Pete put Sarah back in her bed, then went to the phone to call Midgie. He told her about the phone call this morning and how Sarah reacted. He ended it by saying, "She cried herself out. She's calmer now, but I'm scared for her, Midgie. Can you come over?"

Midgie was there in 10 minutes. She went back into Sarah's room and sat on the bed beside her. Sarah scooted up to sit cross legged in the bed.

"Why would he do that, Midgie?" Sarah asked sorrowfully.

"I don't know. I don't understand a lot of what he has done to you." Midgie answered her friend truthfully. She took a small pill bottle from her purse, putting it in Sarah's lap. "You told me before that you took Valium. I got some from one of the clients at the shop. I think you should take them."

Sarah picked up the bottle, looking thoughtfully at the small pills inside. She bit her lip and looked at the clock.

"It's 2:15, if I take these now, I will sleep for a few hours." She looked up at her friend, sadly. "I'm supposed to be at my parents' tonight for dinner. God, I can't face them tonight."

"I'll call your parents and explain. I'm sure they'll understand." Midgie said soothingly. "Take the pills and get some rest."

Sarah took two pills and swallowed them. "Will you and Dave still come over tonight?"

"Do you want us to?"

Sarah nodded and lay her head on her pillow. "I'll sleep for awhile, I'll wake up when you get here." Her voice was devoid of any emotion, she felt numb all over. She just wanted to go back to sleep and wake up to find out that it was all a bad nightmare.

Midgie closed the bedroom door and went into the living room.

Pete was sitting on the couch with his head in his hands. He looked up when Midgie sat down in the chair. "Is she okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, she's going to sleep for a little bit. I gave her some Valium." Midgie said. "She doesn't want to go to her parents for dinner. I told her I'd call and talk to them."

"Thanks, Midgie. Do you think we should still get together tonight?"

"She said that she still wants us to come over. What do you think?"

"If that's what she wants. Come over, we'll all get fucked up and play some games or something. Anything to keep her mind off that motherfucker." Pete ran his hands through his hair as he stared at the floor.

"I agree with that." Midgie got up and went to the door. "Call me if you need anything else. And Pete?"

Pete looked up. "Yeah?"

"You better take one of those Valiums yourself. I can see how shook up you are."

***

Sam was digging through his duffle for a clean tee shirt when he remembered that he hadn't done the laundry. He dumped the bag on the bed in frustration, then stopped when he caught the whiff of Sarah's perfume.

He picked up the Harley shirt she had left behind, holding it to his nose and inhaling. He set it aside, then continued to sort his clothes, preparing to do his laundry. He found a few more items of Sarah's in his bag and he set them over with the shirt.

Gisette was in her room, working, but he had been too restless to stay there. He wanted to come back to the solitude of his room. His mind was full with thoughts of Sarah and he knew he wasn't good company for anyone right now.

After taking the first load to the laundry room, he came back and sat in the chair, softly playing his guitar. He wanted to call Sarah, to tell her he was sorry, but he knew he'd never get through to her.

He wondered what kind of day she was having; if the news of his and Gisette's marriage had even upset her.

In his mind he composed a letter to her, then finally satisfied with what he wanted to tell her, he looked through the drawers for the stationary. He wrote the letter at the desk, wiping away tears as he did. Then he sealed it and set it aside to mail.

He heard a soft knock on his door, and crossing over, he looked through the peep hole, seeing Gisette standing in the hall. He leaned back on the wall. He didn't want to face her right now.

"Yeah, Gisette, what's up?" He called through the door.

"I need to see you, Sam." Gisette sounded troubled.

"Give me a few minutes, I'll come down to your room." Sam went back and sat in the chair again, not waiting for a reply. He picked up his guitar and started strumming it, playing the song he had written for Sarah, the lyrics running through his head. His hands stilled on the guitar strings as he looked down at the blue heart tattooed on his wrist. With a sigh, he laid his guitar down and stood up, heading for Gisette's room.

Gisette handed Sam her room key as he walked through the door.

"What's this for?" He asked.

"So you can come and go into this room." She said. "We're going to be here one more night, so it would be helpful if you had a key to your room."

"I see." Sam looked at the key. "So does this mean I'm moving my things into here?"

