I'd been pacing in my room for the last hour, changing outfits every few minutes and trying to think of what to say when I finally saw Sara. I didn't know why I was nervous; I hadn't exactly been my best at camp (in pretty much any sense of the word), and Sara had liked me then. I had worries, though, that she would expect more from me now that we were out of camp. It just felt different, somehow, and I was suddenly worried I would do something wrong.

I heard a knock, and I turned to see my dad smiling at me from my doorway.

"Sweetheart, Jeremy's here. Your mom's chatting him up in the living room."

"Of course she is," I said. "I'll get out there."

"Wait," my dad said, and I felt nervous. "Can I talk to you for a second about this party?"

I gulped. "Did I forget to tell you some detail or something?"

He shook his head. "No, nothing like that. I just...Tegan, sometimes, I don't feel like you're being honest with me."

I tried not to panic. "Dad, what are you talking about? I haven't lied about anything."

He shook his head again. "I don't mean lying. I feel like we're not as close as we used to be. You say you're alright, and you're acting like you're alright, but I know you went through a lot this summer. Are you really...alright?"

Why did he have to bring this up right now? Why did he have to make it this hard at the very last minute not to tell him off? I didn't even know what to say to get out of this, and on top of that, I was fighting the part of me that wanted to trust him. We had been close, and he seemed to sincerely care that I didn't seem like myself.

"I guess maybe I'm still a little overwhelmed, but I'm getting through it. Going to youth group and stuff."

He laughed. "Going to youth group is half the reason that I'm worried about you."

"You always told me to go," I said.

"But you never did, and I didn't really mind." He took a deep breath. "Tegan, your mother and I love you. It's not that we wanted you to become our perfect little pod person, no matter how much your mother gives that impression." He laughed again, and despite myself, I did, too.

After a second, he went on. "Look, when you said you were on restriction the other day, I felt terrible. I didn't mean to make you think you were in trouble. I don't want to control you or change you. That's never what this was about. We just want to make sure that you're going to be okay."

This conversation was almost starting to make me believe in God. This had to be some kind of divine test of patience.

"I know," I said, starting to lose my cool, but just holding it together. "They taught us at camp. You were trying to make me be able to be who I really am without the sin. You were watching out for me like every parent would. You helped save my soul."

My dad frowned. "I hope you believe what you're saying, Tegan, because it's true."

I forced a smile on my face, then just gave up and pulled my dad into a hug so he couldn't see how upset I was. It hurt because he cared. Why did he have to care? Why couldn't it be that he sent me away because he hated me? Why did he have to be so fucked up that he really thought he had helped?

"Dad, I'm okay, but I have to go. Jeremy has to help his parents set up, and I don't wanna make him late."

I let go of my dad and dipped past him out of my room. My mom and Jeremy were sitting on the couch, looking through my baby pictures.

"Oh, hey, honey!" my mom said, smiling at me. "I was just showing Jeremy a few pictures!"

"If you're trying to embarrass me, don't bother. I was an adorable baby."

Jeremy laughed. "Yeah, you were." He stood up and gave me a quick peck on the cheek and a hug. "It's so good to see you again, babe."

"You, too," I said, fighting a cringe at the term of endearment. "You ready to go?"

"Aw, don't rush off," my mom said. "I have a few more albums to show you!"

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Quin, but we really have to get going. Maybe some other time?"

"I'd love that," my mom said. Her smile looked like it could split her face open. "You two have fun today, okay?"

"Yeah try to enjoy yourselves," my dad added, but then he gave Jeremy a look. "Not too much, though."

"Sir, you don't have to worry about anything like that from me," Jeremy said, and I had to hide my laugh by rushing out the door.

"I'll text you when we get there!" I yelled back as I walked to Jeremy's car. He got in, and we drove away.

"You were a cute baby," Jeremy said, then he started laughing.

I shook my head. "My parents are walking cliches. My mom showing my baby pictures, my dad tried to corner me and have a heart to heart right before we left..."

"I'm sure that was fun. What about?"

"I don't know. Something about me not being myself or something," I mumbled out. "Doesn't matter."

