We all went out on the Pogue for a few hours and by the time we returned, we had enough fish to feed us all, and some extra to add to the depleted store in the freezer. I helped JJ clean and gut them, then joined Pope and Kiara outdoors while JJ cooked.

"How is he?" Kiara asked after a few minutes.

"You've spent the last few hours with him," I reminded her. "What do you think?"

"He's different. Less… I don't know. He was still the same when we arrived and he was teasing us, but he's calmer. Like he's not covering up how he feels by being, uh, JJ."

I grinned. "He is calmer. It must be my amazing company."

She rolled her eyes. "I can tell you're spending too much time with him. You're starting to sound like him."

"Luke came over," I said.

She frowned. "What? What happened?"

"Not much. He kind of caught us together. I mean, we weren't doing anything, only hugging." My face warmed yet again. It was all new, I told myself. I would get used to being with JJ, and our friends knowing about it. "Luke got the idea there was something going on, but he didn't say much. JJ didn't give him the chance. After everything he's been through, I don't know how he could be that strong, to suddenly call Luke out for being abusive. The guy actually apologised and walked away. Whether he'll be back, I don't know." I shrugged one shoulder. "I hope not."

"Talking about me?" JJ appeared with a dish towel tucked into the back pocket of his pants.

"Shit, I'm sorry," I began.

"Nah, it's cool. And just for the record, I hope he never comes back. I don't need him. Never did. You guys are my family." He smiled, but it seemed forced and didn't reach his eyes.

Kiara got up and went to him, then wrapped her arms around his waist. "Of course we are. We love you, JJ."

"Yeah," Pope added.

"Aww, come on, guys." JJ hugged Kiara back, then pushed her away. "You're gonna make me tear up. And burn the fucking fish!" He spun away and raced back into the house.

"So, is he going to live here full time now?" Pope asked.

I nodded.

"What if—?" He stopped and scratched his head.

"What if it doesn't work out?" Kiara finished.

"Why wouldn't it?"

"Nothing is guaranteed."

Pope glanced at her, and his mouth turned down at the corners. I guessed he was thinking about them and whether they would work out or not.

"Hell, you two are a pair of optimists, aren't you?" I made a face. "Yeah, it's only been a couple of days, but it turns out we've both been feeling the same for five years. Just so you know, I love him, and you can take the piss as much as you want for that. If somehow it doesn't work out, we'll get over it. He's staying. He's always gonna be my best friend, no matter what."

"Wow." Pope flushed.

Kiara beamed. "Like I said. Seriously cute."

I grinned. "Shut up."

We talked about other things until the food was ready—Kiara's parents complaining, as usual, about the amount of time she spent with us; Pope's father complaining about the amount of time he spent with us; how lucky JJ and I were not to have to worry about it, which they both immediately apologised for saying after they remembered what happened to my dad.

"I think he would have understood," I said. "He liked JJ. He always said he had my back, no matter what I wanted so long as it made me happy. I think he would have been glad JJ is here now, and safe from Luke."

"Food!" JJ bellowed from the house. "Come and get it!"

We trooped inside and found four plates laid out on the kitchen counter, each piled with a concoction that looked like mostly rice, fish, and stuff.

"It's a fishy version of jambalaya," JJ said.

"My favourite!" Kiara grabbed a plate and a fork. "Are you sure you didn't just buy some of those frozen ones and heat them up?"

"If you think this is anywhere near as good as those shitty frozen ones—" JJ shook his head.

"I'm joking. It looks amazing." Kiara took a forkful where she stood and hummed with pleasure. "Mm, hm, perfect level of spices. Hot, but not so much it drowns the flavours. Rice, perfectly cooked—not sticky, not too hard. The fish is just how I like it, not overcooked. That does it, JJ. You can cook whenever we come over in the future."

"Wow, high praise from Little Miss Restaurateur. I'm gonna start charging." JJ grinned and his eyes sparkled. He was obviously delighted by Kiara's comments.

"Wow," Pope said, chewing a mouthful. "It's amazing."

JJ grinned wider. "See. Told you I could cook. Are you gonna sit down, or just stand around the kitchen eating?"

We sat down in the lounge room to eat. The meal was delicious, and none was left on the plates. I washed the dishes afterwards and Kiara helped by drying and putting them away. JJ and Pope's voices drifted to us from outside the Chateau. When we finished and went to join them, I was stopped by my phone ringing.

'Wade Cameron calling.'

I answered with a sigh. "Hello."

"John, it's Wade Cameron."

"Yes, hi." Here it was. He was about to fire me.

"I've made a payment to your bank account for the work you did on the lawns. A small bonus has been added to the amount. I apologise for Rafe's behaviour. Sarah told me what happened."

"Oh! Well, thanks." I waited for him to add, 'don't come back' or something along those lines.

"I'd like you to trim the shrubs tomorrow and start on the borders. The usual stuff—weeding, tidying up."

"Really? But—"

"You do a good job, John. That's nothing to do with you and my daughter."

"I thought you'd be angry that—" I began again.

"I don't like seeing her upset but I'm sure you're aware I wasn't happy that she was seeing you in the first place."

"Um, yeah." I raised my eyebrows.

"She will get over it. So, tomorrow? Rafe will not bother you, or he will have me to deal with."

