Rachel

We'd been swimming for about an hour and a half when someone got the bright idea to raid Miles' father's liquor cabinet.

And by someone, I mean Miles.

"Hey guys," he yelled over my shoulder after making me weak in the knees in front of the waterfall again, "who wants to do shots?"

I gasped. "Miles!" I swatted him on the chest. "We can't do that!"

"Why can't we?" Brooke asked, swimming over to us, Luke close behind.

"Umm, because we aren't 21?" I asked, knowing I sounded like a stick in the mud. 

Brooke laughed and looked at Luke. "Come on, help us out, Luke," she wheedled.

Luke bit the inside of his cheek and shrugged.

Brooke and Miles shared a glance and then looked at both of us.

"Neither of you have ever drank before, have you?" Miles asked with an amused smirk on his face.

Brooke laughed. "Well, I know for a fact that Rachel hasn't."

"Hey, shut up!" I said.

"Yeah, I haven't either...it's not something you want to do when you've seen your mom drunk for large chunks of your life," he said, and the rest of us fell quiet.

"Ah, fuck," Miles said. "I didn't know. I'm sorry, man."

Luke shrugged, then his eyes brightened. "You know what? Fuck it! We're graduating in two months. Let's do it!" I could tell he was trying to make sure he wasn't being the "party dad."

And I figured: if there wouldn't be a party dad, why have a party mom?

"I'm in," I announced, and Miles wrapped his arm around my shoulders, looking down at me.

"You don't have to if you don't want to," he whispered in my ear.

"I want to," I said, sounding more confident than I felt.

"Okay," he said, lifting himself out of the pool, almost killing me with the sight of those flexing biceps. "I'll go get the vodka. It'll be easy to fill up the bottle with water and he'll never know. He doesn't drink hard liquor anymore." He jogged inside the house, drying himself off as he went.

I swallowed. "Vodka?" I asked, looking at Brooke.

She threw her head back and laughed. "This, my friends, should be interesting."

Miles returned a few minutes later with four shot glasses and two giant bottles: Grey Goose Cherry Noir and Absolut Mandarin.

"Hey, at least they're flavored!" Brooke said, peering up at the bottles.

"Let's get in the hot tub," I suggested.

The hot tub was spacious, but it didn't matter; I sat so close to Miles I was nearly on his lap, and Brooke sat with her legs lying across Luke's thighs.

"Okay," Miles said, lining up the shot glasses and opening the bottles. "Who wants what?"

"I'll take some Absolut," Brooke said right away.

Luke and I pondered for a moment and both chose the Grey Goose. Miles poured himself a shot of Absolut and we all held a glass in our hand. I may have never drunk alcohol before, but I'd seen enough movies to know that everyone drinks together.

"To Luke and Rachel's first drink...may neither of them be a complete lightweight," he joked, and we all clinked our glasses together, murmuring cheers.

Brooke and Miles drank right away, but Luke and I took a deep breath before tossing it back.

Jesus, this burns like a bitch! I thought, but I tried to keep my face as neutral as possible.

Miles watched me with amusement in his eyes, and I allowed my face to contort against the burning in my throat.

"You okay?" he asked, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Blech...that was...strong," I said, coughing a little.

I glanced at Luke, and he was having the same reaction as me.

"So?" Brooke asked us.

"I don't feel anything," I said, shrugging.

Miles laughed. "Have another shot," he offered, pouring me one and holding it out.

I looked at it for a second and then took it.

An hour and a half later, both bottles were over half empty and we had turned on my most embarrassing Spotify playlist. "Want to Want Me" by Jason Derulo had just come on; I squealed and grabbed Miles' hand, dragging him out of the hot tub to dance with me on the patio.

"Dance with me, Jefferson." 

He laughed, pulling me flush against him. "This is the only way you're ever going to get me to dance." 

We were dancing and singing along when I noticed something: Miles could sing.

