Tess giggles. "I was just keeping your boyfriend company while you were gone. You know? Reminiscing on old times." Her eyes shut and she starts humming.

Lucy clears her throat.

I swallow my fear.

"Quit moaning like a dick deprived whore and get out of my seat." She crosses her arms and takes an intimidating step forward.

Tess leaves without a word.

Lucy reclaims her seat.

I fail at stifling my laugh.

"Shut it, Cam."

-LUCY-

"You don't think I know the shit she says about you two?"

"I don't know what you want me to say!"

We're both yelling on the drive home. It's our first shouting match, and to be honest, it's kind of liberating.

"You should have told me! I shouldn't have heard it from people at school!"

"There's nothing to tell!"

"She was your girl before me! I think that's something!"

"She wasn't my girl, Luce! I told you! There was no one before you!"

"Oh, I'm sorry!" I exaggerate. "What I meant to say was she was your whore before me!"

"That's not fair! I told you I'd been with other girls. That wasn't a secret!"

"Screw you, Cam!"

His face falls.

And then he begins to laugh.

"What the hell is funny?"

He pulls the car over on the side of the road and faces me, his face contorted with his held in laughter.

And I lose it. "Screw you twice! In your ass! With a chainsaw!"

He all out laughs now—not even bothering to contain it.

I try to get out of the car but the stupid door takes forever to lift.

"Stop," he says, leaning over and closing the door before I can get out.

"I'm sorry," he begins, but another laugh bubbles out. He tries to stop it before he loses control. This happens a few more times while I sit with my arms crossed and wait for him to settle. "You're just so damn cute when you're angry. It's kind of one of the reasons I'm so in love with you."

I feel the tension leave my shoulders.

Sighing, he eyes our surroundings. "Come here." He pulls on my arm and helps me across so I'm seated on his lap. Moving the hair out of my eyes, he kisses my forehead once. "Luce, if I could erase my past and wipe out all the girls I've been with, I would, instantly. But even if I could, it wouldn't make a difference. You’re the only girl that's ever mattered to me. The only girl that will ever matter. If you want, I can write a list so you can walk through town and call them all whores. I'll hold your hand and we can do it together. But it won't change the fact that you and I—we're above all that. What we have is bigger than all of it. Forever, remember?"

***

He takes my hand as we climb my porch steps. "Are we good?" he asks.

"Yeah babe." His speech and the drive home helped to calm me down.

We stop at the top of the stairs when we see Dad sitting on the porch, an abundance of papers on the table in front of him. Some of them are scrunched up on the floor.

"Dad?"

His gaze lifts. "Hey kids, how was the movie?"

I pull on Cam's hand until we're standing next to him. Shrugging, I answer, "The book was better."

"What's this?" Cam says, his eyes frantically scanning the papers on the table.

"It's the cause of all my problems, Cameron," Dad sighs.

Cam pulls out a chair and takes a seat, his eyes never leaving the spread of papers. He picks one and brings it closer to him. I've been around Dad's work enough to know that they're development plans.

"Coffee?" I ask them.

"Yes please." They both answer.

When I come back out with their coffees, they haven't moved. I doubt they've even spoken.

I take a seat next to Cam and watch him. His brows are drawn in concentration. His lips are pressed tight but his eyes—his eyes are everywhere, taking everything in. I turn my attention to Dad, who's doing the exact same thing. "What's the problem?"

He sips his coffee and sighs. "I was so close to finalizing this contract with these developers. The draftsman I hired had it all planned out and it looked great. Last minute, the developers changed their minds."

"Why?" Cam asks, his gaze never lifting. He pulls another sheet off the pile and inspects it.

"They say they want more yard space." Dad leans forward on his elbows. "The draftsman got pissed and quit. I have until Monday to submit a new plan and I got nothing." He rubs his eyes. "I can't lose this contract, but I have absolutely no idea how the hell I can change it."

I smile and pat his forearm. "I'm sure you'll work it out, Dad."

I get up and walk to the front door. "Cam?"

"Huh?"

"You coming inside?"

"Yeah," he says, taking one final look before standing up and joining me.

I lie on the couch with my feet on his lap trying to read. The TV's on but he's not watching. Instead, he's tapping away on his phone, his features bunched in concentration. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing," he says quickly.

I leave him alone. Clearly, I'm interrupting.

"Shit," he huffs, roughly shoving my feet off him and onto the floor. "Sorry," he says, but he's half way out the front door.

I get up and run a hand down my skirt. I should be angry, but I'm too damn confused.