“What, you’re not going to buy mine? That’s janky.” Jaden stood up and followed me. I ordered my burger and the girls’ chicken before Jaden ordered his.

“Here,” Jaden handed me five bucks. “This is for Pris’s.”

Huh? Why didn’t he just say that at the table? “Okay.” I took the money.

“Don’t tell her though.” My only reply was to nod my head. There was definitely something going on here.

We stood up front until they called out our number and then brought the food back to the table.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t enjoy my meal.

“Dude, those guys need to stop watching our table.” I nodded my head at the two standing by the corner pool table. They looked about our age. Preppy looking guys in polo shirts.

Everyone at my table turned to look and I realized my mistake. Pris and Aspen hadn’t seen the guys eyeing them and now they obviously did. I mean, I knew I was the shit, but that didn’t mean I wanted to introduce Aspen to anyone who might be my competition. Not that they would really be competition anyway.

“What? It’s okay for the two of you guys to drool over girls, but not okay for guys to look at us?” Pris asked in her best I-am-woman-hear-me-roar voice.

I felt my brows crinkle as I looked at her. Exactly, because now I like Aspen and realize it’s pretty annoying. Okay, so maybe not. I mean, I still didn’t want guys scoping out my girl, but I guess it probably did get frustrating when Jay and I hit on girls around them. “So we won’t do it again if we get to kick a guy’s ass if they start panting over you girls.” See? Compromise. I’d heard that was good for relationships.

“Speak for yourself, man.” Jaden took a drink of his soda. Both girls rolled their eyes, before Pris grabbed Aspen’s arm.

“Come on, Aspen. Let’s go play pool.” They started to walk away. Aspen looked over her shoulder and gave me half a smile and shrugged like she was saying sorry. My feet itched to walk to them, but the last thing I wanted to look like was creepy-stalker-boy. This whole thing was so much harder than hooking up. I wasn’t used to caring about guys checking out a girl. Caring if they walked over to play a game of pool about twenty feet from idiots on the prowl. I knew that look. Hell, I’d had that look and I didn’t want it steered toward Aspen. Either of the girls really, but Pris for a totally different reason.

And now it was pretty clear to me why I’d always played The Hook-up Doctor rather than love connection. It sucked.

I watched as Pris racked the balls. That’s when it happened. Aspen bent over to shoot the ball and yeah, I had a perfect view. It was like angels singing. The sky opened up and that ray of light pointed right at her. Okay, maybe not like that, because it’s cheesy as hell, but still… I know I realized I loved her now, but I was still a guy. I don’t care how much guys denied or how much girls didn’t want to think about it, we’re visual creatures. It’s hard not to admire a girl, especially when you actually liked her. Personally, I thought it was pretty damn cool. To enjoy talking to a girl, wanting to hold her hand and also silently thanking God when she bent over and you got a glimpse of her curves.

No matter how whipped I was, I’d obviously still be a guy. That gave me some relief.

“You’re drooling.” Jaden nudged the elbow I was leaning on, making it fall off the table.

“Shut up.” Lame reply, but it was all I had. I shot forward in my chair. Preppy loser boys were walking over to the girls. I pushed to my feet, but Jaden pulled me back to the chair again. “What the hell, dude?”

Jaden laughed. “Easy there, big guy. You haven’t even told her you like her. You don’t even know if she likes you, Bastian.”

“She does.” I was fully aware that I sounded like I was five years-old. So sue me.

“And how’s that? Because you’re Sebastian Hawkins?” He laughed again.

Since I couldn’t tell him I was The Hook-up Doctor and Aspen contacted me to hook her up with…well, me, I ignored him.

I looked at him, all leaned back in his chair like he didn’t have a care in the world. That was supposed to be me. When did I become the guy all stressed out because he wanted a girl and didn’t know what to do? My entire way of living had been totally knocked off-track and screwed-up, but also made more sense than it ever had, at the same time. “Don’t be an asshole.”

“I’m not. I’m just sayin’. You go over there all me-Tarzan-my-woman before she even knows you’re into her and you’re going to look like an ass. You need to chill. They’re just talking.”

My best friend was really pissing me off. When the hell did he start making sense? I was supposed to be the teacher, not the student. “Fuck you.”

Jaden pulled out his cell phone and looked at it. “We’ll give them like ten minutes, go over and say we gotta go or something. Then, you need to get down on one knee, or whatever it is you’re planning on doing, before you seriously ruin our weekend.”

I raked both my hands through my hair. “Arg. Eight minutes and not a second longer.” And then just because we’d kind of changed the dynamic of our friendship today and because Jaden had somehow become smarter than me when it came to girls, I said, “Thanks.”

We fist bumped again, because it was much manlier than getting sappy twice in one day. For eight whole minutes, we were nothing but silent. I watched the douche-bags talk to the girls. Pris was laughing a lot, leaning closer to them the way I might instruct her to do if she were a client and they were her potential hook-up. Woodstock smiled a few times, obviously not as interested in them as Pris was, but she still looked to be enjoying herself.

Jerks.

Jaden kicked my foot to signal eight minutes was up. As soon as I got to my feet, my boy was by my side. I tried not to rush too much to reach them. “You guys ready to go?” I asked, being sure to stand next to Aspen. So, I was jealous and pretty much marking my territory. If I wasn’t so annoyed, I’d probably be laughing at myself, right now.

