"Did the rain totally stop?" I ask as I get up and walk out to the back porch and Hunter follows me.

Sure enough, it's barely drizzling, but the entire field lights up with lightning from a distance.

"Stopped for now, but my phone says another system is coming in soon," Hunter says from behind me.

"It's so pretty when it lights up the whole sky like that," I mumble as I watch the sky light up and then go dark again. I stumble on my feet and fall back against his broad chest. He wraps his arms around me, and I sink into his embrace.

"Someone's a little buzzed up," he teases, his lip close to my ear, giving me goosebumps on my neck. "Did you eat anything, Darlin?"

"Cheesecake."

"I think Brandi ate most of that," he says. "Let's make sure you eat some pizza when we get inside, okay?"

"Okay," I agree with no effort to move; he's a comfy cuddler. His big size makes me feel so safe and secure.

"You doing alright?" He asks, and I know he ain't talking about my drunken level or Julian having been here earlier.

"So far... I'm okay; it's good to see him again. But it's all been really polite," I turn to face him, and his cobalt gaze washes over my face. A crack of thunder reminds me the storm is still simmering, and that ain't the only one. "We have a lot to talk about, and I don't think either of us will be so alright once we finally do."

Hunter closes his eyes and lets out a long breath, then nods as he opens them. "I know y'all have a lot to talk about, but Darlin, so do we."

"I know," the words come out as a trembling whisper, and he instantly clasps my hands.

"Hey, don't do that," he says quietly, leaning in slightly.

"Do what?"

"Get scared like that-"

I part my lips to deny this, but he puts a finger there and says, "Shh, I know you, Kinz. I see the fear in those beautiful eyes of yours, but you don't have a thing to worry about, okay?"

Yes, I do because I can't lose you, and I'm so confused, I don't say it. But I know he knows what I'm thinking as he pulls me closer. His steadfast gaze holds us both in place even as the wind picks up and starts to howl.

"I mean it. You got me forever. I'd never walk away from us even if all we ever are, is what we are."

"I've heard that before, though, Hunter and-"

"Not from me," he cuts me off. "You could break my heart seven ways from Sunday, and I'd still be right there by your side. I'm not the guy that leaves, Kinz, and you know that."

Another loud clap of thunder nearly makes me jump, it sounds so close, and then everything goes dark.

"We lost power!" I hear Brandi yell from inside.

"Come on," Hunter uses his cell flashlight to guide us back inside.

Oliver moves away from the door quickly as we step back inside.

Shit, was he? Did he hear all that?

"Found these," Brandi holds up a brightly colored package from a drawer; she's also using her cell phone for light.

"Brandi, those are birthday candles. What are we gonna do quickly bake a cake?" I laugh and grab Hunter's phone so I can help her.

The shutters start banging hard and fast against the house, and the rain is pelting down harder than ever. Daisy comes running through the kitchen to the basement steps and runs down.

"Forget candles; let's take Daisy's lead and head down," Hunter suggests, as I luckily find one inside the drawer.

The farmhouse has handled a lot of storms and will be just fine. We get struck here a lot in Tennessee. But still better to be safe than sorry. We use all our flashlights and find our way to the basement easily.

Talk about a trip back in time; the basement hasn't been updated in, well, ever. The shaggy brown carpet is soft on my feet as I head down. The walls are a wood panel with random posters from the years hanging up. There's even old toys of mine still in boxes in the corners.

I bring my phone and the candle to the coffee table. I light the candle, and the soft yellow hue lights the room. Hunter sets the wine and whiskey on the table next to the candle.

The orange and yellow striped couch, which I'm pretty sure is from when my dad was a kid, sits by the coffee table, and next to it is a matching loveseat. Because if you're gonna make something that ugly, make a matching piece for it, I guess.

Oliver refills his wine glass and then plops down on the loveseat; at the same time, Hunter fills a whiskey glass and sits on the couch.

They're still besties, I decide, and they will be again. I'll see to that, I have too, I want all of us to be best friends again, Brandi too.

I plop down on the carpet next to Brandi. She's shuffling through all the board games on the shelf under the coffee table.

"Sorry! Let's play this!" Brandi cheers.

"No way, Brandi, you cheat at that game."

"How does one cheat at Sorry?" Hunter asks.

"She waits till no one's looking and then moves her pieces," I explain.

"I do not," Brandi denies.

"Do too!" Oliver and I say at the same time.

"Let's play Monopoly," I suggest as I pull it onto the table. "It's a long game, and I have a feeling we'll be down here for a while."

"Only if Hunter promises he can't make deals with you," Oliver says.

"That's not fair!" I protest. "If I can't make deals, no one can."

"You can make deals, but not with Hunter; he always says yes, and then you get the advantage and win. Every time, Kinsey," Oliver says.

"I've said no," Hunter says feebly, and Oliver coughs. "If it's a terrible deal for me..."

"Then explain Thanksgiving ninety-nine," Oliver demands. "I had hotels on the boardwalk and park place... and somehow Kinsey gets all your properties right before my turn. I go broke when I was set to win!"

"Every time this game comes out, it's, 'remember Thanksgiving, 99?'" Hunter laughs.

"Because it was blatant, she waited for the right moment to get you to help her win."

"I won't say yes to any deal unless it's legit," Hunter offers to a doubtful-looking Oliver.

"Fair deals only, Kinz," Olly says looking at me sternly.

"I won't even need any deals," I say smugly.

Secretly I know I will, though. Oliver is right; I'll save most of my money and wait again until the board is stacked. Then once everyone spends all their money on houses, I'll ask Hunter for a deal and win before I take too many turns and lose my money. It's sneaky but a sure-fire winning method; what can I say?

"Hey!" Oliver exclaims, "Brandi, did you just take an extra five-hundred-dollar bill?"