"Okay," he said. "Well, let me just say that I'm so glad that you're gonna be there tonight. I usually spend these things desperately trying to sneak off with Jack somewhere. I mean, I'll probably still do that, but it'll be a lot later, and I'll hate my life less up to that point."

"Glad I could be of service," I said. "Plus it sounds fun, and I get to see Sara, so it's not like there's nothing in it for me."

"Did you plan anything for when you saw her again?" he asked me. "A gift or something?"

"Fuck, a gift is a good idea." I groaned. "Why didn't I buy anything? Or make anything? I should have gotten something-"

"Oh my God, you're fine!" Jeremy cut me off. "Jesus, I'm sorry I said anything. I didn't know you were freaking out."

I took a few deep breaths. "I'm sorry. I'm just nervous."

"About what? You talk to her all the time. You've given me the impression that you got to 'know each other' pretty well at camp." He said the last part with a smirk. "Why are you so nervous to hang out?"

I looked at my hands, embarrassed to say the next part. "I just worry that maybe things will be different now. Camp was really intense, and it forced us together all the time. What if now that we've been away from each other, we don't get along the same?" I paused before adding. "What if...she isn't as into me as she was before?"

"I think you're thinking of the most impossible scenario that could happen," he said to me. "You two are grossly in love. She's probably sitting at her house, obsessing over seeing you, too."

"You think?"

"I'm almost 100% sure." Jeremy pulled into the train station and started looking out the window. "He said he would be somewhere obvious. His train got in an hour and a half ago, but I couldn't get him until after I got you, so he had to wait around."

"That sucks," I said. "Is he upset?"

"Nah, he didn't care. He's pretty easy going, for the most part." He looked up and smiled at a boy standing in one of the pick-up areas.

"Should I try to move to the backseat?" I asked, but Jeremy shook his head.

"You're staying up front. There's no way in hell I'm pulling up to that hotel with the man my parents caught me in bed with, and my supposed girlfriend in the backseat. The only reason he's even allowed to come is because his parents have money, too."

Jeremy pulled up to the curb and a boy our age climbed into the back seat before we pulled away again. He leaned forward and kissed Jeremy on the cheek.

"Hey, Jeremy," Jack said with a smile. "And hello...Tegan?"

"Yeah, Jack, this is Tegan, the girl I met at camp. Tegan, this is Jack, my boyfriend."

"Nice to meet you," Jack said, shaking my hand. "Jeremy's said nice things."

"Same about you," I said with a smile.

"On the rare occasion that we aren't talking about you, that is," Jeremy said to me, and I scoffed.

"Oh, thanks for trying to make me sound like a self-centered bitch," I said. I turned to Jack and added, "It's really not like how he's making it sound."

"Don't worry, Tegan. I know Jeremy's more into the listening than he is the sharing. He just likes causing trouble."

"I really don't need the two of you ganging up on me this weekend," Jeremy snapped semi-playfully, but there seemed to be a little something underneath it. "My parents and their friends are gonna be enough of a headache as it is."

"I heard your girlfriend is coming?" Jack asked, and I nodded. "She was at camp with you guys, right?"

"Yeah, she was my roommate. It's how we met."

"Do you see why she was my entertainment?" Jeremy said with a laugh. "Not that your personality wouldn't have done it on its own, but the drama is a nice bonus."

"How was your camp?" Jack asked. "Jeremy hasn't really said much about it, outside of saying it was bullshit."

I was about to start talking, but Jeremy cut in. "Yeah, this isn't really 'Get the party started' conversation. Let's just listen to some music until we get to Sara's place."

Jeremy turned on the radio, and I could tell that it bothered Jack, but he seemed to be trying to let it go. Had Jeremy not talked to Jack about camp? I didn't put him past him.

The closer we got, the more I was bouncing up and down like a kid. I kept looking at the GPS, frowning when a bit of traffic would push our ETA back a few minutes. I tried to distract myself by looking out the window, but I just found myself trying to memorize everything, so if I had to make this drive again, I'd know exactly how far I was from getting to see her.