"Just the thought of you gets me so high, so high... Oh just the thought of youuuu gets me so high, so hiiiiiiigh," he sang, hitting every one of those ridiculous high notes.

I stepped back, trying to ignore the fact that I was swaying on my feet.

"Miles, your singing voice!" 

"I know, I know...I shouldn't give up my day job."

I shook my head. "No! Quite the..." My tipsy brain searched for the right word. "Quite the contrary," I said, wagging my finger at him. "You hit every one of those notes."

He dipped one eyebrow. "Wow, you are drunk."

I shook my head again. "No...I might be tipsy but I know a good voice when I hear it. And you have one."

Brooke and Luke had broken up their make-out session to listen to our conversation.

"You sounded better than Derulo," Brooke slurred.

Luke snorted. "You should do the talent show."

Miles' eyes widened. "Hell no! Don't give this one any ideas!" he said, pointing at me.

I grabbed his finger and twirled myself in a circle.

Brooke spoke up then. "Hey, y'all. I have an idea. Let's play Never Have I Ever!"

"Oooh, yes!" I agreed, clapping my hands together.

Luke and Miles both rolled their eyes.

"Come on, please?" we begged in unison.

They looked at each other and shrugged. "Fine," Luke agreed. "But can we dry off and go inside first?"

"Yes," we said, grabbing towels and tossing them to the guys.

When we went inside, I changed into a pair of blue pajama shorts with a black spaghetti strap tank top, brushed my wet hair and let it hang straight down my back, tickling my spine.

I entered the living room and saw Luke and Brooke smushed together on the loveseat, despite there being a plethora of seating options. When I saw Miles, that wave of desire flooded me again, and I wished that Brooke and Luke weren't sitting in front of us.

His eyes ran over my body, taking me in, and I could tell he wished Brooke and Luke weren't there too.

"Later," I mouthed to him, winking.

He blushed, kissing my cheek with a feather-light touch.

Brooke spoke up as she poured us each a glass of vodka and Sprite, in a regular sized glass this time. "Okay, here's the rules in case anyone needs a refresher: we go in a circle and each person says something they haven't done. If you have done it, take a drink. If you haven't, just sit there and watch the secrets come out! And you have to tell the truth!" she said, rubbing her hands together.

Secrets? I thought as she handed me my shot.

Luke

"I'll go first," Brooke said, and I looked over at her as she bit her lip, thinking. "Ah, I got it. We'll start easy. Never have I ever gotten an A in a class."

We rolled our eyes, and everyone took a drink.

"Your turn, Luke," she said.

"Uh...never have I ever had a sibling," he said, and I felt my heart sink just a little at the thought of James.

Brooke and I took a drink, our eyes meeting over the brims of our cups.

"Your turn, Rach," he said, nodding toward me.

I brought out the big gun. "Never have I ever had sex," I blurted.

Everyone looked at each other, and Brooke took a drink. Her eyes darted around the room and landed on Miles. "Bruh. Why aren't you drinking?" she asked him.

He shrugged. "Why do you assume I've had sex?"

She cocked her head to the side. "Come on, Jefferson. You expect us to believe that you've never gotten laid?"

"He hasn't, Brooke," I said with a warning look.

"Well, that shocks the hell out of me," Luke said. "Jefferson still has his V-Card."

Miles laughed. "Yep...proud of it too. Because I would've regretted it," he said, looking straight at me. "I hadn't met the right girl yet."

My cheeks reddened, and the mammoth butterflies made an encore performance in my stomach.

"Awwwwww," Brooke and Luke teased.

"Go Brooke, it's your turn," I said, wanting to change the subject.

"Fine...Never have I ever gotten punched in the face," she said, laughing.

I inhaled and glanced at Miles. He lifted his drink to his lips and took a lengthy sip.

"I don't remember you getting in a fight at school! Who punched you!?" Brooke asked.

"Brooke—"

"My dad," he said, downing the rest of his drink.