Skipping up my front porch steps, I turn to lean my back against the front door with a lazy smile on my face. I reach up to tuck my hair behind my ear as I eye the bad boy before me, watching his slow steps bringing him closer towards me. With his hands tucked into his pockets, a small, dimpled smile playing on his lips, and a few strands of hair hanging loosely in front of his captivating turquoise eyes, he looks like the epitome of cute.

"Thank you for taking me home," I tell him honestly before adding with a grin, "And for buying me ice cream."

Reece shrugs, leaning against the banister, "Not a problem, Sunshine."

Raising an eyebrow at him teasingly, I reply, "You didn't have to walk me to my door, y'know?"

He breathes out a laugh that instantly brings a grin to my face, "I just wanted to make sure you weren't gonna fall over or anything, being half-drunk and all."

I roll my eyes with a scoff, "I'm not that drunk."

"You were pretty drunk at the party."

"Yeah, well, the ice cream must have sobered me up a little. I'm not that drunk anymore." I protest.

His little dimpled smile widens into something even more impossibly gorgeous. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, Sunshine." He crosses his ankles as he leans back on the banister, head tilted slightly to the side as he watches me.

A smirk plays on my lips as I begin to turn around, "Only dreams of you." I unlock my front door before turning back to him to watch his head tilt back as a deep chuckle rumbles out of him. I bite down on my bottom lip, listening to the rich laugh ring through the night air.

"I'm flattered." His eyes twinkle under the porch lights, turquoise irises seeming to glow as if to light up my insides further.

"You should be." I tell him with a grin, toying with the sleeves of the large jacket I'm wearing. My eyes widen when I realize whose jacket it is. "I still have your jacket on!" I hurriedly shrug the leather material off my body, taking in one last breath of the leathery aroma mixed with Reece's cologne.

He takes it from me with a small smile, "Thanks."

"Thank you for letting me wear it." I counter, stepping inside my house but never taking my eyes off him.

He shakes his head, trying and failing to mask his grin, "Goodnight, Sunshine."

"Goodnight, Reece." I watch him as he walks back to his car, only shutting my front door when he has shut the car door with him safely inside. I lean back against my front door, a giddy smile on my face as I breathe in deeply. Tonight has been incredible.

The sound of soft pattering footsteps descending the stairs has me opening my eyes and I bend down to greet my Golden Retriever, Mack, with lots of cuddles.

"Hey, Mack. Did you miss me?" I giggle as he darts his tongue out to lick my cheek, scratching behind his ears just how he likes it.

"How was the party?" My dad's voice comes from the kitchen doorway and I look up to find him watching me with a small smile.

"It was good. Really good, actually." I tell him, although the party isn't what has me so happy. It's the impromptu ice cream outing and the leather-jacket-wearing bad boy that came along with it that won't let the smile drop from my face.

"That's good." Dad nods, taking a sip of what I presume is tea. He never drinks coffee at night. "Who's the boy that dropped you off?"

I don't know why a blush tints my cheeks, but I fight it off. "Just a friend from school. I had a bit to drink, so he took me to get ice cream then dropped me home."

"That's nice of him. He didn't try anything?"

I laugh, standing to my feet with a roll of my eyes, "No, Dad. He's not like that. He's extremely sweet. Promise."

"Just making sure, Sweetheart. I trust your judgement." He takes another sip of his drink, hiding his smile.

"Good." I smile, bending down to take off my converse. I'm not good in heels. "Where's Mom?"

Dad's face falls slightly, "She's gone out with some friends. She won't be home until late."

I frown, "It is late."

His smile is forced, "I know."

I sigh, walking forward, and leaning up to press a kiss to his cheek. "Night, Dad."

"Night, Sweetheart." I leave him in the kitchen with Mack to finish his tea, making my way upstairs to my room. The moment my feet hit the second-floor landing, one of the doors opens up and two heads pop out, looking at me with wide eyes.

"The guy who dropped you off was so hot!" My younger sister, Bella exclaims in a whisper once she sees me.

Claire, Bella's best friend jabs her in the side with her elbow, "You can't just say that!"

"Why not? Did you see his tattoos?" Bella looks at her with wide eyes.

Claire rolls her eyes, "Duh."

I laugh, gesturing for them to follow me into my room. They do so without question, shutting the door behind them before sitting on my bed. Both of them stare up at me with wide, expectant eyes.

"He's just a friend, okay? I saw him at the party, and I'd had a bit too much to drink, so he took me to get ice cream then brought me home." I tell them calmly, going over to my dresser to get out some pajamas.

"He did not look at you like a friend." Claire shakes her head.

"He looked like he wanted to eat you for breakfast, lunch and dinner." Bella agrees.

I splutter, cheeks turning red, "I can assure you, he did not look at me like that. I've only just become friends with him recently. Also, you should not be talking about him like that! He's almost five years older than you, Bels!"

Ignoring my comment, her eyes suddenly widen, "Wait! Is that the same guy who dropped you home the other day? Max's older brother?"

I smirk. When I told her about meeting Reece's siblings, she had told me she knows Max. She didn't have to say anything for me able to tell she has a crush on him. "The very same."

~

"I need your help." Anna tells me as soon as I answer her call on Saturday afternoon. It's the day after the party, and I'm not too hungover – thankfully. Prior to this unexpected call, I have been writing some notes for History class, but I'm happy to take any opportunity for a break.

"Your personal helper, at your service." I reply, leaning back against my headboard, taking a moment to forget about war dates and death stats. Too depressing.

