I really love dell parties. Want to know why? Cause the beach is relaxing and there's a lot of scenery. By scenery, I mean hot guys. Plenty of choices for my 39th.

Sarah, Kate, Caleb, Pogue and I are sitting in the sand by the fire, scoping out the crowd. Aaron Abbott is, of course, drunk as hell with Kira Snider hanging all over him. Reid and Tyler are walking around, probably looking for either trouble, or Reid's 37th slut.

"So Riley how was the ride up here?" Sarah asks, glancing at her gossip sidekick, Kate.

"Fine, why?"

"Just wondering. Anything happen?" I bite my lip and stand up, grabbing Kate and Sarah, pulling them away from the boys. "We'll be back in a few!"

We begin walking up the shoreline, holding our shoes in our hands.

"Ok you two. I have a problem. A big problem."

Kate grabs my arm. "What is it?"

I look at the ground and then back up to them. "I think Reid likes me."

Wait for it…

Keep waiting…

Just a few more seconds…

Kate and Sarah burst out laughing.

There it is…

"That's a little obvious, Riley. Did you just figure that out?"

"Well, it hit me on Monday, but I think Reid confirmed it tonight before we came."

Sarah smiles at Kate and hugs me.

"Sarah, this isn't good!"

"Riley, yes it is! You two can date and then life will be great!

"No, Sarah, we can't date."

Kate frowns. "Why not? Me and Sarah know you two are perfect for each other. Of course you can date."

"No, we can't. I'll give you five reasons why."

They roll their eyes at me. "Alright hot shot, give us five reasons."

"Ok… Five reasons I will not date Reid Garwin:

Numero Uno: Reid Garwin is a manwhore.

Two: He probably has a STD.

Tres: The bet we have going on… yeah, I'm not going to lose to Reid.

Four: He's an asshole.

Finally, the cherry to the shirley temple, Number Five: He's never had a girlfriend."

I stare at them after I finish my list and they just smile their heads off.

"Ok Riley, let's go play by play on this one…" Sarah laughs holding up her thumb.

"One: Reid won't be a manwhore once you start dating him.

Two: I'm sure he uses protection and if you're that worried, he can get an STD test."

Kate holds up her hand to stop Sarah, as she takes over the numbers.

"Three: The bet isn't important. And I'm sure if you date Reid, he'll let you borrow his car.

Four: Yes, he's an asshole. But not to you!"

Kate and Sarah smile at each other as I glare at them. "You two still have one more of my reasons to disprove. Care to have a go at that one, too?"

They nod as Sarah begins. "And finally, the icing on the cake, Reid has never had a girlfriend."

I frown. "But that's what I said. You can't do that! That's cheating!"

She smiles. "And because he has never had a girlfriend, you, Riley Morrison, are the best candidate for that title."

"I'm not going to be the guinea pig for that experiment, Sarah! We're perfectly fine being friends with benefits."

"You mean you're perfectly fine being friends with benefits. If you haven't noticed, Reid hasn't even looked at another girl since Monday. He's falling for you Riley, and you just now realized it." Kate explains. "The boys have even seen a change in him. Pogue is even teasing Reid, when you're not around, saying he's whipped."

I laugh. "Sounds like something Pogue would do. But I'm not dating him. And unless I hear it straight from the horse's mouth that he likes me, I'm not going to think about this anymore. It's freaking me out and distracting me from winning this bet."

I start walking back over to Caleb and Pogue, followed by the gossip queens. I'm about to sit down until I see someone. I'll give you a hint to who it is. Remember my fabulous pick up line?

No? Well, it sounded something like this: 'Hell yeah your name is Justin; cause you came just in time!'

Yep, you guessed it. I see Justin, the hot Carson swimmer. Believe me; he's living up to the nickname I just gave him. And the God himself is standing by the drink table.

"Hey guys, I just realized I'm thirsty." I walk away towards the drink table and faintly hear: 'Yeah, thirsty for a swimmer.'

Reid and Tyler had sat down on a hill right about the party. They were close enough to watch everyone, but far enough away so no one would bother them. Reid, working on his 4th beer, allows himself to watch a certain brunette heading towards the drink table.

Riley looked gorgeous tonight. He knew she was pretty, but he never took the time to take in every inch of her until tonight. He's well aware that the whole group knows he likes Riley. But they don't know that his crush has lasted for the past 3 months.

The bet is killing him. Seeing Riley will all these guys made Reid realize how much he cares for Riley.

I wish I could have been Kyle Delaney or that Justin guy she's chatting up at the drink table.

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"Hey Riley! I didn't know you were going to be here."

I look up from my drink. "Oh my God! Hey Justin! Why are you here? I thought this was just a Spenser party."

He laughs. "Yeah, me and my buddies figured we'd crash it. We've heard Spenser students can throw some good parties."

I let out a small chuckle. "Yeah, they're pretty good, until the cops break it up. Just don't let anyone know you're from Carson. Some might not like that too much!"

"Well, as long as your boyfriend doesn't find me, I think I'll be safe."

I roll my eyes, scoffing. "I don't have a boyfriend."

