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there getting a drink. He wasn’t.
    Next she went through the back door to the patio, still looking for Wyatt. He was there, already doing tequila shots with some sorority girls. She stood there as if she had grown roots, watching him lick salt off of the neck of a pretty red head. He caught her eye and smirked at her. What an asshole, she thought to herself. He always acted like this when he was in a rotten mood about something. It was like he wanted to see just how far he could push her.
    The sad thing was Jane knew she would not do anything about it. She felt her face flush and was paranoid that people were staring at her, maybe even feeling sorry for her. Pivoting on her heels, she went back inside and to the bathroom to take a few deep breaths. She tried to decide what to do next. Go back outside and watch him flirt with everyone? No, thank you, she thought to herself. Part of her just wanted to walk back to his place. That would serve him right, but she knew she never would. She was too scared it might give him a reason to break up with her.
    She jumped as someone knocked on the door. Not leaving or going back to the backyard, she settled on sitting by herself in an armchair in the corner of the living room. A few people offered her drinks and tried to make small talk. She just nodded and smiled politely until they left. After a bit, Wyatt came looking for her and seemed to be in a better mood. She accepted his outstretched hand, and he pulled her into a deep embrace, though it was not the kind of kiss she felt comfortable having in a crowded room full of strangers.
    She gently pushed at him, embarrassed. “Wyatt, people are watching.”
    He released her and took a step away from her. “You are such a prude,” he said loudly and then turned and walked off.
    She looked down, pulling her lips between her teeth, sucking air in through her nose. When she looked up, she caught the sympathetic eyes of a few girls. One had her hand over her mouth in an “Oh no, he didn’t’ stance.” Jane could feel tears threatening but refused to show any emotion. She calmly walked back towards the bathroom repeating, “You do not deserve this” over and over in her mind until she was able to shut the door behind her.
    Appraising herself in the mirror, she thought about how Wyatt must have felt to come and kiss her in front of all of those people and then have her push him away. He wasn’t the jerk. She was. She reapplied her lip gloss and fluffed her hair. He was back out on the patio, and she quietly went to go stand with him. He glanced at her with a look that said, “Thought you would be back.” He pulled her to his side, one hand firmly planted on her ass. Later, she followed him to one of the upstairs bedrooms despite his wolfish grin and the catcalls of his friends following after them.
    It embarrassed her that people would know what they were doing up there, and Wyatt knew it. She went along with it anyways to make up for upsetting him earlier. They eventually left the party, and she drove since Wyatt drank so much. After brushing her teeth, she was relieved to see he had already passed out. It made her uncomfortable to admit how pleased she was to not have to be intimate with him again that night.
     
    Chapter 8
     
    Summer break was quickly approaching and after that senior year. Wyatt took Jane to his family’s summer home at the beach. She drove herself down in her new car. It used to be her mother's but was now hers since her mom got a new one. It was a silver four-door sedan. Windows down, she cruised down the highway. She let her mind wander, and her thoughts drifted to Lacey. She wondered what Lacey would be doing over the summer break. Would Lacey stay in town, or would she go back home to Iowa? When she finally arrived, she was thrilled to see they were beachfront.
    Being able to hear the rhythmic beat of the waves from the driveway made Jane really want to check out the view from off the decks the pastel home