“Sure,” Aspen replied while at the same time Pris said, “No.”

“Come on, Priscilla.” Jaden mumbled, using her whole name. It was almost enough to distract me. We never called Pris by her real name.

Pris changed her weight from one foot to the other. “We’re planning a party with Jason and Ron. We figured it would be fun to have some people over.”

It was so strange because, just a week ago, this would have been what I wanted. Parties meant girls and I’d have been all for that. Now, I couldn’t stop thinking about how drunken guys would try and hit on Aspen all night. I just wanted to chill with her, so I could find that perfect moment to tell her that I liked her the way she liked me. “I thought we’d hang out the four of us tonight, Pris. You know, celebrate your birthday with your best friends.”

Jaden leaned against the pool table. “I’m all for the party.”

I knew, no matter what I said, this party was happening. Out of instinct I put my arm around Aspen, but then something came out of my mouth that was very deliberate. “Our room is off limits to anyone but us. I plan on enjoying it.” Now, there’d be no question in these guys’ minds that this girl was off-limits. Of course, my statement also made it sound like there was something kinky going on, which I didn’t really mean. I meant enjoy the room because I would, but if they drew their own conclusion...

Aspen pushed me.

She cut her eyes at me. “My room, Bastian. I’ll have anyone I want in my room.” Aspen turned to Pris and the jerks were smirking like they’d hit the damn jackpot and I wanted nothing more than to pummel them.

“Invite who you want and text us later, okay?” Pris said to one of them. They hugged the girls and then walked out.

“You guys can be suck jerks.” Pris grabbed Aspen’s arm and then the two of them stalked out.

I groaned. I’d obviously screwed up. “What the hell just happened?”

Jaden shook his head at me like he felt sorry for me. “And now you know why I’m sticking to hook-ups. Girls are crazy.”

***

This weekend wasn’t going the way I’d imagined it. The girls managed to avoid us for the rest of the day. They went to the store to pick up stuff for the party that I was still totally against. Who would have thought it? Sebastian Hawkins didn’t want to party. Once I decided to go for it with Aspen, I wanted this weekend to be special. You know, like long walks on the beach, and all that other special stuff that used to make me want to gouge my own eyes out.

They spent the afternoon locked in Pris’s room getting ready. Jaden tried to hang out, but I wasn’t really in the mood. I spent some time playing my guitar before getting ready. Whether I approved or not, I still planned to look damn good. I wore a pair of long, khaki shorts that went below my knees, black Vans, and a black button up shirt.

When I got downstairs, Jay wasn’t there, but the girls were sitting on the porch. As I walked out to talk to them, the jerks from the pool hall showed up with a few cases of beer in their hands. Great. Before I could get a chance to try and talk to Aspen, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum pulled the girls inside. A few minutes later a couple more guys showed up. Girls, guys, girls, guys, in flocks until the house looked like some frat party I should be enjoying much more than I was. We didn’t even have time to come up with our Pre-party Plan. And I sound like a freakin’ idiot.

Was it possible love screwed with your head? I mean, girls didn’t realize the power they held. That they were really the ones who pulled the strings. Even when we thought we had the power, it was them, because right now I had a hot chick shaking what her mama gave her in my face and all I could think of was Aspen and if she was mad at me or not and how we’d make it through a hell of a good party without a PPP.

“Hi.” A warm body pressed against me and it felt all wrong. Flowers, not the damn cinnamon that was driving me to the nut house.

“Hey.” I moved away from her through the crowd of people filling the beach house.

“What’s your name?” Great. The leech was still on my tail.

“Sebastian.”

“Do you want to dance or something?”

I sighed, stopped and looked at her. It surprised me because she didn’t look like the girls who usually approached me at parties. She dressed like Aspen would instead of flashing the goods to everyone. It was a nice change, but as nice as it was, she wasn’t who I needed right now. “I really appreciate you asking, but I’m kind of looking for my girl. I mean, she’s not mine, but I’m hoping she will be. Well, she’s my friend, but I like her and she’s pissed at me.” Ding. Ding. Ding. Somebody call the fight because it has ended. I’d officially lost my touch. Here I was rambling about a girl to a girl.

I’d given Aspen, AKA PA, shit about rambling the first time we talked and here I was doing the same thing. “I’m sorry, but I gotta go.” Drown myself in the ocean. Not really, but I felt like it. This situation was so fucked up, I couldn’t believe it.

I pushed my way through the house and went out the back door. People were already congregating outside, but closer to the house, so I stomped through the sand until the blackness of the ocean was right in front of me and I could taste the salt in the air.

“Come out here to make me feel like one of your playthings again?” Aspen sat on a rock about fifteen feet away from me. The sharpness in her voice stung me.

And I also had no idea what the hell she was talking about.

“Um, English, please?”

Aspen crossed her arms and turned away from me. Uh-oh. That meant trouble. I walked over to her, a smile curving my lips for the first time since the Tweedle bothers showed up. “Woodstock…come on.” I stepped in front of her, knowing all I needed to do was get her to look at me and all would be forgiven. She turned away. “Hey. Stop avoiding me.” I stepped up right next to her. Her hands were over her face now, blocking her from me. “Aspen, talk to me.”