"Oh, oops, my bad, I thought Kinsey dropped it," she puts it back, and he shoots her a look.

"I got my eyes on both of you," Oliver warns.

***

"Hunter, I'll trade you a thousand dollars and the railroads for your greens," I offer as we're nearing the end of the game.

"Sure, Darlin..."

"Hey! No deals!" Oliver pipes in.

"You said no unfair deals; this is totally fair," I argue.

"It is not; this gives you a monopoly and him the railroads," Oliver argues.

"So? The game is still far from over," I reply with a shrug as I use all the money, I saved to load the spots up with houses. "Anyone, including Hunter, can still win after this deal."

"You cheat as bad as Brandi," he retorts with a short laugh.

"Do not; she blatantly cheats," I reply to which Brandi scoffs. "I'm playing smart. It's a strategic game."

"How do you like that, Big Guy? She's using you like a tool to win the game," Oliver says to Hunter, whose body tenses some.

"I am not," I defend right away. "Don't say stuff like that."

"Why not? That's exactly what you're doing. No one else will make stupid deals with you."

"Whatcha' trying to say, Oliver?" Hunter asks. "You calling me stupid?"

"That's not what I said," Oliver snaps back. "I said it was a stupid deal, but you'll do it because you'll do any damn thing she asks."

Almost made it through the evening without them fighting, my earlier declaration now feels a little harder to obtain, but I'm not going to give up on it.

"Yeah, and?"

"... and it's annoying," Oliver mutters.

"Well, too bad it ain't changing," Hunter says as he tips back his whiskey; he then leans over to refill it.

"Oh, I know. I figured out a long time ago that you don't have any respect for what I want," Oliver says.

"Oh, that's real rich coming from you," Hunter shoots back. "You sit here and accuse Kinsey of using me for the game when that's exactly what you did to me."

"If you're bringing up shit from when we were fourteen, that's just-"

"Why shouldn't I? Kinz doesn't know."

"Know what?" I ask, looking from Hunter to Oliver, whose eyes dart down when I look at him.

"Oliver is the reason I didn't ask you to homecoming freshman year," Hunter says.

"What? You were going to ask me to homecoming freshman year?" I'm confused as my tipsy brain looks back, and none of it fits. "No, you liked Mary Beth back then."

"No, I liked you, and I told Oliver that I thought you liked me too," Hunter looks towards Oliver and then back at me. "Later that day, he convinced me not to go there. He said we were so young that it would never work at our age and ruin our friendships. At that point, the thought of losing you and Oliver, my first and only friends, was pretty much my biggest fear, so it got to me. I don't remember everything, but I know he said if the feelings were still there when we were older, I should then. But that was a lie, too, right, Oliver?"

"You're twisting it. I said the timing might be better then. I didn't say you should," Oliver defends. "Obviously, it wasn't."

"Because you made sure of that," Hunter says.

I'm speechless. Hunter had a crush on me, and Oliver knew? But...he said... at the dance that Hunter didn't know a thing. I'm so confused and stunned and can't find a single word to say as I look from one to the other like a ping pong ball.

"You sure put a lot of blame on a guy that wasn't even there that summer," Oliver says. "I never stood in your way. That's just how you chose to see it."

Wait, we were talking about homecoming, right? What summer? That summer?

"Sure, whatever you want to tell yourself," Hunter says dryly, and then his gaze is on me again as I sit there like a fish with my mouth flopped open.

"I... what?" I stammer as I glance towards Oliver, I feel my cheeks growing hot. "You told Hunter not to ask me to the dance? The dance I spent in the library crying because I thought he liked Mary Beth and not me?"

"I was a fourteen-year-old kid," Oliver defends, "I just didn't want to get left behind. I wasn't ready to admit my own feelings, but I-"

"You lied," I accuse, tears burning my eyes. "You sat there and watched me cry over him and said nothing."

"And I'm sorry but I was just a kid then, and so were you," Oliver says tiredly. "But when you lied, we weren't kids, Kinz. We were in a relationship."

"And I did not lie to you," I push back. "And this isn't about me right now, so don't deflect."

"Fine I lied, to you about Hunter and it wasn't the last time either," Oliver admits. "And I'm not sorry."

"Seriously?" I snap irritably.

"Yeah," Oliver says in a softer voice. "Because if I hadn't, we never would have happened, and I wouldn't take back us for anything."

He pauses for a long moment. "Would you?"

"No, of course not," I say quickly. "But..."

"You're freaking manipulating her now," Hunter cuts in. "She can be mad about your lies without you making her feel bad about it."

"I... have every right to be mad about shit, too," Oliver says tersely. "But guess what, Hunter? It's between me and Kinz. That's our conversation to have and this time, you're going to mind your own business."

"You don't get to use me as your reason for leaving and then tell me it's none of my business," Hunter replies.

"Forget this. I'm calling my dad; I don't care if it's still storming. I'll walk home before I'd stay here with you," Oliver says, looking pointedly at Hunter.

"Seriously? You're leaving?" The words come out shakier than I mean. "Wait, don't-"

"I can't stay with him here," he grits out.

"Olly, don't," Brandi pleads in a soft tone. "Sit back down, okay? Don't go."

"Leaving is what he does best, though, isn't it, Oliver?" Hunter comments, and the room goes still.

I can see a million angry words behind Oliver's eyes, but he doesn't spill any of them. Instead, he turns and storms up the stairs.

I take a step towards the stairs when Hunter speaks up. "Just let him go, Kinz."

I turn to look at Hunter, and even in the candlelit room, his blue eyes are burning with emotions that cause a thick lump in my throat as I tell him, "I can't."

He doesn't say anything, and the room remains silent as I turn and follow Oliver up the stairs.