Birds tweet overhead, their stupid oblivious happiness getting on my nerves. I glance around as I stuff my now ninety-percent-soft dick into my shorts and make sure everything is done up. Across the yard I see a flash of white hair and what I’m sure are binoculars. I’d call Mr. Woodcock out, but I don’t have time. I toss the apron over the line and cover the distance to the pool in two long strides, diving in.

I swim across to the other side. Andy drops the ball at the edge when my head pops out, barking excitedly. I snatch up the ball, toss it across the yard, and pull myself out.

“We’ll play later, buddy. Come on, let’s go in and see Sunny.” Grabbing a towel from the back of the chair, I run it over my chest and wrap it around my waist. Andy trots behind me with that ball in his mouth, desperate for more attention.

I pop my head in the door leading to the kitchen. “Hey, sweets, you gonna come for a swim before you gotta leave?” I fake surprise and almost choke on my tongue when I get a load of Sunny’s mom. “Mr. and Mrs. Waters! How’s it goin’?”

Daisy Waters is a fashion nightmare resurrected from the eighties. Her helmet-y hair keeps hairspray companies in business. Currently one side is flat, like maybe she fell asleep on the way home and crushed it. I swallow my laugh. “I wasn’t sure I was gonna get a chance to see you.”

I stay on the mat by the door, since I’m dripping water, and assess everyone’s stance. I can’t read Sunny’s expression to tell if she’s stressed out or not. I think her tank top might be on backwards. I’m worried about what I might have missed while I was getting my shorts.

“I guess it’s a good thing our flight was changed!” Sunny’s mom crosses over and gives me an affectionate hug. Her over-sprayed hair hits my wet cheek. “Don’t stand by the door. Come on in, Miller! It’s been a while! I’m so glad you came by. Are you hungry? You must be starving!” She squeezes my bicep. “You must be the reason Sunny’s making her cinnamon buns!”

“I’ve never had them before.”

I let her slip her arm through mine. Daisy loves me, despite how much I keep fucking things up with Sunny.

“Well, you’re in for a real treat.”

Robbie’s leaning against the doorjamb, eating one of Sunny’s cinnamon buns. He’s wearing a pair of plaid shorts and a tie-dye T-shirt with a band I’ve never heard of on it. He doesn’t look quite so excited to see me. I can tell he’s suspicious. Sunny’s poor lying skills are probably part of the reason. “Sunny tells us you stopped by this morning.”

I avoid answering the question directly so I don’t have to lie outright. “I couldn’t go to Muskoka without stopping to see Sunny. I’m disappointed she’s gotta leave this morning.”

Robbie glances at Sunny. “Leave? Where are you going?”

Sunny twirls her hair around her finger. “Remember before you left when we talked about me going camping for a few days with Lily? Up in Chapleau? Well, we decided to go for, like, a week, maybe a little longer.”

Daisy looks absolutely horrified. “Camping? You’ve never gone camping. And that’s so far away. Will you even have cell phone reception? What about running water? Why wouldn’t you use Alex’s cottage? He’s not there this week—at least I don’t think he is, and even if he was I’m sure he’d be more than happy for you and Lily to come along. It has six bedrooms. There’s plenty of room.”

Robbie gives Daisy a look, but she’s too busy being appalled by the idea of camping to catch it. “What about your shifts at the shelter?” he asks.

“Those are all covered, and my yoga classes, too. I’ve taken care of everything.”

“But you don’t camp.” Daisy’s stuck on this point.

“I do too camp.”

“Spending one night in a tent in Alex’s backyard at the cottage doesn’t count, Sunshine,” Daisy says.

Sunny puts her hands on her hips. “I’ve camped with Lily before.”

“Don’t her parents have a trailer on Lake Erie?”

Sunny huffs, annoyed. “Well, I would’ve camped if you’d let me go to Girl Guides, but Alex always had those hockey camps, and I never could!”

Robbie picks up another cinnamon bun and takes a bite. “These are fantastic.”

“Thanks, Dad.” Sunny looks at Daisy. “Lily says we’re borrowing a camping van or something, and she has all the gear we’ll need. It’s gonna be great!” She sounds less enthusiastic about it than she did yesterday. Maybe she’ll end up cutting it short.

“Is it just you and Lily going?” Daisy asks. “I don’t know if I like that idea.”

“There’s a group of us.” Sunny’s hair twirling gets more and more aggressive until it’s twisted all the way around her finger, cutting off the circulation. She’d never make it as a professional poker player.

“Who else is coming with you?” Robbie’s eyes shift in my direction as he takes a huge bite of bun. I want one.

The doorbell rings, cutting off Sunny’s response. I check the clock on the wall—it’s analog, so I can read it easier. It’s after nine. Shit. Lily’s here, and my time with Sunny is almost up. I didn’t even get to give her a good morning/see you soon orgasm. Damn it.

Sunny skips around the counter and gazelles her way to the front door, throwing it open with a squeal. Her extra crunchy granola bestie throws her arms around her, and they do that weird overly affectionate hug thing girls do when they haven’t see each other in all of five minutes. Although, I’ve been here for the past two days, so it’s been at least that long since they’ve seen each other, but likely not longer.

Lily has short black hair and dark eyes. She’s almost as tall as Sunny, but with less boobs and no curves. She looks more like a prepubescent boy than a twenty-year-old woman, or maybe I’m being an asshole because she’s not my biggest fan.

Her smile widens when she sees Robbie, and then slides right off like her face is made of Teflon when she sees me. She whispers something to Sunny, her eyes wide with surprise.

“Lily!” Daisy flails her arms like a cheerleader on PCP. Lily turns away from her huge hair and accepts the hug.

“Hi, Momma Two. How was your weekend away? Did you have fun?”

“Too much to talk about without embarrassing everyone!” Daisy winks.

I glance at Robbie. He gives me a smug smile and nabs another bun. I think he might have already been into his research today.

“Oh! Kale, Benji! I didn’t see you there!” Daisy’s voice is high-pitched, and she gives Sunny an odd look.

Right behind Lily are two other guys. They look like they could be brothers, or hipster soulmates.

They’re clearly trying to join the beard brigade and failing. While there’s hair on their chins and cheeks, it’s patchy and ungroomed. It makes them look like homeless douches who stole clothes off the rack from the Khaki and Plaid Depot.

So one of these guys is Sunny’s high school ex-boyfriend? I’m definitely in way better shape, and I can grow a legit beard. And I can give her orgasms. All this should make me feel better, but with the way Daisy is looking at Sunny, it doesn’t.

Robbie gives me an eyebrow lift, grabs a fourth cinnamon bun, and nods in the direction of the door. “You better get over there, son.”

The skinnier of the two guys gives Daisy a hug. When he sees Robbie, he gets stupid excited. “Hey! Robbie, how’s it going? I was all bummed out thinking you wouldn’t be back until later today.”

“Our flight got changed at the last minute. It was an early morning, but otherwise I can’t complain.” Robbie’s eyes pass over me again.

Kale goes in for a man hug when he’s finished mauling Daisy. I have to wonder how long those two dated, based on how familiar he is with her family. Or maybe it’s been a long-ass time since they’ve seen him. Either way, their reaction says a lot. He’s the beef tenderloin, and I’m the McDonald’s Big Mac.

I make sure I’m not leaking pool water all over Sunny’s mom’s floor before I cross the hardwood.