For the rest of the day, Hunter avoids me. When he does acknowledge my existence, he acts like nothing's going on.

I leave early, telling the others I've had too much sun and make my way down Hunter's driveway.

Che catches up and offers to walk with me. Hunter's nowhere in sight, so I take Che up on his offer.

As we wander along the road towards my house, Che asks me what Hunter's deal is. "I know he's not your boyfriend, so what exactly is he to you?"

"Well, we've been close friends for about ten years now, so he thinks it gives him the right to act like my overprotective brother. What he doesn't realise is that I'm not one of his little sisters," I clarify.

He nods slowly, probably gauging if I'm worth the trouble.

"Don't worry about him, he's harmless, and has a smoking hot girlfriend to keep him busy," I reassure him.

"You're way hotter!"

I feel the heat rising in my cheeks.

"Ha-yeah sure," I squeak out awkwardly-man, I am so bad at this.

"Well, I think you are."

He winks and sends a flirty smile my way. Quickly looking down at the footpath, a huge grin spreads across my face. He notices and bumps me playfully with his shoulder.

"So... what are you up to tomorrow?" He asks, running a hand through his wavy brown hair.

"Ah-not a lot, why?"

"I was just wondering if you'd like to... I dunno, maybe go for an evening walk up the Mount with me? Then we could go for a swim at the hot pools?"

"I'm sure I could be persuaded." I flirt back, giving him a cheeky grin.

"How about I pick you up from your place around six tomorrow night then?"

"Sounds like a plan. Speaking of which, this is me."

We stop in front of my house. I'm used to the way it looks, but to fresh eyes it probably looks old and crusty, with paint chipping off the walls and the gardens dry and dying.

Mum owns a cute little cafe close to the beach which she focuses all her energy on, so the house has been slightly neglected over the years. Being busy with school and helping at the cafe on weekends, I haven't been able to do much either. But I like it the way it is. I think it has character!

I turn to Che. "So, I guess I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Can't wait!" He leans in and places a lingering kiss on my cheek. I almost melt into a puddle at his feet. I struggle to hold myself together as I watch him walk back down the road.

Once I'm inside with the door to my back, I let out an excited squeal and do a little happy dance.

Today definitely went better than expected! Operation 'get over Hunter' is in full swing!

The next day as I'm making sure my boobs are securely tucked away in my new bikini, I can't stop grinning. I've had so much fun with Che today. Once we reached the top of the Mount, we sat on a rocky ledge looking out over the calm ocean. It was such a beautiful evening.

We talked about anything and everything, from his obsession with Lego, to my many failed attempts before finally getting my driver's license. And before long, we were watching the sun setting behind the Kaimai Ranges.

Walking back down the gravel steps in the fading light, he grabbed my hand so I wouldn't trip and didn't let go until we reached his car. We then grabbed our swimwear and came here to the hot pools. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say-this is the best first date I've ever had!

Walking from the changing room I notice a few dirty old men having a perv. This bikini is giving me a newfound confidence, so I sway my hips with added vigor as I walk past them. Then I see Che smirking from a secluded corner of the main pool, with steam rising all around him. Damn, he looks good! He's not toned like Hunter, but I like what I see.

I slowly ease myself down into the water next to him and he doesn't disappoint, he's literally drooling.

"That bikini should really come with a warning you know, but then again you look great in anything!"

Good thing the water is so hot, so my red cheeks don't stand out from the rest of my heated skin .

He moves to face me and puts his hands on my thighs. Just as he's about to say something, I glimpse Hunter over his shoulder. He and Emily are making their way through the water towards us.

"You have got to be kidding me!" I fume.

"I'm sorry, did I do something wrong?"

"Oh, no, you're fine. They're the problem!"

He turns, following my line of sight and groans.

I can't believe he's hijacking my date, he never comes here. He's lost the plot, he's genuinely gone loopy.

"Hey guys, what a surprise seeing you here," Hunter says innocently.

Emily looks just as surprised as me, and definitely not pleasantly surprised.

"You're telling me," I snap.

"Hope we're not interrupting."

He's completely unaware that yes, he is interrupting. And everyone, including Emily, is giving him evil glares.

"We're actually on a date," Che tells him.

"Oh Cool. Yeah, we saw Jenna earlier at the mall and she mentioned you were going on a date today. Though she couldn't remember with who, since you've been on a date almost every day you've been in town. Never with the same girl, obviously. She said it was super hard to keep track," he rants in a casual tone.

"Hunter! What the hell?" I. Am. Fuming.

"Hey, don't get angry at me because your date is the bump and dump type."

"Fuck you! I don't have to put up with this shit," Che shouts. Before I can register what's happening, he jumps out of the pool, grabs his clothes and heads for the exit.

I give Hunter the dirtiest look as tears start falling down my cheeks; I need to get out of this pool, now!

He calls after me as I hurry into the changing room. I feel my way along the walls as my vision blurs from a steady stream of tears. He follows me, pleading with me to let him explain. Luckily, there's no one else in here.

"Go away!" I scream.

He grabs my shoulders, forcing me to look at him. "Maddie, I'm sorry ok. Jenna would have warned you, but you were already with him when she found out. He's a total player who sleeps with a girl once, then moves on to the next. I had to find you. Your mum told me you guys were here, and then when I saw him all over you, I had to say something!"

"Do you really think that little of me? That I'd get it on with the first guy that shows any interest? I can take care of myself, you know, I don't need you humiliating me in front of total strangers."

"Maddie, I care about you too much. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if he'd have hurt you and I could have prevented it."

And with that, the dam breaks again. Every time I try to move on from him, he pulls me back in by saying something like that. He wraps his arms around me, holding me, and I let him.

The next thing I know, Emily is staring at us looking furious.

"Hey Em, you don't mind if we head off now and take Maddie home do you?"

He's still oblivious to the fact that she's extremely mad.

"Whatever!" she hisses, then storms off.

"You realise she's totally pissed at you?" I say, wiping at my teary eyes.

"She'll be fine. She can't stay mad at me for long."

I've finally calmed down as Hunter drives us all home later that evening. But just before we reach my road he turns off towards Emily's.

"Hey, babe you don't mind if we catch up tomorrow do you? I just want to make sure Maddie is all good tonight."

"I'm fine honestly, you guys don't need to cancel your plans on my account," I try to insist.

"You know what?! I'd rather just go home. I've had enough drama for one night," she says, rather grumpily.

Hunter will have a lot of sucking up to do tomorrow. We drop Emily off then head to mine.

"Seriously Hunter, I'm fine if you want to go home."

"Nope, you can't get rid of me that easily and I've been dying to watch an action movie with you in weeks. Emily always wants to watch romantic comedies, and it's doing my head in."

I let out a laugh. "Fine, but it's my pick."

"Deal."

The house is dark when we pull up in front, Mum must've gone out. So Hunter goes to the kitchen to put together some snacks, while I find something on Netflix.

We then snuggle up on the couch under a blanket, our usual movie ritual and start watching.

Halfway through, his hand somehow ends up on my thigh and he leaves it there.

I try to ignore it by telling myself it means nothing, but then he rubs his thumb back and forth. Good lord, it feels heavenly!

This is why I'm losing my mind! I feel like I'm constantly getting mixed signals. I mean, he's been touchy-feely with me for a while, but this is different, like he's stepped it up a notch.

I feel so drained from today and the leg rubbing is making me feel all relaxed and sleepy. Before I know it, I'm gone.