Luke

"AP tests are OVER!" Rachel yelled as we burst out the doors on Friday afternoon, giving me a high-five.

Brooke and Miles looked at each other and shrugged. "It was a pretty normal week for me," Brooke teased.

"Yeah, yeah," Rachel said, rolling her eyes.

"Let's do something fun tonight," Brooke suggested. "You guys deserve a break from all that test taking."

"Like what?" Rachel asked, leaning against her Impala.

Brooke looked at the sky, pretending to be thinking.

"I've got it!" she said with an over-exaggerated snap of her fingers.

"Oh God," the three of us moaned.

"Club La Vela," she said triumphantly.

"Hell no!" I responded. Rachel and Miles met her with a similar reaction.

"Oh, come on!" she pleaded. "We haven't been before, and we freaking live here! It's only like, the biggest nightclub in the U.S.!"

Before I could respond, Miles spoke up. "Come on, Brooke, literally pick anywhere else. I was just telling Rachel not long ago that I wouldn't be caught dead there."

Brooke stuck her lip out and looked at Rachel. I knew it was over; Rachel couldn't stand it when Brooke was disappointed.

Rachel sighed and looked up at Miles. "Come on babe...it might be fun," she said doubtfully.

Brooke's eyes lit up and looked at me.

Miles and I shared a glance and rolled our eyes simultaneously.

"Fine," we said together.

Brooke grinned and hugged Rachel to her side, who looked about as thrilled as we were. "Make sure you dress slutty," she told Rachel, who pursed her lips in annoyance.

"Spoiled brat," I muttered, earning myself a slap on the ass from Brooke.

"Pick us up at 8:30, lover. At Rachel's house," she ordered.

"Yes, ma'am," I said, saluting her sarcastically.

"I'll come get you at 8, Luke." He turned to the girls. "We'll be at your house by 8:30, Rach."

Rachel nodded and pushed Brooke toward her car. "See you then," she said, kissing Miles on the lips softly. Brooke blew me a kiss from the passenger side of the Impala.

As I got in my car, I only felt slightly annoyed at Brooke—because seeing her dressed up for the club was going to be pretty fucking sweet.

Brooke

I rolled down the window on the passenger side, sticking my head out like a dog, feeling the gulf breeze against my face.

Rachel looked over at me. "Brooke, get inside, please," she asked in that sweet mom voice of hers.

I ducked inside. "Party pooper," I pouted.

"Hey, now. I convinced them to take you to Club La Vela... I don't want to hear any shit from you, Ms. Kane," she said, turning the radio up, and we sang at the top of our lungs all the way to Seahorse Lane.

At 7:30, we had both taken showers and blown out our hair; I curled Rachel's into ringlets down her back and she straightened mine perfectly, making it reach almost past my butt.

"What am I going to wear?" Rachel moaned, pulling outfit after outfit from her closet.

I pushed her gently out of the way. "Move it, sister. I'll find you something."

I dug through her closet until I found the sluttiest thing she owned.

"Eureka!" I shouted from the back of her walk-in closet, brandishing a very red, very short, very spandex strapless mini dress.

Her eyes almost bugged out of her head. "No. Fucking. Way," she said, adamantly shaking her head, her curls bouncing against her shoulders.

"Yes. Yes fucking way. You will look hot!" I exclaimed, taking it off the hanger and tossing it to the floor on top of the pile of sensible skirts, Bay High t-shirts, and cutoff denim shorts.

"That was for a Halloween costume when I was the Devil!" she exclaimed.

"Perfect," I grinned, thrusting it at her.

"Ugh...bitch," she muttered, snatching it from me.

I put on my own black, skin-tight halter top jumpsuit and was putting my makeup on at Rachel's vanity mirror when she emerged from the bathroom.

I dropped my eyeliner onto the vanity, the point snapping off, leaving a black smudge on the wood.

"Jesus," I muttered. "Miles is gonna flip his shit."  

Miles

Well, I thought, here goes nothing. I was about to meet my uncle for the first time...and I knew he knew who I was.

I pulled into Luke's driveway and parked the Jeep, jogging up to the front door, smoothing my khaki shorts and straightening my red and white checked shirt. I knew I looked frat-tastic, but I didn't know what the hell else to wear to Club La Vela. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

Luckily, Luke answered the door.

"Hey, man, come in," he said, opening the door wider. I stepped in and looked around.

"Are your parents home?" I asked quietly.

He nodded, and just then, they walked through the door from the dining room.

I inhaled sharply when I saw Luke's dad. Yeah, I had seen a photo, but in person, the resemblance to my father was staggering.

"H-Hi Mr. and Mrs. Salazar," I choked out.

Luke's mom stood rooted to the floor, but his dad stepped forward.

I stuck my hand out, but his dad skipped the handshake and pulled me right into a hug.

"Oh," I said, hugging him back reflexively.

"Miles..." he said, leaning back and looking at me. "It's so nice to finally meet you," he said, and I swear there were tears in his eyes.

I swallowed, feeling a lump rise in my throat. "It's really nice to meet you too, Adam," I said. Mr. Salazar felt too formal, but I didn't want to call him Uncle Adam either—not yet.

He smiled, and when I glanced at Luke, he was beaming.

I looked at Luke's mom and waved awkwardly. She smiled then, and her eyes crinkled at the corners.

"Nice to meet you, Miles. I'm Jane," she said, finally stepping forward to hug me.

My eyes filled with tears...Luke had no idea how lucky he was to have a family like this.

When all the hugs were done, Luke's dad smirked. "So...Club La Vela?"

We both groaned. "The things we do for our women," Luke said.

I checked my watch. "We better go. Luke, do you have a curfew?" I asked jokingly.

"Eh, just get home safe by at least...3 am?" Adam said.

Luke's eyes widened. "Really?"

Adam looked at Jane and they both shrugged. "Hey...you're with family," he said, and I immediately felt something I hadn't felt since my mom died: like I actually had a family.

We pulled up at Rachel's house at 8:30 on the dot. Brooke texted Luke and told her to just text when they got there; they wanted to make some kind of dramatic exit from the house.

We sent a text, got out of the Jeep to stand at the end of the sidewalk, and two minutes later, the front door was flung open theatrically by an invisible force.

Brooke stepped out first, wearing some skin-tight getup that made Luke's jaw drop to the sidewalk. I kicked him in the back of the knee. "Be cool, cuz," I hissed, and he closed his mouth.

"Brooke...You look hot," he blurted.

I rolled my eyes. Very cool.

She grinned. "Thanks, sexy...so do you," she said, grabbing his face and kissing him full on the lips.

I saw movement out of the corner of my eyes and I looked toward the front door.

Holy fucking shit.

Rachel stepped off the porch, wearing a very short red dress that looked like it had been painted on, hugging her curves in all the right places. She had on red three-inch heels, the highest I'd ever seen her wear. Her face was glowing, her hair curled and flowing loosely over her shoulders.

"You look gorgeous..." I said, kissing her forehead, "sexy," then her neck, "exquisite," under her ear, "delectable," I finished, putting my lips to hers, passion immediately flowing through our kiss. "Don't step away from me in that club for a second," I whispered in her ear.

She grinned at me. "No way in hell."