The chiming echoes once more, followed by several knocks, and Max’s eyes dart to the door and back, his hip still leaning against the counter. The doorbell goes off again in three quick, impatient bursts.

“Hold that thought.” He lifts his index finger and looks at me for a long moment before he turns to the front door.

I watch from the kitchen island as Max opens the door and Felicia rushes in wrapping her arms around Max’s neck.

“I’ve been so worried about you!” she cries, falling back on her heels and scrutinizing his face. “What happened to you?”

“I got sick.”

The same realization hits me again. This is why I haven’t ended things with Eric. Because I need to continue to remind myself to avoid Max. Because I’m not Max’s type, and Felicia is my proof—standing in front of me, wearing a dress that looks like something you’d wear on Halloween rather than a warm July morning. I drop the piece of toast I’m holding, no longer hungry.

The familiar need to flee makes my muscles tighten, and I quickly grab my phone and keys that are thankfully on the counter, along with my e-reader and head toward the door where they’re still standing.

“Ace, hang on,” Max says, pulling Felicia’s hands free from his neck as I walk past.

I stop on the porch and look over my shoulder, refusing to turn around. “You guys have fun.” I force a smile across my face before heading back over to my house.

My parents arrive home sporting bronze tans. My mom looks well rested and ready to take on the world, whereas my dad looks restless and desperate to take on the world. He and I spend the next couple of weeks golfing, taking Lilly on different trips to the beach, the zoo, and her personal favorite: the pond where we feed the ducks. I think we’re both feeling the end of summer approaching too quickly as we try to silently fight it by not discussing it and immersing ourselves in things we enjoy doing together. Mom works tirelessly on a fundraising project for a board she’s chair of. I’m fairly certain she often works harder for free than a lot of people that get paid.

Dante’s end of summer party arrives, and Kendall and I spend a ridiculous amount of the day primping in preparation. Abby finally arrived back on the West Coast this morning and is meeting us here before we head to the party.

“Yellow again, huh?” Kendall smirks as she enters the bathroom where I’m applying blush. I hadn’t even considered that the first party we’d seen Max and Jameson at I’d been wearing the same bright lemon shade. I glance down at my tight-fitted dress with a sweetheart neckline that accentuates my chest.

I glance at Kendall and see the royal blue dress accentuating every curve of her body. She grins mischievously and turns exposing a slit that cuts straight up the back going so high it’s nearly obscene.

“If you drop something tonight, you probably want to just leave it be.” I slap her backside, causing her to giggle.

Seconds later the doorbell rings and the sounds of Mom greeting Abby fill the house. The thrill of finally seeing her after she’s been gone so long makes me practically fall down the stairs in my haste to reach her. We emit matching squeals as we rush to one another locking our arms around each other. She begins talking at a rapid rate; her Jersey accent that she’d managed to nearly rid the last year hangs thickly on every word.

When we arrive at the party, we’re over an hour late and the place is packed. Each year this party seems to grow. It’s no longer just people we went to school with, and I’m instantly reminded of this as we pass a large group of people I don’t recognize. Kendall leads us through a couple of large groups congregating in the living room that has been turned into a makeshift dance floor, and I can’t help but scan the faces searching for dark hair and cobalt blue eyes.

“Why don’t we start with a drink?” Kendall asks, nodding her head toward the kitchen. I look to see if this is code for ‘I see Max,’ or ‘you’re being too obvious in your pursuit of stalking.’ She gives me a weak smile, which confirms it’s the latter.

We traipse through the crowd, making our way to the kitchen where a large bar is set up.

“Alright, it looks like we’re going to dedicate this night to Jose!” Kendall grabs the neck of a clear bottle and pours the tequila into two shot glasses as I fill my own with water from the tap. Each of us lifts a glass in cheers.

“To the two greatest women I know!” Abby cries out.

“To friendship!” Kendall cheers.

“Here, here!”

We toss our empty plastic shot glasses into a nearby garbage that’s already full as I lead us to the living room. Avoiding running into anyone becomes a challenge as my eyes rake through the faces and bodies.

My attention is captured by an arm waving above the crowd, and I see Jameson and Landon making their way over to us. I know Jameson has been attempting to smooth things over with Kendall after his trip to Washington and that she desperately wants to reconcile their relationship, though she’s understandably a little timid. He’d assured her that nothing had happened with his ex, promising that there wasn’t even a kiss shared.

“Hey!” Landon greets us, sensing the tension between the two. He pulls me into a tight hug and makes his way to Abby, then to Kendall, who’s standing at the end of our short train. “You guys look amazing!” he yells over the loud volume of voices and music as Jameson follows suit in hugging each of us before standing beside Kendall.

“Do you guys want to dance?” Abby asks, motioning to the dance floor.

Landon nods in response, inclining his head, motioning for us to follow him.

We begin dancing, slowly getting a feel for the crowd and each other. Whether it’s the pulsing music or the shot of Jose they took, things seem to quickly loosen up and it’s not long before we’re laughing and having a good time. Thankfully I become too distracted to search for Max—at least for a while. When the urge returns, I motion that I’m going to the kitchen for more water, declining when they offer to come with me.

“Hey, I saw you dancing out there. You’re really amazing,” a deep voice whispers in my ear as I fill a red plastic cup with water. I close my eyes and take a long drink, hoping ignoring this guy will give him a hint.

It doesn’t.

His hand reaches forward, lightly touching my elbow.

“Thanks, it’s the shoes!” I reply sarcastically, pulling out of his reach as I fill my cup again. I learned pretty quickly not to smile or laugh when a guy hits on you when you aren’t interested; it only encourages them.

“I’m pretty sure it’s the dress.” His voice no longer a quiet raspy whisper, but a familiar deep voice that has me spinning around in shock.

“It’s the dress, it’s the dress!” I squeal, laughing, as I throw my arms around Pedro Rodriguez, a good friend of mine from high school. He lifts me up, releasing a growl as he squeezes me tight.

“How are you?” I ask as he sets me down. His dark brown eyes gleam with excitement, and his infectious smile shines bright, making my own smile grow.

“Good, good! I’m heading back to Arizona State in a couple of weeks, so I had to come enjoy some end of summer fun!” I nod, smiling. “What about you, beautiful? Whose heart are you breaking tonight?”

“All of them!” I answer with a wink. “I’m going to head back to the dance floor. Do you want to come? Kendall’s with me, and my best friend Abby. You’ll love her! Oh and a couple of guys that are my neighbors’ buddies are here with us. They’re cool though.”

“Alright, let’s go make them all jealous!” He takes my hand in his and I feel the warmth of his skin as his arm brushes against me.