She really wanted to get in the bed. Looking down at him, she couldn't believe how beautiful he was and all she wanted was to be wrapped up in those strong tanned arms and dreaming. But Taylor was coming back any minute and she'd promised they'd both be ready by then. She knew he could sleep through just about anything, but him sleeping through her and Taylor packing up the last of their stuff this morning was truly an accomplishment.

"Jere," she said softly, shaking his shoulder gently. "We have to get ready." He didn't budge. "Jeremiah," she said a little more loudly. "It's time to get up."

Groaning, Jeremiah stretched out on Steven's bed, his feet dangling off the end. "Good morning, Bells," he said with a sweet, sleepy smile. She felt her heart melt a little at the sight. This is what she was going to be waking up to every morning, and she couldn't imagine anything more perfect.

"Good morning," she responded, her hand trailing lightly down his arm and her fingers lacing with his. "I can't believe you were able to sleep through the finding of Taylor's favorite pair of socks. It was a high stress situation."

He laughed, the sound deep with sleep. "I bet." He lifted the comforter and motioned for her to come closer. "Want to snuggle for a bit?"

Yes. Yes she did. But should she? No. No she shouldn't. Was she going to? Yes. Yes she was. She slid into the bed beside him and snuggled into his chest, breathing in his scent. His skin was warm against her cheek and she closed her eyes while she listened to the deep, even sound of his heart. "We really need to be going," she murmured. "Taylor is going to murder us."

"I think we can take her," he said, his chin against the top of her head. "I'm not ready to leave," he admitted after a few minutes. "These past few days have been perfect."

She knew what he meant. He'd come to visit the last few days before they all went to Cousins. Since Steven was gone he'd taken her brother's bed. They'd been hanging out with Taylor and spending as much time together as possible. He was right, it had been perfect.

"It won't be different when we're there," she told him, lifting her head to look into his eyes. "Me and you, we'll be the same."

He studied her for a moment and sighed. "Yeah," he said, playing with the ends of her hair with his free hand, no longer meeting her gaze. She knew he was worried about this summer. She was worried too, but not for the same reason. She knew she'd made her choice and she was the happiest she'd ever been. She was just worried that her choices would continue to be a wedge between the two boys she cared about more than anything.

Before she could say anything else, Taylor's shriek from the door startled her, causing her and Jeremiah to both jump in the bed. "You said you'd be ready!" Taylor said accusingly, picking a pillow up off the floor and throwing it at them.

"What's going on?" Laurel asked, poking her head in the room. "Are you not ready?"

"We're ready," Belly said, sitting up in the bed. "I was just taking a small break."

Taylor rolled her eyes and grinned. "If I hadn't come in you would have laid there until lunch," she said. "My man is on the other end of this road trip, so if we could maybe hurry things along that'd be great." Taylor was excited about seeing Steven, who had gone to Cousins early for work. He needed to make all the money he could for school and she understood that, but she missed him already.

Jeremiah groaned and sat up, looking around for his shirt. He'd taken all of the luggage out the night before, so he really only had to throw on a shirt and brush his teeth. "You sure you're okay with us going up before you?" he asked Laurel as he found his shirt and pulled it over his head. She'd been very cool with the idea of them hanging out at the beach house for a few days before she got there, but it was still a bit weird now that he and Belly were together. He wanted her to trust him, like he knew she'd trusted Conrad.

"I think it'll be okay," Laurel said, leaning against the door frame and folding her arms in front of her. "You all know the rules. I'll be there in a couple of days." Laurel had a book deadline she had to meet, and she felt she would be better able to finish if she could spend some time alone in the home.

Jeremiah nodded and kissed Belly on the forehead and walked out of the room towards the bathroom. Laurel looked from Taylor to Belly. "You do know the rules, right?"

"Yes," the girls said in unison, then laughed. "Trust me, mom, it's going to be fine," Belly told her.

"Tell Steven to call me when you get there, okay? I swear that he never responds to my texts."

Belly nodded, her excitement at leaving written all over her face. "I love you," she told the older woman, giving her a hug.

"I love you too," Laurel said, squeezing her tightly before letting go.

"Ready?" Jeremiah asked, coming back into the room.

"Finally," Taylor said, hugging Laurel as she passed her.

"And make sure you call me when you get there," Laurel called to them as they walked out of the house.

"We will!" Belly called back. Jeremiah took her hand as they walked toward his Jeep, lifting it to his lips for a quick kiss.

It was such a long road trip every summer, but Belly never ran out of things to talk about or questions to ask. They played different games on the road, listened to each other's music, and stopped several times. Taylor was napping when they pulled into the driveway of the beach house. Jeremiah had grown more and more quiet the closer they got, and she knew he was thinking about Susannah. She'd been thinking about her too. Summer at the beach house without her was such a hard thing.

Steven came out of the house when they pulled up, waving with both hands above his head and grinning. "Taylor, we're here," Belly said, reaching behind her to nudge her friend.

Quickly waking up, Taylor pushed her hair out of her face and grinned at the boy in front of them. "Steven!" she yelled, climbing out of the Jeep and jumping into his arms.

As the two of them hugged, Belly looked over at Jeremiah. "You okay?" she asked softly, taking his hand and squeezing it.

