Allie and I both nod and mm-hmm.

“Well, apparently his son took over. Used to be the star quarterback for our rival high school team. All golden hair and blue eyes and a seriously pretty face. You remember him, right? Sterling Carter?”

“He was the only reason I bothered with the pep rallies, since our team sucked the big one,” Allie mutters.

“Right?” Tawny looks over her shoulder before she continues. “Well, there was a rumor floating around a few days ago that a tow truck was parked down the street from Sue’s house that just happened to belong to the Carters. Now, I’m not saying it’s true, but Sue and Sterling had a thing back in high school, and then when you left, she broke it off with him and tried to get with Tucker. They hooked up, but nothing came of it. Until two summers ago. They met up at one of these parties, hooked up again, and starting dating on and off. Nothing serious at first, but she kept pushing for more, and he finally asked her to move in with him. Then she got pregnant, had the baby, and now they’re both miserable.”

“I still don’t get why she’d want to be with him in the first place, especially when she knew he’d been cheating on me.” Other than the fact that she always seemed to want what I had.

“Who knows? Maybe she thought she could do what no one else could and make him be faithful to her? He was pretty broken up about it when you left, and she basically threw herself at him. I used to think maybe the cheating was because he knew you were leaving, you know? Maybe trying to prove to himself that he didn’t need you. But it just seems to be how he is. It’s pretty sad.” Allie takes a sip of her drink and makes a face while she sloshes it around, maybe to mix it up some more.

“His parents had a shitty relationship, too, so poor modeling and all that,” Tawny says. “I read an article about that. How our parents’ relationships frame our own. Makes sense that what you see is what you emulate.”

“Yeah, doesn’t excuse the serial cheating, though. And we all have the ability to break the cycle if we want to. Anyway, I feel bad for Sue, but I’m glad he’s not my problem anymore.” I hold up my glass. “To putting the past behind us.” We all clink our tumblers together, tip our heads back, and make a face on the swallow.

“Is it me, or is this getting stronger the more we drink?” I ask.

“I don’t think it’s mixed very well.”

Simultaneously, we shake our glasses, the ice clinking against the stainless steel sides, and chuckle.

“It really is good to be back, though.”

I kick at a pebble on the ground. It skips a few feet, heading toward a group of guys I used to go to high school with, one of whom is Aaron Saunders. That’s not a surprise; he always loved a good beach party. It pings off another bigger rock and bounces up, hitting a guy with his back to us in the calf.

I cringe as he turns around and adjusts the brim of his hat. Most of the guy’s face is in shadow, apart from his chin and mouth. A flash of memory from a decade ago pops like a bubble, gone before I can catch it. He flips his hat around so it’s facing backward, and I realize it’s Van. Hanging with the locals.

Tawny gives a low whistle. “Who the heck is that delicious hunk of yummy man?”

“That’s Bee’s grandson. He’s my neighbor.”

“Holy hotcakes on the griddle, he’s ridiculously gorgeous.”

“He is that. He’s got some asshole friends, though. And he can be an asshole at times too.” I say that through gritted teeth while smiling and waving at him.

He tips his head to the side, a slow half smile forming on his lips. His eyes roam over me in a leisurely sweep. He doesn’t so much as glance at Tawny or Allie. He tips his chin up in acknowledgment and then turns back to his group.

“Ooooh, looks like someone has a thing for his neighbor.” Allie elbows me in the side.

I roll my eyes. “He doesn’t have a thing for me. We can barely have a conversation without arguing.” And he seems to enjoy pushing my buttons.

“Then why is he headed this way?”

“Huh?” I glance back in his direction to find that he is most certainly headed toward us.

“Crap,” I mutter. I resist the urge to touch my hair or do any of the typical things women do when a ridiculously attractive man is approaching. It annoys me to no end that I react like this to Van. I don’t even really know him, and what I do know, I’m still on the fence about, especially after last night.

“Howdy, neighbor, I didn’t expect to see you here tonight.” He tucks a thumb in his pocket and smiles, gaze still firmly fixed on me.

“It’s a local party and I’m a local; not sure why I wouldn’t be here.” Clearly I’m dishing out my surly tonight.

Allie coughs into her elbow, and Tawny sucks her teeth, probably trying not to laugh.

Van’s smile turns into a smirk. “You planning to police the noise and music choices?”

I don’t return the smile. “There don’t seem to be any screaming banshees around, calling people trailer trash, so it looks like I’m off duty tonight.”

He sobers. “I’m sorry about that. Monica was way out of line.”

“Nothing I haven’t heard before.” Which is true. It’s not the first time that term has been directed at me. Although usually I’m not practically in my own backyard, nor is that negative slur coming from my neighbor. It frustrates me that a place that used to be a haven of fond memories is turning into something else.

“That doesn’t make it better. She was horrified this morning, and hungover. Spent most of last night puking.”

“Is that why she isn’t gracing us with her presence tonight?”

“They took off early this morning. She wanted to go over and apologize, but it was early, and she was a hot mess. Besides, Monica is probably the shittiest apologizer in the history of the universe, so I figured it was better if she left the apologizing to me.”

I shake my head and fight a chuckle. “If you invite her back and she insults me again, I’ll probably toss her in the lake.”

“I have zero plans to invite her back. But I would pay money to see that.” He rocks back on his heels and glances to the right of me, where Allie and Tawny are raptly watching this interaction. “Oh, how rude of me.” He holds out his hand to Tawny first. “I’m Van, Dillion’s neighbor.”

“I’m Tawny and this is Allie.” She motions to her with her cup. “We’ve been friends with Dee ever since we could put two words together.”

“That’s a long time and some real devotion to the art of communication and friendship.” He nods a couple of times. “Anyway, I thought I’d come say hi. And apologize.”

“I think we’re probably even with apologies at this point.”

“Does this mean we’re calling a truce?”

“As long as you’re not hammering away on something before seven tomorrow morning and your friends aren’t calling me names, I think we’re good. And I won’t accuse you of getting my brother wasted.”

He holds out his hand, and I slip mine into his. The air around us suddenly feels charged, like the shock of a lightning bolt cutting through the sky.