I really hoped that she was half as excited as I was.

When we got to the address, I felt like running to the door and never leaving the car at the same time.

"She's going to be happy to see you, you fucking idiot," Jeremy said after five minutes of me staring at the house. "Her parents are gone, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah. She said we could pick her up any time."

"Then go!" he yelled, pushing me towards the door. "Hurry the fuck up!"

"Fine!" I said, opening the door and stepping out. "You don't have to yell at me."

"Just go get your girlfriend," he said, trying to sound annoyed, but he was smiling.

"Don't take it too personally," Jack yelled out the back window."He's more of a dick than usual for the first part of these parties. He'll be less cranky later."

"It's true," Jeremy added. "Also, I should probably take offense to 'more of a dick than usual,' but that's also accurate. Now, go."

I laughed a little, then adjusted my outfit as I walked to the door. I rang the bell and took in Sara's house. It was really nice...perfectly maintained lawns, a beautiful garden, and the house itself was huge, but it was big for only four people. It was like everything about Sara's family: it seemed perfect, but cold. I started feeling sad for her when the door opened.

Any doubt I'd had that she was happy to see me was gone the second she threw herself into my arms. I immediately relaxed, and I felt stupid for even worrying in the first place.

"Hey!" I said, still hugging her.

"I'm so happy you're here," she said, but it was muffled against my neck. She pulled back and pulled me into a kiss that felt like she was trying to make up for every kiss we hadn't had since camp. It was even better than I remembered, having Sara's tongue in my mouth, pushing and rubbing against my own. When Sara's hand went to my ass, Jeremy started honking his horn at us, and we broke apart. Sara looked around the neighborhood, panic on her face.

"It was just Jeremy. No one else is out here." I felt a smile creep onto my face. "Which is probably good, considering the show they would have just gotten."

Sara laughed, but said, "I do need to be more careful. Someone could see us and tell my parents."

I nodded. "Sorry that I kissed you, then."

"I kissed you," Sara said with a smile. She looked me up and down, and I was reminded of how much just being close to her affected me. I was overcome with thoughts of pushing her back into the house and letting her have her way with me. I was pretty sure she was thinking something similar from the way her eyes were glazed over. "You look different than the last time I saw you."

"Different?" I asked. "Like good different?"

She seemed to snap out of her haze a bit and looked at me. "Of course! You look great."

I tried not to smile too big. "Thanks. You do, too. Look good, I mean. Sorry, I'm just really happy to see you."

Sara giggled and put her hand on my cheek. "I missed you so much, Tegan-"

Jeremy honked his horn a few more times, and I flipped him off.

"We need to get going," I said, reluctantly pulling away from her. Sara nodded, and we walked to the car. I thought about grabbing Sara's hand, but I remembered what she'd said about her neighbors, and I figured it could wait. Sara got in next to Jack, and I got in the front.

"No funny business back there, you two," Jeremy said with a smile, and Jack flicked him in the ear. I started laughing, and Jeremy glared at me.

"Be nice!" Jack said. "I'm trying to make a good impression on your friends."

"Flicking Jeremy does get you points, yes," I said with a smirk.

"I think setting them up on a date is nice enough," Jeremy grumbled out.

"Thank you, by the way," Sara said, leaning forward from the backseat. "I don't know how I can return the favor."

Jeremy waved it off. "I was kidding. It was no problem at all. I know a secret relationship can be the opposite of fun, and I knew I was gonna have to have Tegan come along anyway. Really, you're doing me a favor by keeping Jack company. By the way, Sara, this is Jack. Jack, this is Sara."

"Yes, seriously, thank you," Jack said to Sara. "It'll be awkward enough showing up at this party when his parents know I've slept with their son. It would be even worse without a date to hide behind."

"Am I...your date for the night?" Sara asked.

"I didn't know about that," I said to her quickly, then I looked over at Jeremy. "You could have told me about this."

"Relax. She has to pretend to be his date, not his girlfriend. Besides, they won't be getting grilled like we will. All she has to do is hang out with him, say they're on a date, and stay away from you."

