I was exhausted by the time Lewis pulled his truck alongside my car in the parking lot at the animal shelter. The combination of a long day at work, fighting with my friends, and dancing at the silent rave had done me in both mentally and physically.

I let my head roll to the side against the head rest so I could look at Lewis. Moonlight poured through the windshield like liquid silver, softening his edges and bathing him in an ethereal glow. His lips curved up when I turned to him, and I couldn't decide which was brighter—his smile or the shining night sun. I smiled back even though all my muscles ached.

I was exhausted for sure. But happy.

"You were right," I said, letting out a sigh of defeat.

"About what exactly?" he asked. "I'm right about most things."

I rolled my eyes, but let that particular comment slide. "About showing me what real fun is."

When I thought about what had happened at the party, I still felt a pang of betrayal in my heart. But the pain had shrunk considerably after a night spent dancing. I wouldn't go as far to say I was glad my friends were jerks to Lewis, but I was happy we'd been given a reason to leave. It only took a couple of songs and Lewis's hands wrapped around my waist for me to realize that his idea of fun was much better than getting plastered at Olivia's. Which made me wonder what else he did for fun in his free time, besides playing Space Monkey of course.

"So I impressed you?" he asked, remembering what I'd said earlier about how difficult that particular task was. He chewed on his lip in attempt to hold back a smile, but it was easy to see that he was pleased with himself.

I dipped my head in admission. "Consider myself thoroughly impressed."

"Good, then you'll say yes when I invite you somewhere else. I promise it will be just as fun."

"As thrilling as that sounds, it's getting pretty late," I teased. "I should head home before my dad does something crazy like call the police and report me missing."

Lewis shot me a look and then continued. "My aunt and uncle finished the renovations at the beach house, and they're having a party there next weekend."

My eyebrows went up. "You're inviting me to a family event?"

"Okay, so maybe fun isn't the right word," Lewis said, blushing. "But it's for my birthday."

"Your birthday is next weekend?"

He nodded. "My eighteenth. I'll officially be adult enough to buy a lottery ticket and apply for credit cards. So what do you think, Miss Quinn? I promise there will be plenty of embarrassing family moments at my expense, an epic beach volleyball tournament, and more delicious food than you could possibly eat."

I grinned. "You had me at embarrassing family moments."

"Awesome," he said, answering my smile with one of his own. "Meet me here Saturday morning? We can drive out together."

Out of nowhere, there was a sharp rap on my window causing me to jump as far as my seatbelt allowed. Pulse flying, I turned to see Olivia standing outside with an angry scowl on her face. Her convertible was parked on the other side of my car in a spot that was vacant two minutes prior. I'd been so engaged in our conversation that I hadn't even noticed when she pulled into the lot.

Shocked by her sudden appearance, I stared at her open mouthed. When I didn't immediately respond, her scowl deepened and she rapped her fist against the window again. I unfroze. Lewis's truck was so ancient that I had to use a handle to roll down the glass that was separating us, and by the time I finished cranking it around in circles, I realized that it probably would have been smarter to just open the door.

"Oh my God, Olivia! What are you doing here?" I exclaimed. I peered over her shoulder, trying to see if there was someone in her car.

"Looking for you, obviously. I think the better question is where the hell have you been?" she snapped, putting a hand on her hip. "I've been calling and texting you for the past three hours!"

"Are you her mom?" Lewis muttered under his breath, but his remark was too quiet for her to hear.

"No, no. I didn't mean why are you here," I said, shaking my head. "I meant how did you get here. Weren't you drinking? I hope you didn't drive your car."

"I only had one beer and I sobered up pretty quickly after you left. What the hell Quinn? How could you do that to Kabel?"

My head jerked back in surprise at subject change. "Do what exactly?"

"Ditch him for some charity case loser."

"Um, hello? Charity case loser happens to be sitting right here and can hear you," Lewis said.

Olivia ignored him. "Do you know how upset he was after you left? He hasn't been able to hang out with you for weeks and the moment he finally does, you choose this—" she wove her hand in Lewis's direction as if he was something revolting "—whatever this is, over him."

"His name is Lewis," I said, even though I knew she remembered his name. "And I didn't choose him over anyone. He was my ride home. Besides, it's not like Kabel made an effort to see me over the past month. If he was so upset, then maybe he was the one who should've come after me tonight and not you."

"You know Kabel isn't the kind of guy to chase after a girl, Quinn."

"Well, maybe I want a guy who will actually fight for me," I said back.

Olivia pursed her lips. "Can I talk to you privately?" she hissed.

I glanced at Lewis and he said, "Go on. I'll be right here when you're done."

Sighing, I climbed out of the car. Before my feet even hit the ground, Olivia wrapped her French manicured fingers around my wrist. She yanked me away from the car and out of earshot. "You're being a bitch right now, and you know I don't use that word lightly," she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Oh, I'm the bitch? You guys practically threw my friend out of the party."

She stuck her nose in the air. "He left of his own volition."

"Yeah, because Liam and Kabel were rude. And you didn't say anything to stop them."

Throwing her hands up in the air, Olivia huffed. "What did you expect, Quinn? For me to defend someone I don't know against my boyfriend and friend, two people I care about?"

"When they're being mega asshats to someone I care about? Yes, I do!" I shot back, and as the admission left my mouth, I realized it was the first time I'd acknowledged the truth—I cared about Lewis.

A tense silence passed between us. Even the nighttime crickets had gone quiet, like they were holding their breath and waiting for shit to hit the fan. After a few seconds of intense staring, I knew that Olivia wasn't going to back down.

"Look," I sighed, my rigid shoulders going limp. "I don't want to fight with you, Olivia."

Her face instantly softened. "Good," she said with a sniffle. "I spent the past hour driving around trying to find you to fight either."

"So..." I said, an almost smile twitching on my lips. "Why did you come?"

"To knock some common sense into you." She reached out and put a hand on my shoulder. "The end of the summer bonfire is next Saturday. You need to be there."

Oh-no. How had I possibly forgotten about that? I knew I was a little out of touch with my social life after a full month of being grounded, but the bonfire was the event of the summer. Missing it would be social suicide, which was a huge problem for two reasons. First, how could I possibly convince my dad to let me go? As it was, I'd probably get busted for being out so late tonight. My dad wasn't stupid. There was no way he'd believe I was working until midnight. Second, and more importantly, what about Lewis's birthday? I'd already promised to go to the beach house on Saturday with him.

"Please say you'll be there," Olivia begged. "I feel like we're drifting apart and if you don't go..." she trailed off.

"If I don't go then what, Liv?"

"You remember that girl who was at my party? She's really cool, but—" she paused as if finishing her sentence was painful. "If you don't come to the bonfire, Kabel isn't going to wait around any longer."

"Oh." Even after everything that happened tonight, my heart still sunk in my chest at the thought.

"I know how much he means to you, and I don't want to see you get hurt," she said. "I hope you know I'm not trying to be mean, but you needed to hear the truth." She sounded apologetic, but underneath the caring best friend act was a veiled threat. If I didn't get my act together, my friends had a replacement already lined up for me.

"All right," I said after a long pause. "I'll try my hardest to be there."

"Yay!" She threw her arms around my shoulders and squeezed me. When she pulled away, her expression turned serious again. "And Quinn?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't bring Lewis with you."

I stared back at her. Message received loud and clear.

It was him or them, and I had to choose.