"Right. I may have a little bit of a problem. Really, I should say we because Reece and Liam don't know what to do either. My parents have gone away a town over for my mom's work dinner thing, so it's just us looking after the kids. We don't know what to do, so we have come to the decision to call you." Anna explains.

"Sounds serious."

She sighs, "Here's the thing, Macy and Sophie are basically have been in love with you ever since that night you came over for dinner. Cody too, honestly, which is a shock because he's always been super shy."

"Aww, they're so cute. I love them too!"

"I'm glad you feel that way." I can practically hear her grin. "The problem with their love for you is they will. Not. Stop. Going on about having a sleepover with you. Now, we have tried to distract them by offering to go to the movies, the park, the beach – anything really. But nothing is working. So really what I called to ask is-"

"Of course I'll come over for a sleepover!" I cut her off with a laugh, already getting up from my bed.

Anna lets out a sigh, "Thank God. You are honestly a life saver. Seriously, I love you. Come over whenever. Maybe bring a swimsuit because Reece made the mistake of telling the kids we could go to the beach and I bet they'll try to cash that promise in tomorrow while you're here."

I grin, already grabbing a bag out of my closet to pack some things. "Sounds good. I'll be over in about an hour."

"Perfect! See you soon!"

Once I have finished the call with Anna, I quickly start packing a few of my things like a change of clothes, swimmers, toiletries, and anything else I might need. It quickly occurs to me that I need to double check with my parents first, although I'm sure they will be fine with me going.

"Hey, Mom," I greet my mother as I walk into the kitchen, spotting her sitting at the dining table at her laptop.

She looks up to smile at me, taking her glasses off the bridge of her nose, "Hey, Sweetheart. How's the studying going?"

"Fine, I guess. I'm getting sick of learning about war though." I tell her, heading into the kitchen to get a glass of water.

"You wanted to take History." She tells me, shaking her head.

"Yeah, I guess that one's on me." I chuckle, taking a sip of water once I have filled my glass. "Hey, do you think I could go over to a friend's house for a sleepover tonight?"

"Sure, Sweetheart. Is it Amanda?"

"No, this is a new friend, actually. Or, I should say friends really. Their names are Anna and Reece. They're the ones I stayed with for dinner the other day."

"Oh, yes, you told me about them. Didn't you say there are six kids or something?"

"That's them. So it's okay if I go?" I ask hopefully.

"Of course. Just text me when you get to their house, so I know you've gotten there safely."

I grin, moving towards her, and leaning down to kiss her cheek. "I will. Thanks Mom!"

Going back upstairs to my room, I quickly gather my things, checking myself in the mirror before I leave. My blue jeans fit perfectly and my wide-neck, long-sleeved green shirt has no stains on it yet. I call it a win.

It doesn't take long for me to drive to the Carter household and once I arrive, I quickly make my way up their front porch steps with my bag in hand. I knock twice before waiting patiently for someone to answer. It takes a few moments, but finally the door opens. Craning my head back to look up at Reece, his lips are curved into the smallest of smiles. "Hey, Sunshine."

"Layla!" My gaze immediately drops down when I hear the little voice greet me and my smile widens at the sight of Macy sitting at Reece's feet, clinging to his leg.

I bend down in front of her, tilting my head to the side, "Why are you all the way down here, Princess?"

She shrugs with a grin, "So I don't have to walk anywhere."

I furrow my brows as I stand back up to my full height, looking to Reece. He only sighs, stepping back, and dragging his foot along, causing Macy to move along with him. She giggles hysterically, gripping his leg tighter as he moves to the side to let me in.

"Makes sense." I murmur quietly as I step inside, allowing Reece to close the door behind me.

Macy suddenly gasps, scrambling to her feet and letting go of Reece's leg. He lets out an obvious sigh of relief, shaking out his leg. Grabbing my hand, Macy starts leading me towards the living room. "You're gonna help us make a fort!" She exclaims as she sits me down on the couch. Sophie and Cody immediately notice that I have arrived, scrambling over to say hello to me.

"Why don't you ask her instead?" Reece asks from behind me as he walks past the couch and into the hallway.

Macy sighs exasperatedly before rephrasing, "Can you please help us build a fort?"

I laugh, happy to agree, "Of course."

"Thank God you are here!" Anna comes running into the living room then, quickly capturing me in a hug. I gladly hug her back before letting go as she stands back up straight. "They have not stopped asking about you."

"Well I'm here now. We're building a fort I think." I turn to the three kids with raised eyebrows and they all immediately nod their heads.

"Here are some blankets." Reece announces as he walks back into the room, arms piled high with blankets.

"And some sheets." Liam adds, walking in behind him with a stack of fabric as well. Once he has set it down on the couch, he pauses to smile at me, "Hey, Blondie."

"Let's go get some pillows!" Macy grabs my hand in hers, tugging me down the hall with her. Sophie follows after us so we can ransack the rooms for pillows. I grab the ones from their beds while Macy grabs the ones from Cody's room and Reece's room and Sophie takes the ones from Anna's room and Max's room.

With armfuls of pillows, the three of us walk back into the living room where the fort building is already underway. After most of the structural work is completed by Anna and me, we start adding blankets and sheets and pillows in, on, and around the fort. After Anna grabs her fairy lights from her room and hangs them inside, the fort is finally complete.

"I'd say we did a pretty good job." Anna remarks, holding her hand up for a high five which I happily give her.

I grin, "And I'd say you're right."