"I don't mind. Just gives me a reason to be there if anyone asks. Although, I'm not too keen on the last part." Sara smiled at me, and I wished I could be in the back with her. This was going to be a long night. "How have you been, Jeremy?"

He shrugged. "Eh, I've re-integrated into mainstream society. Things sort of just went back to normal after camp."

It was all Jeremy would say. I glanced at the back seat and saw Jack look over at Jeremy for a second before he looked away again. The two of them seemed happy together, but every once in a while, there was a tension between them. I remembered Jeremy saying that he'd been afraid Jack was cheating, but he hadn't mentioned it since that day in the mall. Besides, Jack was the one that seemed more bothered of the two.

"How are you doing?" Jeremy asked Sara after a few seconds. "How are things with your parents?"

"Things are okay," Sara replied. "They're with my sister at a national dance competition. I guess she might win, and then the three of them go to Europe for an international recital."

"Just them?" Jeremy asked. "What about you? What would you be doing?"

"I'd probably stay home. They don't usually take me to that kind of stuff."

"Even when it's a trip out of the country?" Jack asked, with his eyebrows raised. "That's weird."

Sara's eyes went a little wide. "Oh, well...you're right. They'll probably take me. It's a bigger trip, after all."

Sara looked uncomfortable in that way she always did when she realized that something about the way her parents treated her wasn't normal. Of course Sara wouldn't be going with her parents on some fun trip out of the country. She'd be locked up at home...I didn't know how I was going to let her go back there the next day.

The car dropped into awkward silence, and I wondered how I'd ended up close with the two least communicative people in the world.

"So what's the plan for this party?" I asked. "Do I just hang out with you, and Jack hangs out with Sara until the real party gets going?"

"Well, yeah, if hanging out means going from person to person, talking about our futures together, then yes."

Jack turned to Sara again. "We get to pig out on food and avoid eye contact and conversation with everyone."

"Fortunately, that's really only the first couple of hours."

"Only a couple of hours," I mumbled. "How can you say those words in that order?"

"I can take you home, you know."

"I didn't say that I wasn't gonna do it," I said. "I'm just saying that you could have given me a little more of a heads up."

"She has a point," Jack said.

"Oh, God. All I need is the two of you agreeing on things. Sara, can we at least start ganging up on them, too?"

We all started laughing, and we spent the rest of the ride talking about the party and getting to know Jack. He seemed to be letting Jeremy take the lead a little, but he was still able to hold his own with us in conversation. It was fun in a way that I hadn't been able to have fun in a while.

We pulled up to the hotel, and Jeremy grabbed my hand as soon as we were parked. Jack did the same to Sara, and I wished that it didn't have to be like this. I almost wished that the four of us could just get back into the car, buy some chili dogs, and hang out in a parking lot for the night. Still, I would take what I could get with Sara, and Jeremy swore that things would get better later.

We all walked onto an elevator, and Jeremy groaned.

"You'll be okay," Jack said, giving Jeremy a quick kiss. "It's just the same shit as always."

"And it always sucks." Jeremy rolled his shoulders a few times. "They could at least let me drink."

"There'll be plenty of time for that, later," Jack said, rubbing Jeremy's shoulders. "You'll have Tegan to take some of the attention off of you until then."

"Exactly," I said. "I'm with you until your parents leave. Then I'm ditching you for her." I turned to Sara and winked, and she laughed.

"Shut up, Tegan," Sara said. "Your friend needs you."

Jeremy took a few quick breaths, like he was psyching himself up. "Okay, let's get this over with."

"Jeremy! What took you so long?" Jeremy's mom was walking up to us the second the doors opened, and I saw Jack drag Sara off somewhere out of the corner of my eye.

"There was traffic," Jeremy snapped. "And we got turned around on the way back."

"Fine, you're here now." She looked at me and smiled. "It's nice to see you again, dear."

"You, too," I said as she pulled me into a brief, stiff hug. "Thanks for inviting me. This place is amazing."

"Well, the location last year was nicer, but we gave more to charity this year. It's important to give where you can."

