing down at his girlfriend's flushed face. Her eyes were half-lidded and starry, her mouth was slightly agape, and her cheeks had a pink tint to them. As he sat upright and she did the same, he could see the outline of her nipples through her black swimsuit.

Yep, I've got a superboner, he concluded.

Now that the haze of hormones and lust faded away, they gaped at each other, realizing what just happened.

"So," he began, "should we talk about this?"

Though he wasn't complaining, he knew they'd pushed the physical boundaries of their relationship and, every time they went further than what they'd agreed upon, Nikki initiated conversation about it. She liked to come to an agreement on where they were headed.

For now, all she wanted to do was ignore the sensation between her legs. "Can we wait 'til tomorrow?"

"Yeah, that's cool with me."

"Cool." She got out the lounge chair, bending over to grab the cargo pants she arrived with.

His eyes glanced over her form as she put them back on and then put on her flip flops.

"So, um,"—she cleared her throat—"I'm gonna head home now."

"I'll walk you to your car." He jumped from his seat, suddenly feeling a heaviness in his lower body.

"I'll be fine." Her eyes glanced over his shorts before meeting his gawking face. She gave him a knowing smile. "You should probably go—y'know—handle yourself."

He gave her a sheepish look, grateful for her giving him the go-ahead. "Good call, babe."

As she scrambled to her car and he hurried to his bedroom, they both couldn't refrain from thinking the same thing: What a hell of a day.

A/N: I'm so glad that I finished writing this one, and I'm pretty damn pleased at the outcome.

I posted up all the story titles for season one/installment one of 7teen on my profile if anyone's interested in looking at them.

Also, not that anyone really cares, I put together mini-soundtracks for each story, so I'm gonna start posting them at the end of each story for anyone who's curious.

Music from "Heatwave":

"Scared Money" by NxWorries (from Yes Lawd!) [Explicit]
"Pothole" by Tyler, The Creator and Jaden Smith (from Flower Boy) [Explicit]
"I Get Around" by 2Pac (from Strictly 4 My N-) [Explicit]
"Fromdatomb$" by Joey Bada$$ and Chuck Strangers (from 1999) [Explicit]
"No Easy Love" by Annie (from Anniemal)
"Florida Kilos" by Lana Del Rey (from Ultraviolence)
"Heatwave" by Charli XCX (from Super Ultra)
"Slow It Down" by Kim Petras