The next week goes by in a blur of lake water, sunshine, tangled limbs under tangled sheets, kisses, laughs and pleasure, books, cooking and eating, shopping, and playing pranks on the guys.

I haven't often seen my bed these past nights, having spent them either in Tess's or Eli's bed. I am not complaining. Right now, life is good. I am thankful for that.

We also haven't seen much of Tommy, which is odd since he likes to be a bother but nobody dared to question it, in fear it would summon him back into our lives.

Today is Friday and somehow, Tess and I managed to convince the guys - Eli, Ben, and Simon - to go clubbing with us. The only condition Ben and Simon had, was to go to a bar to pregame instead of doing it at home. Eli didn't care either way, because of his non-drinking.

The bar is dimly lit and the audience male-dominated. Eli grumbles in distaste and immediately snakes an arm around my waist, pulling me into the side of his body. I raise my brows at him in question but he just gives me a shrug. I didn't know he was the overly protective type, he seems so aloof most of the time.

Isabelle and Tess make a run for the bar, telling us to grab a table, they'll handle the drinks. We find a booth and make ourselves comfortable. The guys start talking about this week's football game and I zone out, looking around the dark bar. At the other end of the room, I notice a guy intently looking at me. I cannot deny his good looks but I am not the slightest bit interested in him. He reminds me a little bit of Zac Efron, just more brooding and taller. I then notice I have been looking at him for a while and when I meet his eyes, he shoots me a wink. I laugh a little and shake my head, switching my attention to Tess and Isabelle coming back with our drinks.

After two rounds of drinks, I feel my phone vibrating in my purse. I have a slight buzz going on so I fumble a bit until I find it and accept the call, not bothering to look at the caller ID.

"Hello?!" I shout into my phone over the loud noise in the bar.

"Romy? Where are you?" I recognize my mother's cold tone. Shit. I don't want to talk to her and ruin my mood for what was supposed to be a very fun night. However, she calls so rarely that I feel the need to talk to her, anyway.

"Gimme a second," I tell her and look at Eli who's sitting at the end of the booth, blocking my exit point.

"I need to take this, I'll be outside for a minute," I say into his ear and he nods, stands up and lets me out of the booth.

Outside, the noise is considerably less and I put the phone back to my ear.

"Hey mom," I greet her.

"Took you long enough, it's not nice to leave me waiting like that. Where are you? A party?" her tone is laced with judgment.

"No, I'm at a bar."

She snorts. "Shouldn't you be studying to get up your less than perfect grades instead of partying it up all night?"

Pfft. My grades may not be perfect but they definitely aren't bad.

"It's past midnight, mom. I wouldn't study this late either way." I deadpan, already done with this conversation. I'm not surprised she's calling me this late, that woman never sleeps.

"I see. So you're just wasting time this summer," she states as if that is a fact.

I roll my eyes before answering. "Why are you calling, mom?"

"It's not like I wanted to, your sister said it's the right thing to do," she snips.

Of course, she does what my sister says. She would never listen to any advice I would give her or call me on her own accord.

"I see. Well, I'm doing good, thanks for asking by the way. I hope you and dad are well, too. Are you having a nice time in Barbados?" I quip, my lips pressing into a tight line after the words leave my mouth.

"Oh yeah, it is amazing here, you are totally missing out," she starts.

Not wanting to listen to her go on about how much of a great time they are having without me, I make up an excuse to end the call.

"That's great. Listen, mom? I have to go, my friends are calling me. Bye." With that, I hang up, not waiting for her lecture on my rude manners.

I heave out a long sigh and rub my temples, staring up into the dark night sky.

"Lying to your mom, huh? That's not good," a voice from behind startles me. I whip around and come face to face with the Zac Efron lookalike. He has a kind smile on his face and a cigarette dangles from his fingers.

I manage a nervous laugh. "You have no idea what she's like. Lying is the only way I can protect myself from her," I explain, not sure why I felt the need to. It's not like I owe this stranger anything.

He exhales a stream of smoke. "Sorry to hear that."

I give him a short nod, preparing to make my way back into the bar.

"I'm Adam."

"Romy."

"That's a pretty name," he smiles.

"Thanks," I clear my throat and point my thumb at the bar. "I should head back in."

"Why? Your friends aren't calling you, like you told your mom." Adam raises his eyebrows expectantly.

"Well, I came here with them so I'm gonna join them." Again, why am I even explaining anything to him?

"You got a boyfriend?"

That question caught me a little off guard. I'm not sure if Eli is my boyfriend, we haven't talked about that. I don't think he is but I don't know what else to call him and I don't want this Adam guy thinking I have any interest in him so I decide to lie, again.

"I do."

"What, that old fart in there?" Now it's him pointing his thumb at the bar.

"He's not old," I defend him, crossing my arms in front of my chest.

"He's what, 35?"

"32," I correct him with a scowl.

"Same thing," he says, shrugging his shoulders and dropping his cigarette on the ground, stomping it out with his foot. Smoking is so unattractive.

"How old are you?" I ask him. He doesn't look that young either but the way he talks about people over 30, he must be around my age.

"24, what about you?"

"None of your business." I start to walk past him but he grabs me by the elbow. His grip is gentle and he lets me go right when I stop walking.

"Look, I am certain you are closer in age to me than to him. I can show you a good time and I am not only referring to time spent in bed. I am a fun, exciting person to be around, I promise. And considering the way you talked to your mom, you're probably not too close to daddy-dearest either. So I can help you get over your daddy issues instead of exploiting them like your current boyfriend." He stepped closer to me while talking and when his hand reaches out to tuck a loose strand of hair behind my ear, I take a large step back.