"Uh...yeah," I said as I heard Jeremy gag behind me.

"The party is scattered around a bit everywhere, but everyone important is in the main hall. I have a few people I want you to meet."

She put her hand on my elbow and started moving me towards a room right off of the lobby.

"Seriously, Mom? The second we walk in?" Jeremy asked angrily, but his mom was either oblivious or ignoring him. It was probably the latter. "Where's Dad?"

"He's around somewhere," she said. "The head of one of his accounts came in earlier, and I haven't seen him since."

"Well, do you think we could at least grab something to eat before you force Tegan to entertain your guests?"

Jeremy's mom gave him a look. "Forgive me for wanting to show off the woman that got my son's head on straight." I cringed at her (obviously purposeful) choice of words. "You two will have plenty of time to eat and enjoy yourselves after you've met a few people. You don't mind, do you, Tegan?"

I felt like a deer caught in headlights. "I...uh...no?"

"See? She's fine. Now, come on. The Johnsons have been talking about their son all night, and I want them to see you with Tegan."

Jeremy shot me an apologetic look before his mom dragged us both into the party. Over the next hour, I was introduced to dozens of Jeremy's parents' colleagues and church friends. I'd listen to them talk about how amazing they and/or their kids were, and then they would grill me on what I was doing with my life, which led to me stuttering out that I was going to school in the spring before I'd desperately change the subject. At some point, Jeremy and I had gotten separated, and the questioning had gotten a lot worse. I hated being judged like this.

I'd seen Sara floating around the edges of the room, talking to Jack and glancing over at me. I tried to ignore her, for the most part, because being this close without being able to talk to her was starting to drive me crazy, but I was happy that she seemed to be having a better time than I was.

"I'm so glad I finally got to meet you, Tegan," some woman said. I think she was Mrs. Wells. "You're exactly how I imagined you. Unique, and still figuring things out." She let out a laugh. "Sometimes, it takes some of us a little longer to get going in life. My daughter Ashley's more the type that got things figured out really young! I think Jeremy likes having someone he can really...build from the ground up...with."

"Uh huh." It was about the thousandth thinly-veiled insult that had been hurled at me that night. "Well, it was really nice meeting you, and-"

"Where are you running off to?" she asked me, letting out an obviously fake laugh. "I want to know all about you and your family. What do your parents do? Do you have any siblings? Are they as...free-spirited as you are?"

I wished that I could grab a drink off of one of the trays floating around the party. "No, I'm an only child. My dad is an accountant. My mom is a lawyer."

She got a concerned look on her face. "Oh, you probably didn't get a lot of attention with your mom working all the time like that. See, this is why you can't blame yourself for ending up at that camp with Jeremy. It's really their fault."

I walked away without another word. I'd have to apologize to Jeremy if it got him in trouble, but I needed a break. I searched the restrooms until I found one in the hotel that was empty. I put my hands on the sink and took a few deep breaths to try to calm down.

"Just another hour. Just one more hour-"

I jumped a little when I heard the door open, but smiled when I saw it was Sara.

"I saw you run off," she said, walking to me. I turned to face her, and she put her hands on my sides. "Looks like you're having a shitty night."

"I'm starting to regret agreeing to this." I sighed. "You having fun?"

She shrugged. "It's not terrible, but I'm just trying to pass the time." Her hands moved to my hips, and she moved even closer to me. Her gaze dropped from my eyes to my lips, then settled on my neck. I tried to ignore the attention; I couldn't do anything about it right now.

"Tell me about it. I'm counting down the minutes until these people leave and we can party. They've got me so pissed off, which is stupid. It's not like I'll ever see them again, and-"

My sentence ended in a whimper when Sara attached her mouth to my neck. One of her legs went between mine, and I bit my knuckles to keep quiet. She pushed her hand under my shirt and ran her fingers over my nipple.

"Sara...wait..." She started undoing the button on my pants as she hit a spot on my neck that stole my words.

"I don't want to wait anymore," she panted out between kisses and bites. She moved her hands to my ass and pulled me harder against her leg. "Don't make me wait. Let me touch you."

