Sara walked hastily down the boardwalk. The great house loomed in front of her. Its first floor windows continued to flash brilliantly with the strobe lights.

The poolside D.J.'s music was still as loud as ever.

Sara pushed around a group of girls smoking cigarettes to grab her high heels. As soon as she could find Erin, she was out of there. She cursed herself for leaving her cellphone in Erin's car. She had no idea what time it was. But it felt late.

As she passed by the hot tub, someone grabbed her ankle. She flinched and looked down.

The tux boy she'd run from earlier grinned up at her. He no longer wore his tux. Actually, he was hardly wearing anything. It was hard to tell with all the bubbles popping in the spa around him.

"Little Bunny!" he cooed. His face was extremely handsome. If she wasn't already so affected by the boy with the beautiful name, she would probably be swooning at this guy's feet.

His golden hair was damp from the water. His muscular shoulders were enormous. She guessed he was either a swimmer or a linebacker.

"Oh, hey," Sara said, pausing. She glanced around him at the other people in the hot tub. There were two girls in bikinis and two other guys. The girls looked like dancers from a New York strip club. Their makeup was so thick, the steam from the hot tub made their features look almost animated.

The dancers glanced at Sara and then looked away. Their faces said it all. She wasn't wanted.

The other two guys in the hot tub beamed at her. There was something familiar about the two of them, but she couldn't be sure what it was.

"Come in!" the tux boy said. He gave her ankle a flirtatious squeeze.

Sara hesitated. She wasn't really in the mood to talk to boys. She was still so angry at Bentley. Just when she thought maybe he liked her, he had to go and ruin it by opening his incredibly sexy mouth and then saying the most humiliating words to her.

"Am I your type?" Sara asked the tux boy with mock politeness.

Tux boy cracked a smile. "If you get in here, I'll prove that you are."

Sara smiled down at him. He really was handsome. And his wet skin glowed so nicely in the fairy lights above the tub.

Sara dropped her shoes and sat down at the edge of the tub. She dipped her foot into the water. "Eek, it's so hot," she said.

Tux boy smirked. "That's because I'm in it."

The two ladies who looked like strip club dancers and their guys climbed out of the water. Sara saw that the women wore butt-baring thongs.

The two older guys -- they looked mid-twenties--high fived the tux boy before they departed. "Later, Mayor," the guys called.

After they'd gone, tux boy turned his attention to Sara. He stuck out his hand. "I'm Kurt Mayor. Freshman at Columbia. And you are?"

Sara felt shy. He was in college. "I'm Sara," she said. "I go to the high school here in Red, Connecticut."

Kurt's grin widened. He let his eyes roam up and down her body. His look made her uncomfortable. She was about to stand up when he grabbed her wrist.

"Here, you need a drink," he said. "It'll loosen you up. You look stiff."

Sara took the red plastic cup. By the smell of it, she was sure it was filled with vodka.

But when she took a sip, the taste was not what she expected. It was nasty. She made a face.

"Whoa! New to whiskey, I take it?" Kurt laughed. He took the cup back from her and finished it. He picked up a bottle near the edge of the tub and re-filled it.

"Here, try again. This one's fresh." He handed her the cup.

She wasn't really sure why she wanted to hang out with this guy. After all, he'd been aggressive with her on the dance floor. But with all the people still around the pool area and swimming in the main pool, she felt safer than she had in the dark dance hall.

And besides, Bentley didn't want her. He'd told her so himself. But this boy did want her.

Sara put the cup to her lips and drank the burning liquid down in one big gulp.