"Yes, sure. I'll be there at eight," I promised.

"Thank you." He hung up.

"Shit." I joined the others and sat down near the hammock, which JJ was sprawling in as usual. "I still have a job. He even apologised for Rafe."

"Isn't he pissed that you hurt Sarah?" Kiara asked.

"He said he's not over the moon that she's upset, but he's definitely happy she's not seeing me anymore. He's sent me some money for mowing the lawns too, and a bonus."

"Awesome," JJ said. "Does that mean you're taking me out?"

"Uh, well—" The heat in my face was immediate.

Kiara smirked at me. "There's no reason why you shouldn't go on a date. Then Pope and I can tease you to get our revenge."

"Gee." I rolled my eyes. "We'll talk about it later." I shot JJ a smile, then turned back to Kiara with a glare. "When you've gone."

Pope and Kiara didn't stay late. I found it funny that when previously, they would have stayed either all night, or until their parents called and demanded they return. But now they knew there was something between JJ and I, they left relatively early—probably imagining we couldn't wait to do something they wouldn't want to see.

"I thought they'd never leave!" JJ bounced up from the armchair he was sitting in, crossed to where I sat on the sofa, and straddled my thighs.

I slid my arms around him and tipped my head back to meet his eyes. "You know they could be lurking outside with their phones, waiting to take pictures."

"Then we should teach them a lesson and make them want to bleach their eyeballs." Grinning, he peeled off his t-shirt and tossed it across the room.

"You're terrible."

"You love my terribleness."

"Yeah, God help me." I pulled him tighter against me and pressed my lips to his. After a moment, I drew back. "Do you really want to go on a date?"

"Uh, I guess. It was just a thought. I was kind of joking really."

"No, you weren't."

"No, I wasn't. But I'm not real sure of myself here. You know how I usually am is bravado and shit, right?"

"Yeah, I know." I hugged him tighter. He was trembling slightly. "I was thinking about it anyway. What we could do together, other than what we usually do but without Pope and Kie. I was gonna ask if you wanted to do something in particular."

"Well—" JJ pulled his phone out of his pocket and tapped at it for a moment, then turned the screen towards me.

"The Rainbow Room?" My eyes widened as the nightclub website scrolled through various gallery photos of people dancing and drinking—mostly men. "You want to go to a gay club? You don't like clubbing, or dancing or whatever." I remembered the beach party we all went to a few months back, and a party Kiara's parents held at the country club which she insisted Pope and I be invited to, and JJ crashed because he was working there. He was loud and over-the-top and obviously hating every minute of both events.

"I only don't like that kind of stuff because the only things I've been to in the past, you were with Sarah, and I was watching and wishing you were with me. I'd dance if it was just us."

"Seriously? What if somebody saw us?" I said anxiously.

"Why would they? It's on the mainland. Do you really think we're likely to run into anybody we know? I mean, do you think Topper and Kelce will be there? Actually, Topper looks kind of gay most of the time." He sniggered. "It was just an idea. If you hate it, we can do something else."

"No, let's go. But it looks like we're gonna need fake IDs. It says you have to be twenty-one."

"That's easy. I already have a fake ID. I can get you one."

I rolled my eyes. "Just don't fuck up the year and make me fifty, because I really hope I don't look that old."

He grinned more. "I'll sort it in the next couple of days."

We stayed in our own rooms that night, but not before we relieved our mounting frustration by jerking each other off on the couch. It was difficult to believe it had only been a couple of days since we admitted our feelings for each other. On one hand it seemed so new, but on the other it had been building for five years in secret. Now we were just making up for lost time.

A couple of days later JJ produced a fake ID for me that said I was just coming up to my twenty-second birthday. The picture of me looked like I was about sixteen but hopefully I would get away with it. We decided to go to the Rainbow Room on Saturday night and JJ managed to get the evening off work from the country club. I just had to dissuade Pope and Kiara from hanging out at the Chateau because we didn't plan on telling them we were going out or where. But they had arranged their own date—an evening picnic on the beach so I didn't have to think up an excuse to get rid of them.

I began to feel nervous as I showered, dragged a comb through my tangled curls, and dressed in my newest dark jeans and a red shirt. I'd looked at the website gallery a few more times to see what people were wearing and it didn't seem to matter. Some people wore smart shirts and trousers, others wore jeans, and some wore hardly anything.

JJ emerged from his room in similar clothes to me—his stonewashed jeans which were the only ones that didn't have holes in, and a dark blue shirt I'd never seen before.

"Is that new?" I pointed.

"Uh, yeah. I got paid yesterday. Thought they might not let me in the club if I turned up in my usual stuff."

"You look great." I grinned and showed him a picture on my phone of two guys dancing in the Rainbow Room wearing nothing but their underwear. "But I don't think they care what you wear."

He snorted. "Shit, I could have saved twenty bucks and gone in just my boxers. What time is it?"

"Nine-thirty. I guess by the time we get there, it'll be, like, ten-fifteen or something." I grabbed the keys to the Twinkie and put my phone in my pocket. My heart was pounding, and my mouth had gone dry with nerves. I was going to a gay club, with my boyfriend of just over one week, with fake ID. What could possibly go wrong?