I rolled my hips a few times in response to her words. She pulled her leg away and pushed a hand into my underwear, going straight to my clit.

"Sara, someone could...fuck...someone could walk in."

Sara groaned before stepping away from me and shoving me into the handicapped stall. As soon as she got the door latched, she pulled my pants down to my ankles, then slipped her fingers inside of me. Her mouth went to my ear.

"I missed you, Tegan." She was fucking me hard and fast, her palm slapping and grinding into my clit. She nibbled on my earlobe before giving it a sharp bite. "I don't care what I have to do, or where we have to sneak off to, but I'm fucking you all night tonight."

"Yesss..." I hissed out. I was practically bouncing on her hand.

"But I couldn't wait until later. I needed to make you cum at least once." Her hand went even faster, and she giggled into my ear. "I can make you beg for it later."

This wasn't going to take long...as usual.

She kissed me, her tongue immediately coming in contact with mine. My hands alternated between pulling on her hair and grabbing at the back of her shirt. Sara hadn't lost any of her knowledge of my body in our time apart. It was almost like we'd never stopped doing this.

The door to the bathroom opened, and Sara and I froze. I grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of me, biting my lip so I wouldn't make a sound. A few more people walked in after that, chatting to each other as I held Sara close. Ten minutes passed as people filtered in and out before we finally felt the room go still. Sara tried to slip her hand back into my pants, but I stopped her.

"We have to run out before someone else comes in," I said.

Sara let out a quiet moan. "Why? I can be quick, and we can leave after." She leaned in and started kissing my neck again.

"We can't risk getting caught," I groaned. I gave her a kiss, which was almost a bad idea, because it got heavier than it was supposed to, but I pulled away. "Later. I promise, later."

Sara stepped away from me. "This just keyed me up more, y'know."

I shrugged and smirked. "Guess I'll have to make it up to you later." I walked past her and out of the room.

The rest of the party was a little easier. Jeremy was able to stay with me the whole time and deflect rude questions, and I was pretty distracted by wanting to drag Sara into one of the hotel rooms and let her finish what she'd started. The looks she was giving me from across the room only made those feelings worse. The hour passed, and I watched as people started to filter out.

"It was so nice seeing you again, Tegan," Jeremy's dad told me in his first appearance of the

night...right before he was leaving. "Send your parents my regards."

"Yes, dear, thank you for humoring me while I showed you around." Jeremy's mom said it like I'd had a choice in the matter. She turned to Jeremy. "Your father got the chance to speak at a political event, so we'll be gone until next weekend."

"Alright," Jeremy said, barely paying any attention to his mother's words. "I'll see you then. Bye."

"Don't do anything embarrassing, Jeremy. God knows how our name has taken a hit because of your foolishness and inability to keep private matters private."

Jeremy laughed in her face. "Mother, just go before the wine goes to your head anymore than it already has."

She gave him a tight smile. "We could always just end these parties when we leave, dear."

"Yes, and I'm sure making your son a social pariah who can't throw a party will do wonders for our public family image."

The air was thick around the two of them, but it broke as they both dropped into fake laughter. What the fuck was happening?

"Alright, well I'll see you in a week, Jeremy," his mom said, kissing him on the cheek and pulling his dad away. Jeremy waved and smiled until they'd left sight.

"Fucking bitch," he mumbled under his breath.

"Sorry," I said to him. "You alright?"

"I'm fine," he said. "It's not like I love them, anyway."

It was crazy hearing him say it so casually.

Jack and Sara walked up to us, and Jack immediately pulled Jeremy into a hug.

"You alright?" Jack asked. "I know your mom probably said something terrible."

"Eh, she was nicer because Tegan was here," he said, but he still held Jack a second longer before letting go. That had been nicer? "Did you see if they'd started setting up?"

Jack pointed to some guys moving in equipment and boxes. "They started about five minutes ago. And I think your parents were the last of the boring people."

"Perfect," Jeremy said, a smirk on his lips. "Let the real party begin."