"Oh, really? What happened to that Reid guy? Was he an asshole to you or something?"

"He's just a friend. The overprotective older brother kind of deal."

More like the overprotective, jealous, wannabe boyfriend kind of deal. But I'll just keep that thought to myself!

Justin's eyes widen slightly, brightening up a little. "So, if I were to ask you for a walk on the shoreline, he won't beat my ass?"

"Not if he doesn't find out." I say laughing and grab the hand he extended out to me.

Reid's eyes turn black as he turns his beer into Vodka. Not just a cup of vodka, but a full bottle, like what you buy at the alcohol store. Tyler stares at Reid and follows his gaze to find Riley being led by a guy out to the shoreline, away from the party.

He grabs her hand and she looks up at him, smiling. At that moment, Reid growls lowly, taking a big swig of vodka.

"You okay, man?"

Reid looks at Tyler and takes another gulp of vodka.

"So you're graduating this year, right?"

I nod. "Yeah, I'm really excited. "

He nods too. "Yeah, I can't believe I'm a senior this year. The years flew by fast."

He stops walking and sits down. I follow, sitting beside him, looking out into the ocean. He looks at me with those gorgeous orbs. Even when it's dark, they still sparkle.

"I'm surprised you don't have a girlfriend."

He looks at me and smiles. "Well, I haven't found one I'm interested in. At least, until now that is…"

I smile as his hand brushes me cheek. "I like you, Riley. When I saw you at the swim meet, I knew I had to talk to you."

He moves his fingers to my chin, pulling my head up, and leans closer to me. I close my eyes as I feel his lips meet mine. His hand moves to my neck, pulling my face closer to his. I feel his tongue brush my lower lip and we fall into a sweet make-out session.

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Another pair of blue eyes watch Riley and Justin make out. Reid finishes his bottle of vodka, throwing it down the small hill. With his eyes glazed over, he stands, slowly wobbling back and forth.

"Let's go, baby boy." Reid pulls his keys out of his back pocket.

"You're not driving, Reid. You're piss ass drunk. Give me the keys." Tyler snatches the keys out of Reid's hands.

"What about Riley? How's she getting back to the dorms?"

Reid trips over a stump, almost falling before Tyler grabs him.

Reid pushes him off. "Fuck Riley. Now give me my fucking keys, Tyler." Reid stops, turning around, holding out his hand.

"Fuck that, Reid. You're not driving."

Reid turns around and continues walking to his car with Tyler following close behind him.

"Reid, you need to chill, man. It's just a bet."

"Shut the fuck up, Tyler!"

Reid walks past his car, walking through a small trail through the woods.

"Where are you going? Reid, you passed your car. You're drunk!"

"I'm going for a walk, damnit. Leave me the fuck alone."

Tyler stands by the BMW, watching his best friend walk through the woods, going only God knows where.

"So Riley, do you want to go out tomorrow night? Maybe dinner and a movie. Or we can go to Nicky's or something."

Justin and his friends are about to leave, and I'm standing at their car.

"Yeah, sounds great! Here's my number." I grab his cell and enter in my number. "Just call me in the morning."

He nods, pulling me into him, giving me another kiss. He pulls away, getting in the car. "I'll call you later!"

"Ok. Bye Justin!"

They pull off and I walk away, heading back to the party. I walk by Reid's BMW and see Tyler leaning against the driver's side, talking on his cell phone. I walk up to him and he holds up his finger, telling me to wait a minute. I nod, leaning on the car, beside him.

"Reid, where are you? Call me back, please. I'm going to keep calling you until you answer. Don't do anything stupid, man."

I frown at Tyler as he closes his phone. "What's going on?"

Tyler sighs and massages his temples. "This little bet you two have going on is killing him, Riley. He saw you talking to that Justin guy from Carson."

"Yeah, but it's just a bet. It's not like I care about these guys. Hell, Reid's the one who wanted the bet."

"Riley, I know you're not stupid. Reid likes you more than as just a friend. He may think it's a secret to everyone, but we all know he likes you. He's probably regretting the bet as we speak. And the fact that he hasn't brought any girls to the dorm room proves both of those theories. He saw you go off with Justin. Then he used to change his beer to a full bottle of vodka. He drank the whole bottle just watching you and Justin. When you two kissed, he said he wanted to leave."

I shake my head and fold my arms as Tyler continues.

"He was stumbling all over the place. He was going to drive away until I took his keys. He just walked past the car and walked through the woods."

"So he's mad at me for trying to win a bet. Real mature."

Tyler slightly smiles. "I believe the words 'Fuck Riley' escaped his mouth when he was walking off. So, yeah, I guess you could say that."

I sigh, pushing myself off of the car. "Which way did he go?"

Tyler points in the direction behind the car. "Why? You're not going to look for him."

I scoff. "The hell I am. He can't stay out here. I'll go calm him down. Plus, it's supposed to rain later and I want to find him before the storm comes." I head towards the woods, following the small trail.

"Be careful, Riley. Call me if you need help or find him."

"Ok, Tyler. Thank you!"