“Elias,” I said softly onto his lips when the kiss broke.

“Yeah?”

“You said that it should’ve been you.”

He drew his head back slightly to better see my whole face. “Huh?”

I kissed the tip of his nose.

“Earlier,” I went on, “when you said that about my ex. You said you were pissed when you thought I was engaged, that it should’ve been you.”

His eyes smiled and shortly after, his lips followed. “I did say that, didn’t I?”

“So then why don’t we?” I blushed. “You know… get engaged.”

His smile turned into a grin. “Are you asking me to marry you?”

My whole face flushed as hot as a Georgia summer. I wiggled my way out of his arms and stood upright in front of him again, shuffling my toes in the sand. “I-I don’t know… I guess so,” I said meekly.

“Might as well,” he said. “I think it’s safe to say after seventeen years we’re pretty much stuck with each other. So sure, why not? We’ve been doing all kinds of crazy shit as of late. Might as well add it to the list.”

I just stood there, blinking rapidly, with my lips parted. Then I pursed them, crossed my arms, and popped my hip to one side.

“That was the most romantic f**king proposal I’ve ever heard in my life,” I said with heavy sarcasm.

Elias smiled hugely, baring his prefect set of white teeth. “Wasn’t it, though?” he joked.

My arms unfolded and I slammed the palms of my hands into his chest, knocking him on his ass on the sand. He just looked up at me and laughed.

I started to walk off, fuming pissed, but I loved it just as much, and he knew it.

“Baby, where the hell are you going?!” He couldn’t stop laughing.

I raised my middle finger in the air high above me and just kept walking. I could hear his laughter carrying on behind me over the growing music as I approached the beach house.

“I’m going to get drunk and stand in the center of the room and tell everyone that your c**k is two inches long! And then afterwards, I’m going to—”

He grabbed me from behind and pulled me down on the grass and sand.

“My c**k is not two inches long,” he laughed, sitting on top of me.

No, it definitely wasn’t, that was for sure…

I smirked up at him.

He grabbed my hands with both of his and pinned them above my head. The prickly sensation of grass tickled the backs of my arms. Then he leaned in and kissed me. When he pulled away his eyes searched my face. “Will you marry me and my two-inch cock?”

I smiled. It wasn’t exactly romantic, but for some reason it felt right. “Sure, why not?” I replied.

He took me in for another kiss and we stayed like that, him sitting on top of me on the sand until Grace interrupted us—which was probably a good thing, because we were heading right in the sex-in-public direction.

“Ho-ly shit! You’ve got to see this!” she said waving her hands out in front of her frantically, a crazed smile lighting up her face.

We followed Grace back inside the beach house. A crowd had gathered in a circle inside the large living room. Elias tugged on my fingers; I followed in close behind him, and we pushed our way to the front of the crowd to see Tate and Caleb exchanging blows.

I heard a crunch as Tate’s fist made contact with Caleb’s face. Caleb stumbled backward into a guy on the other side of the circle, but he bounced back just as quickly and returned the blow. Tate dodged it and came around behind Caleb, grabbing him around the waist with his thick muscled arms, and he squeezed Caleb so hard I thought he was going to bust a vein in Caleb’s head.

Caleb managed to raise his arms above him and grapple Tate’s head. Tate lost his grip, and Caleb whirled around and grabbed the back of Tate’s neck, forcing his body over forward. Caleb’s knee came up, and I heard another stomach-twisting crunch. I yelped. The music and the sound of bystanders chanting was loud, but apparently not loud enough that it covered the sound of Tate’s face being pummeled into Caleb’s knee.

Elias pulled me back when Tate and Caleb started getting closer to us. They were moving around in a circle, both of them bent forward in battle-ready stances with their clenched fists out at their sides, each waiting for an opportunity.

I didn’t notice until I managed to tear my eyes away from the fight for a split second, but Tate’s girlfriend, Jen, was standing at my right side. I looked over at her questioningly.

“They do this all the time!” she shouted over the noise, then turned back to the fight. “Come on, baby! You got this!”

I was so confused. But I think Elias was enjoying it. Any moment now I half-expected him to whip out some cash and pass it to the nearest sideline bookie.

Tate buried one hard right jab into Caleb’s ribs, then a left, then one dead center in Caleb’s gut. Caleb doubled over, and a second later Tate hooked him underneath the jaw with an uppercut.

Caleb fell backward on his ass and tried to shake off the blow, but it was clear he had lost.

Tate raised both arms in the air as if he were in a boxing ring, and the room erupted in cheers. Jen stepped out and kissed him. Molested him. With those two, there never seemed to be boundaries.

Then Tate reached down and gave Caleb his hand, helping him to his feet. They hugged and joked around, and then it was all over. Everyone went back to partying. Caleb moved past us without even looking at us and looped his arms through Grace’s and Johanna’s. They disappeared into the kitchen. Tate, with Jen at his side, walked toward us.

I looked at Tate like he was crazy.

“Hey, it was Caleb’s idea,” he said.

“Is he drunk?” I asked.

Tate laughed. “Probably. But he’d challenge me sober.”

He patted Elias on the back while Jen handed Tate the extra beer bottle she had been holding.

“We’re heading to a secret spot on the beach next,” he said, looking at us. He took a swig before he finished and made a subtle face, as if it tasted sour. “Headin’ out in the morning. We’ll probably stay there for a few days. Are you two still good to go with us?”

Elias and I exchanged a glance.

“Yeah, we are,” I said.

“I’m game,” Elias added.

Tate grinned and pointed at us both, the beer bottle hanging from the same hand. “You two are gonna have to tell me what’s up with you sometime.” His grin got bigger.

I glanced at Jen, and she smiled at me. Did she know something I didn’t? Instant paranoia. But I was relieved when she said, “Yeah, seriously. Tate and Caleb have a bet going on. A few more days and they’ll both be trying to pry it out of you just to see who won.” She pushed up on her toes and kissed Tate on the side of the mouth.