We walked into the house together, went into the kitchen together, took the cups and saucers and all we would need to the back porch table together, and sat down together.

Luna sprawled under the table at our feet.

It was so great being around them. It felt right, familiar. I had known them both, and Faith, since kindergarten, and we had been best friends since. Until I suddenly left town and stopped speaking to them.

I served the tea into their cups. “How did you guys find out I was back?” I asked.

Sophie fidgeted with her spoon. “We’re still friends with the guys. Jason and Luke told us.”

Rachel gave me a wary look. “So, you’re over Ryan?”

I cringed at his name. I hadn’t said that name out loud in so long. “There was nothing to be over.” I picked up my spoon and stirred my tea, my movements brusque. “Can we not talk about the guys?” They exchanged another look. “What?”

“Nothing.” Rachel shrugged. “You asked not to talk about the guys, so then we won’t talk about them.”

I nodded. “Good. Now tell me what you two have been up to.”

Sophie told me she was studying economics at USC and working at her father’s insurance company, which was odd since I remembered her hating math and anything to do with it. And Rachel told me she studied jewelry at SCAD Savannah, whatever that meant. She came home almost every weekend though. At the end of each semester, she brought home the jewelry she designed in class and sold the pieces to our friends and their mothers and whoever showed up.

“These are mine.” She gestured toward her necklace and her earrings. Small black stones accented by bronze details.

“This one too,” Sophie said, raising her hand and showing me her ring. A large flower made of pink stones.

Wow, she was talented. “They are gorgeous. Do you have more? I would like to see them.”

“Didn’t bring them over.” She pouted. “But I’ll bring some another time. We have three months to catch up now.”

I smiled, equally glad. “I know.” Perhaps this summer wouldn’t be a complete disaster after all.

After putting her cup down, Rachel rummaged through her purse.

Sophie reached for one of Mama’s famous coconut cookies. “Where’s the fire?”

Rachel pulled something silver from insider her purse. “Ta-da! We have to take a picture of this moment.”

I grimaced at the camera she was holding. The teacup fell from my hand onto the table, spilling tea on the cookies.

“Rachel,” Sophie said, waving at the camera.

Rachel stared from me to the camera and back at me. Realization shone in her eyes. “Oh, gosh, sorry.” She put it away quickly. “So, so sorry.”

“You’ll have to have patience with us.” Sophie grabbed a few napkins and started working at the mess, while I just stared, completely out of it. “We didn’t think pictures would upset you.”

So much fuss because of a camera. Get a grip, damn it! I couldn’t hide from pictures and cameras forever. Although, I wanted to.

“I don’t want to let pictures and cameras upset me, but I can’t help it. Not after …” I swallowed hard through a big lump in my throat. There was no way I could finish that sentence. Taking a deep breath, I picked up a napkin and helped Sophie dry the tabletop. At least my teacup had been almost empty. “It’s okay.” I pursed my lips then forced the next words out. “I need to get past those details.”

“I thought you said you didn’t have anything to get over,” Rachel commented, her tone matter-of-fact.

“Rachel!” Sophie chided her.

“What?” Rachel shrugged. “It’s not like we don’t know what happened. If you want to get over it, then talk about it. I’m sure it’ll help.”

I leaned back in my chair. She was right. Talking would probably help. But I hadn’t talked about it for four years, not even to Kristin. “I’m not ready.”

Sophie rested her hand on mine. “It’s okay. We understand.”

“We’re here when you’re ready,” Rachel added. Always so direct and fierce. She hadn’t changed one bit.

“Thanks,” I whispered.

We fell into a comfortable silence. It was good to be with them again. They had been my best friends, my pillars, my wake up call, my confidants, my everything for so many years. I could easily see the three of us hanging out together all the time during the summer.

“Your parents still have it,” Sophie said.

I turned to her and followed her gaze to the largest tree on the right side of the yard. My tree house. “It looks like it.”

“We spent some great times there,” Rachel said.

“We did.” I sighed, remembering the slumber parties we had almost every weekend in that tree house. I reached for my fallen teacup.

Sophie gestured toward it. “Do you think it could still hold us?”

I served myself more tea. “What do you mean?”

A wicked smile took over Sophie’s face. “If we could still go up there and stay up there.”

Rachel gasped. “You mean have a slumber party? Up there?”

“Yes,” Sophie answered.

Rachel clapped her hands. “That would be awesome!”

I almost spitted the tea I was drinking. “You two are nuts. We haven’t done that since we were what, thirteen, fourteen?”

“We’re twenty now,” Sophie said, “but who cares? I think we would have so much fun. We could pretend everything was back to normal, like it was before. We could do each other’s nails while talking trash about the guys and planning our pranks on the bitches at our schools.”

Curious, I turned to her. “What happened to the bitches anyway?”

Rachel cocked her eyebrows at me. “Are you asking about a specific bitch?”

“Hell no.” I pressed my hands together. “Tell me about all the others, but Caryn, please.”

Sophie wiggled her eyebrows at me. “All right, I’ll tell you about them during our slumber party.”

Rachel giggled, and I realized the decision was made for me.

Like three teenagers, we were going to have a slumber party in my tree house.

Chapter Five

Ryan

“How did you do this?” I asked, leaning over Jason’s street bike.

A little odd for a Saturday morning, he had brought his messed up bike over to my garage a few minutes after I emerged from my apartment to work on my cruiser bike.

Jason crouched beside me. “Racing last night. The guy closed up on me, and my bike skidded off. I was able to jump from under it before the weight really settled in, but my favorite leather jacket is currently in the trash.”

If it didn’t hurt to talk about bike racing, I would have laughed.

Jason, Luke, and Ethan continued with occasional late-night illegal races, but since my last race almost four years ago, I hadn’t hopped on a bike, much less gone with them and had a good time. Although, they tried to take me.

Once, they told me we were going to a pub in Columbia, so we all filed into Ethan’s Camaro. Instead of going to Columbia, they took me to one of the secret racing places around Lexington. I lost it. The car hadn’t even come to a full stop when I stepped out and marched away. The guys came after me, but I was out of it.

“You have to face it, Ryan,” Luke said, pulling my arm.

Now I know he meant well, but at the time, red was all I saw. Because of that, I buried my fist in his nose.

Luke fell back, totally surprised.

Jason faced me next, and shit, I almost hit him too. Ethan, who was larger than I was, finally held my arms behind my back. That was when the red started fading. The anger gave way to sadness. Regret.

I jerked Ethan off. “Let me go,” I warned, my voice rough, dark. “If you guys don’t want any more broken noses, don’t bring me here again.” I whirled on the heels of my boot and marched home. It took me forty minutes, but it was good. I needed to clear my mind.

“Ethan also lost, though he didn’t fall off his bike,” Jason said, pulling me back from my memories. “Luke won, as usual.”