"It makes sense, doesn't it? I cancelled your room for tonight. And from now on, we'll be sharing a room." She paused as she looked at him, uncertainly. "Right?"

Sam narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, right." He took the key, pocketing it and turned towards the door to leave, saying over his shoulder. "I'll bring my stuff over in a little bit."

***

Sarah rolled over and checked the time. She had been asleep for 4 hours, not nearly enough time to make her forget what had happened.

Sam had married Gisette. How could he have done that? Sarah thought about all the times Sam had proposed to her and she had told him no. Evidently it only took one proposal to Gisette, and the deed was done. But then, it must also mean that Gisette was pregnant.

So Sam was going to be a daddy. She thought about him and Gisette with a baby, a link that would tie them together forever. The thought stabbed through her like a knife.

She sat up straighter to try to ease the pain. Her mind shut out the images of the happy family. There was nothing she could do about it. This really was her sign to move on and forget him.

Well, at least move on. She would never forget him, he was the only man she had ever loved so fully. The pain that she felt coursing through her body was a constant reminder of that.

Sarah could hear Pete moving around the apartment, packing up the last few items to move. She got out of bed and went out in the hall.

Pete had emptied the hall closet and was taping up the box when he looked up and saw her.

"How are you doing, baby?" Sarah could see the worry in his face.

"I'm going to be okay. It's my birthday and tonight I want to have a blowout party. The saying goes, 'Today is the first day of my life', so that's what I will keep remembering." Sarah said, trying to convince herself of it.

Pete stood up and pulled her into his arms. "That's right, and we'll have a party for you tonight. One like we have never had before, how's that?"

Sarah hugged him, feeling the sweat that dampened his shirt. "Maybe we should go to the tent tonight. It's so hot in here."

"We could do that if you want. I can call Dave and tell him that we'll meet them there. The packing is finished." Pete pulled her away to look in her face. She was pale and had dark circles under her eyes. "Maybe we could go to the beach now? You look like you could use some sun."

He didn't have to say it twice, Sarah ran into her room and came out a minute later in her bikini.

"Let's do this."

Pete held up a fat joint. "Smoke this first."

***

Pete and Sarah stopped at the camp office and told Dave they would be at the tent. He readily agreed that it would be better to party there tonight. They went to their tent, dropping off their cooler and their bags for the night.

Sarah was putting her bag in the tent when Pete walked in, coming up from behind and wrapping his arms around her. "Happy birthday, baby. I don't think I got a chance to tell you that yet."

"Thanks, Pete." Sarah turned around for a hug. "So what did you get me?" She giggled.

Pete shrugged his shoulders. "I remembered that when we were little I used to draw you pictures." He withdrew a paper from the back pocket of his cutoffs. "So I drew this for you."

Sarah took the paper he held out and opened it, crying out happily when she saw it. He had sketched the oak tree from their yard, the one she had gotten stuck in. There was a figure of a girl in the tree and a boy on the ground with his arms held up to her.

"It's nothing fancy. I'm not much of an artist. I wish I could have bought you something, but I'm kind of tapped out right now. That's just to let you know that I will always be there for you." He said, quietly.

"Pete, that's beautiful. Oh my god, this is better than any gift you could have bought." Sarah went up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek and Pete turned his head, meeting her lips with his.

Sarah pulled back and looked at him in surprise. She was caught off guard by the feelings that kiss had stirred up. She leaned in to Pete, and he pulled her in closer, holding her against him. She felt her insides fluttering and a pull in her lower stomach that she thought she'd never feel again.

"I need you, Pete, please." She begged, and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Pete kissed her, deepening the kiss and waiting for Sarah to make the next move. She parted her lips, and his tongue joined hers. They were both much more experienced than when they were fifteen. Their tongues intertwined sensuously as they enjoyed the heat that was building between them. Sarah felt his arousal against her and she moved closer, to press her body against his.

"Sarah, are you sure?" Pete asked, breathlessly.

"Please, let's not question it. I just want to go with this feeling." Sarah answered.

She watched as he spread out her sleeping bag and brought his over to place on top as extra cushioning. Then he took her hand and pulled her down with him. He ran his hand over her belly and up, slipping off her bikini top, stopping there as he looked into her eyes.