"Don't touch me," I snarl at him. "Who do you think you are, huh? Last I checked, you are not my therapist. You don't just go around diagnosing random people. That is incredibly arrogant and presumptuous of you. You want to hear some things about yourself? You're manipulative and narcissistic. You're trying to feed into my insecurities in order to get me to sleep with you. That's disgusting and pathetic," I calmly tell him. "Have a good rest of your night," I grit out and walk into the bar.

Great, my mood is definitely not good anymore. I need to do something, to change that. My buzz has worn off by now so I promptly storm to the bar and order two shots of tequila, downing them quickly. I thank the bartender for the liquid courage that I desperately need for what I am about to do. I walk back to our booth, ignoring the questioning looks from the group, especially from Tess, who looks a little concerned.

My focus is solely on the 'old' man with who I have shared so many firsts, who has made me feel beautiful and sexy and wanted. Who never tried to manipulate me to get into my pants. Who makes butterflies go crazy inside my body whenever he so much as looks at me.

"That was a long call, who were you tal-"

Before Eli can finish his question, I am straddling his hips, my hands gripping both sides of his face and my lips are on his lips, my tongue exploring his mouth. He freezes only for a fraction of a second and then he grabs my waist, pulling my flush against his rock-hard body. A growl slips from his lips and I smile, nipping at his bottom lip a few times before pulling away and looking deep into his dark, green eyes. Our chests panting in sync, our lips red and swollen. I let my hands glide into his thick strands and tug harshly which earns me a warning squeeze on my waist.

Eli wets his lips before speaking. "You taste like tequila."

"Sorry," I mutter, meaning it.

"It's okay," he nods and leans forward to place one more, long, gentle kiss on my wanton lips.

"Get a room, you two," Bennett grumbles and Isa softly slaps his chest. "Let them be, they're cute."

I slide from Eli's lap, not without his protest, and look around the bar. I spot Adam by the door and smirk at him. Idiot. Focusing back on my friends, I notice Tess gaping at me. She shakes off her disbelief and grins.

"Whatever you just had at the bar, I want some of that, too."

"It was just tequila, Tessy," I tell her honestly.

"Tequila Tessy, maybe that will be my new nickname for you," Simon quirks up and Tess dramatically rolls her eyes.

"If you wanna live, you will not call me that, " she threatens him and I swear I see him pale at her words.

A nudge on my shoulder and Eli's lips on my ear distract me from the pair in front of me.

"Why's that guy staring at you?" Eli asks, his voice low and gravelly.

I follow his line of vision and spot Adam, still looking at me.

"He's an asshole. He hit on me outside after I talked to my mom on the phone. He was nice enough at first, I thought he just wanted to have a short conversation while he smoked. But then he went on about how you are too old for me and how he could show me a much better time than you. So I gave him a piece of my mind and, to lift my mood back up, I did something unlike me that would boost my confidence. It worked, by the way." I smile at him and trace his clenched jaw with my fingers before placing my thumb over his soft, full lips.

"Did he touch you?"

"Not inappropriately, no."

"So he did touch you," Eli states with an angry voice.

"He grabbed my elbow for a second, that's all."

His eyes leave Adam and roam over my form as if to check for any signs of Adam touching me.

"Relax, I'm fine. I handled it," I tell him to calm him down. "He watched me perform my little show, I think he got the message."

"I'm not at all complaining about the little stunt you pulled, but if he got the message, why the fuck is he still looking at you?" Eli's voice is getting angrier with every word he speaks.

"Probably to provoke you. Just ignore him, don't give him the attention he so desperately wants. We're leaving soon, anyway."

His hands flex a few times and I can tell they're itching to hit something. Or rather someone.

"I didn't think you'd be so very protective of me," I whisper.

"I care about you, of course, I'm going to protect you," he says in a matter-of-fact voice.

"Okay, I get it. But maybe save that for when I am actually in need of protection. Not when some idiot wants to push your buttons, hm?"

"Fine," he grumbles and stops glaring daggers at Mr. High School Musical.

"Thank you," I kiss his jaw and he continues to grumble under his breath. Crisis successfully averted. Good job, Romy.

The night turned out to be a very fun one after all. We went to a small club which had a nice variety of music going on and Tess, Isabelle and I danced our asses off for hours. From time to time, we managed to get our guys to join us for a few songs but none of them are big on dancing so they quickly went back to their table, content with watching us. We didn't care. When the clock hit 3am, we were sweaty and tired and begged the guys to go home. They didn't argue, they were tired, as well.

We pile into Eli's truck, Tess on Simon's lap, and he drives us home, his hand holding mine the entire way. I am so ready for bed when we arrive and Eli helps me out of the car. The others follow us to the door, Eli unlocks it swiftly and two steps into the hallway, all of us come to a sudden halt.

Loud moaning, grunting and the sound of skin slapping against skin has us all frozen.

"What the hell?" Tess whispers and Isabelle makes a disgusted face. We follow the sounds into the kitchen and when we locate the source of the noise, all our mouths fall open in shock. All but Eli's. His mouth is clamped shut, his jaw locked and his eyes glint with rage. Bennett notices his best friend's reaction a little too late and tries to grab Eli's arm upon realizing but he is already on the move.

Oh no, I think this crisis, I won't be able to avert.