Daisy hugs everyone while Robbie shakes hands with Ben and Kale, then hugs Lily and Sunny. I stand back, observing the interactions, wishing I was going instead of that Kale fucker. When it’s my turn, I go for Lily first. It’s like hugging a steel pipe. I shake her boyfriend’s hand, then I turn to Kale. He’s looking too smug. I need to fix that.

I take his hand and squeeze harder than I need to. “Take care of my girl for me.” I know Sunny’s going to be annoyed at me for saying something she likely considers sexist, but I need to make it clear I’m in this for the fight.

“You’ve got nothing to worry about. I always do.” He gives me a pat on the shoulder, his satisfied smile pushing my last damn button.

I lean in close and give him a slap on the back, lowering my voice so only he can hear. “Not as well as I do.” I wink and turn to Sunny.

She’s not happy. I can tell by the pinched look and her pursed lips. I pull her into my arms and hug her tight. Putting my lips to her ear, I whisper, “He gets you for a week. I only got you for two days.”

I take her face in my hands. If her parents weren’t here I’d tongue-fuck the shit out of her mouth. Instead I brush my nose against hers, then kiss the tiny dimple on her left cheek. “Have fun, Sunny Sunshine.”

“I’ll try.”

“But not too much.” This time I press my lips softly to hers.

She holds onto my forearms, fingernails digging in. “I won’t.”

I’m relieved when Benji and Kale get into the front seats, and Lily and Sunny get in the back. I can see right inside. There’s a table with cushioned seats that turn into a bed. I grab the door before Sunny can close it and peek in. There’s definitely room for a four-person orgy in here.

“Wow. This is spacious. How many does it sleep?” I wait for one of them to meet my eyes.

“There’s two double beds,” Kale says from the front seat, back to being a smug jerkoff.

“And we have tents,” Sunny says.

Her panic is clear. She’s expecting me to say or do something to cause a scene. I want to. We need to have a conversation, but it isn’t going to happen now. It’s a shit situation. Still, I drop my bag on the driveway and cram myself into the confined space. I’m blocking her parents’ view since I fill the entire door.

This time I lay one on her. She gasps, and I slide my tongue between her parted lips. At first her hand goes to my chest like she’s about to push me away. I suck on her tongue, and she fists my shirt, making a plaintive noise that tells me she’d like me to continue. Lily coughs, reminding me we have an audience. I’m completely aware of this.

I break the kiss and bite the inside of my cheek when Sunny tries to keep our mouths connected. “I’m sorry I keep messing things up. I get it. No more bunny pictures. I promise. Just remember how much fun we had while you’re away with your friends.” I pull my phone out of my back pocket and hold it up, snapping one of the selfies I usually hate while I kiss her on the cheek.

I point at Lily. “Make sure no bears eat her.” Sunny’s confusion matches my frustration as I close the door.

Everything good about this weekend evaporates as they drive away.

“I hope she has an okay time.” Daisy pats her hair.

I’d forgotten Sunny’s parents were standing in the driveway with me. “Yeah. Me, too.” I pick up my bag. “Well, I should be heading out. I have to pick up a buddy at the airport on the way to the camp.”

Daisy goes in for a hug. I turn my face in time to avoid the hairspray assault. “It was nice of you to stop by, Miller. I hope we get to see you real soon.” She pats my cheek and sighs.

Robbie stays behind while I throw my bag in the back of the SUV. I shake his hand, wanting to get the hell out of here. I need to call Randy and check flight times, and I need to call Violet. I’m not feeling too good about how things ended here. I also want to text Sunny, and I need to use the voice-to-text function so it doesn’t take a year.

“Thanks for the hospitality, Robbie. I’m sure I’ll see you before the season starts.”

“You take care of yourself, Miller.”

He stands by my door as I turn on the engine. As I’m about to pull out of the driveway, he knocks on my window. I roll it down. My palms are clammy, and I have the lip sweats. “’Sup?”

He inhales and releases the breath slowly. “I know Sunny lied to us.” Leaning on the edge of the window he makes a clicking sound with his tongue. “The neighbors said this vehicle has been here since late Friday night.”

“I didn’t want to get her into trouble—”

He holds up a hand. “Sunny’s a big girl, but she’s still my little girl, so I’m going to ask you to be careful with her. I like you, Miller. I think you’re a nice kid, and I know the media skews things, but I’d hate for my baby to get hurt by someone who’s stringing her along.”

“It’s not like that. I really like Sunny.”

“Then I suggest you step up your game.” He taps the hood of the car as he strolls up the driveway, Andy following.

His parting words don’t make me feel better at all.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

THE KICKER OF PANTS

I drive around the corner and park the car. I don’t have to be at the airport for another seven hours. I have an entire day to kill, and all I can think about is how this weekend went from awesome to total shit. All because of Kale. Well, all because of me and the bunnies and the stupid pictures I can’t control posted all over Instagram and Tumblr and wherever the fuck else. And Kale.

I pull my phone out of my back pocket. I have messages from Sunny:

I wish weed had alone time b4 I left.

Thx 4 cuming 2 visit me.

I had fun. <3

I send her one back, along with the selfie, using voice-to-text so I don’t mess it up:

Me too. I can't wait to see you again. Message me when you get to camp if you have reception.

When I’m done I set the picture as my wallpaper, and then I post it to every social media platform I have access to, and tag her. I add the caption “Spending time with my favorite Canadian girl.” It’s not as in-your-face as I’d like to be, but I think it gets the point across. If any pictures are going up of me with bunnies, I’ll combat them with nice ones of me and Sunny.

I check my emails while I wait for a reply. Randy’s sent two. I use text-to-speech to listen to those. Apparently his flight times have changed, and he’ll be in a few hours earlier. He says he’s cool to wait at the airport in the bar however long he has to. Since Sunny’s already gone, he won’t have to. I shoot him a quick message instead of an email so he gets it right away. Sunny still hasn’t responded, so I call Vi. She picks up on the third ring.

“Buck.” She says my name like a swear word. I don’t even get a chance to say hi before she fires off threats. “Care to explain the hat trick message you left for me yesterday before I beam myself to Canada and beat your ass with a nine iron?”

I forgot about that message. Since I know I’m not in real trouble, I decide to be a jerk, hoping it’ll make me feel better post Kale-introduction. “You don’t golf.”

“I might start. It seems like it might be fun if I’m aiming for your balls. It’d be challenging though, since they’re the size of peas.”

“My balls are the size of Canada, and everyone knows the world maps are wrong, and Canada’s the biggest country out there.”

“Actually, I’m pretty sure that’s Australia, or maybe it’s China or Russia. Geography was never my thing. Seriously, Buck, I’d like to believe you’re smart enough not to brag to me about bagging three bunnies when you’re supposed to be with Sunny.”