She closed her eyes as she helped him he pull off her bottoms.

"Baby, you have no idea how often I've dreamed of this." Pete said softly. He lowered his head and kissed her breast, his tongue found her nipple and teased it, bringing moans from Sarah.

She reached down to unhook his cutoffs and pull them off.

Pete slid a leg between hers, spreading them as he lay over her. He ran his fingertips down her jaw, his grey eyes looked smokey in the dim light of the tent.

"Baby, I want you. I want to be inside you so bad."

They looked into each others eyes as their bodies moved together in a slow rhythm.

She saw in his eyes, the moment when he could take no more, and she moved faster, her body urging him on, until they were completely lost in each other. Sarah pulled Pete's mouth to hers and their tongues entwined as he pushed forcefully into her one last time.

"Hey!" They both heard the zipper on the tent door and Midgie's voice. Pete quickly tried to pull the bags over them, yelling at the same time.

"Give us a minute!"

But it was too late, Midgie had stepped inside the tent and was staring in surprise at the two of them, their legs tangled, their hips still locked tightly together.

"Hello-o-o!" She giggled.

Pete and Sarah looked at each other. Sarah closed her eyes and started giggling and Pete soon joined in their laughter.

"So much for a private moment here." Pete said, good naturally.

"I didn't see a white ribbon on the zipper!" Midgie teased. "Should I come back later?"

"Yes!" They both shouted and Midgie backed out.

"Come up to the office later!" She sang out. She couldn't wait to get back to Dave and tell him what she had just walked into.

Pete looked down on Sarah. Their laughter had died out and they both had turned serious.

"Are we ready for this?" He asked.

"I don't know." Sarah bit her lip. "All I know is that it felt good. You made me feel good. Better than I have for days. I can't promise you anything. You know that, right?" She looked up at him, uncertainly.

"Baby, I will be happy with whatever you give me. I just want you to be happy." Pete kissed her again and Sarah hugged her legs tighter around him.

"Just make love to me." She murmured against his neck.

***

Sarah's birthday party that night was just what everyone needed. They toasted her entry into adulthood many times and partied until the tent was filled with smoke.

Midgie rested her head on Dave's shoulder, eyeing the couple before her. "So now, you have a two bedroom apartment! And you only need one. Will you still be moving?"

"Air conditioning." Sarah reminded her.

Pete agreed with her. "My place is like an oven during the day. And worse at night. I will be looking forward to some cool air to sleep in." He slid his eyes over to Sarah, grinning. "Or do other things."

She laughed and punched his arm. "I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Too late to act innocent, Sarah! I heard that you two were caught in the act today." Dave laughed. He reached over to the container that he had brought. "This is our gift to you."

Sarah opened it and laughed. "Hash brownies! Yum!" She passed them around and they all enjoyed them.

Sarah jumped up as she remembered something. "I found this in my bag the other day." She pulled out a small wooden box. "I forgot that I had it." She opened it and pulled out a flat, square foil.

They all watched as she unfolded it to reveal the white powder inside. "Cocaine!" She said, dreamily. She ran to their footlocker and found a mirror, dumping some of the powder on it.

"This looks interesting." Midgie said as she watched Sarah expertly cutting it with the razor she had in the box. Sarah arranged the lines, then picked up the straw she had included in her little kit.

"Has everyone done this before?" She asked. Pete and Dave nodded, but Midgie shook her head.

"Oh, are you in for a treat!" Dave winked at Midgie.

Sarah laughed at that and answered back, her eyes sparkling. "Or you, maybe?"

They all snorted their lines, and Sarah showed Midgie how to save the little bit of the last line.

Dave pulled Midgie to her feet. "I think we're going to be going now."

Sarah shook a little into a piece of foil, handing it to them on their way out. "Here," she said, "Enjoy."

After they left, Pete laid out the sleeping bags and they stretched out on them, side by side.

"Did you enjoy your party?" He asked her.

"Um hm-m." Sarah felt the coke numbing her mouth. She looked mischievously at Pete. "Now I am going to thank you properly."

He laid back as she removed his cutoffs and lowered her head, her lips and tongue moving on and around him, thanking him in a way that he would never forget.