"Yeah," he said automatically, nodding. He looked at her and swallowed hard. "I think so," he amended, squeezing her hand back.

"Do you need us to wait out here for a minute or something?" she asked, not sure how to help him. They'd all been here since Susannah had passed away, but coming here for the summer felt different. It felt like she should be there, and she wasn't.

"No," he said with a shake of his head. "I'm fine."

Steven was waiting outside of Jeremiah's door to hug the boy, the two happy to see each other. Taylor had told Belly about Steven rooting for Conrad, but Belly hadn't mentioned it to him or Jeremiah. She knew that everyone had always assumed she'd end up with Conrad, but this was real life and she'd had to make the choice that was best for her. That was Jere.

After hugging her brother, Belly grabbed a couple of her bags and started for the door, a heavy feeling settling over her. This summer already felt completely different, and she hadn't even stepped into the house. She relaxed slightly when she felt Jeremiah's hand at the small of her back. Walking into the house she took a deep breath.

The group divided long enough to put their bags in their rooms. Belly walked into her room and stopped, surprised. Someone had set her room back up exactly as she'd left it before the furniture had been removed. She didn't hear what Taylor was saying as she ran her hand over the top of her dresser, picking up Junior Mint. Conrad. It had to have been.

"Are you listening to me?" Taylor asked, putting her bags down in front of the closet. She would be sleeping in Belly's room, the two sharing the large bed.

Putting the stuffed animal down, Belly turned to her friend. "No, sorry. What?"

"I asked you if you wanted to take a swim," Taylor asked, pulling some of her clothes out of her bag and turning to hang them up. The closet was big enough for three people, so there was plenty of room for both of their clothes.

"I…maybe?" Belly wasn't sure what she wanted to do. Susannah wasn't here with all the plans. Laurel wasn't around to tell her what was happening next. She felt…lost.

"You okay?" Taylor asked, turning back around. "I guess this is pretty hard for you all, right?"

Belly bit her bottom lip, nodding. She wasn't sure why she felt like she was losing Susannah all over again, but she knew that no matter how she felt Jeremiah must be feeling worse. "I'm going to go check on Jere, okay?" Taylor nodded and Belly left the room, going right next door to Jeremiah's room. She found him sitting on the edge of his bed, starting out the window.

"Your room is set back up too," she said, sitting beside him.

Jeremiah nodded, looking around. "Must have been Conrad."

Belly nodded in agreement. "I guess he spent some more time here." She didn't know what Conrad had been doing since they'd last seen each other.

"It feels weird, right?" he asked, looking at her. "It feels different than it did when we were here last."

Belly nodded again. "It does," she said quietly. "What should we do?"

"There's a bonfire at the beach tonight," Steven said from the door. "We could always do that."

Jeremiah nodded. "Yeah, sounds good." He didn't sound like he meant it.

"Yeah, it'll be fun," Belly agreed. She knew she didn't mean it. "Who all is here?" She wondered if her friends from the country club would be around this summer.

"Most of the girls are here. Shayla and Nicole are coming back later this summer." Steven made room for Taylor in the doorway, putting his arm around her.

"Why don't we all take a bit of a break and then get ready and meet for the bonfire," Taylor suggested. "It was a long trip." At Belly's nod, she and Steven left the room.

Jeremiah dropped back onto the bed, staring at the ceiling. He rubbed Belly's back until she laid back as well. "I miss her," he said, his throat working and tears shining in his eyes. "I miss her so much."

"Jere," she whispered, rolling over and putting her arm around his stomach. "I miss her too."

He nodded but didn't say anything, tears running freely down his cheeks. He didn't try to wipe them away; he wasn't ashamed of his feelings. He knew she understood and wasn't judging him.

Belly kissed his cheek, tasting the saltiness of his tears. She lifted her hand and rested it against his face, turning his head towards her. She didn't know what to say so she pressed her lips against his. His lips opened against hers as he immediately deepened the kiss, his warmth spreading into her.

Pulling away slightly, he ran his thumb along her lower lip. "I love you, Belly," he whispered. Before she could say anything, he shook his head. "Please don't say anything. I just wanted you to know."

She couldn't have talked if she'd wanted to. Jeremiah loved her. This beautiful boy loved her. Before anyone could say anything else her phone started ringing. "Mom?" she said, answering it.

"I swear, it's like you two purposefully ignore my attempts to find out if you're alive or not," Laurel said. "I'm guessing you made it?"

"Sorry," Belly said, sitting up. "It's been kind of," she paused for a minute. "Heavy," she finished after a minute.

"Oh Belly, I'm so sorry. I should be there," Laurel said, sighing. "How's Jere?"

"Sad," Belly said, looking back at him. "We all are. But we're going to be okay. There's a bonfire tonight."

"No one drinks and drives," Laurel said. "It would be better if no one drank at all, but I'm not completely delusional."

"We know, Mom," she told her, rolling her eyes at Jeremiah, who smiled. There were no more tears, and for that she was grateful. "I'm going to go, okay? I love you."

"Love you, too," Laurel said.

When she put down her phone she laid back down with Jeremiah. "Now where were we?" she teased.

Laughing, he cradled her face in his hand. "I think I remember," he said, lowering his head to hers.