Curious, I walked over to it. As I approached, the occupant of my seat turned to look up at me. The moonlight illuminated her perfectly, and I recognized the sweet face and big brown eyes watching me. Bethy.

I hadn’t seen her again since I took her to her aunt Darla’s last weekend, yet I’d heard she kept finding the parties in town. At least this time, she was alone and not fighting off a jerk.

“You always find the good parties?” I asked as I sat down beside her.

She didn’t respond at first, and I wondered if she remembered me. “Tripp,” I reminded her. “I gave you a ride from Rush’s party last weekend.”

She smiled and ducked her head. “I know who you are,” she said softly, but that husky tone in her voice gave me a little shiver. I had to remember this girl was too young for me.

“Good. Then I’m not that forgettable,” I joked.

She laughed and glanced back up at me. “I knew who you were last weekend.”

Interesting. But then, she’d grown up at the club. I’d seen her many times myself. “So, whose party is this?” I asked, looking out at the crowd before turning my gaze back to her.

She sighed. “People from school. Seniors, mostly. My friend got an invite from a senior guy she has a thing for. She didn’t want to come alone. So here I am.”

And she was sitting all alone in the dark. Not exactly safe.

“Where’s your friend now?” I asked.

“There, in that American flag bikini with that guy who has his hand down her bottoms,” she said, pointing to the couple openly making out in front of everyone. “She doesn’t always make smart choices,” Bethy said with a frown as she looked away from her friend and back down at her hands clasped in her lap.

She was also wearing a swimsuit, but she had a cover-up on. I could see the pink straps tied behind her neck. All she was showing off was her legs. Her really long legs.

“Why are you here?” she asked, looking back up at me.

I nodded my head back to the condos to the left of us. “I live there.”

She frowned. “I thought your parents’ place was on the other side of Rosemary Beach.”

She knew where my parents’ summer house was? That was surprising. I wondered what else she knew about me. “I moved out after graduation,” I explained.

She sighed wistfully. “That must be nice.”

She had no idea. But then, she didn’t know what I was about to run from. She didn’t have people trying to make life decisions for her. That was my hell to face.

Hoots and whistles stopped me from saying anything more. I glanced out at the crowd to see that Bethy’s friend was topless, and the guy she was with was sucking on her tits right there in front of everyone. The girl’s head was thrown back as she held his head to her chest.

“Oh, God,” Bethy said beside me.

“Your friend is a bit of an exhibitionist,” I said, looking away from the action in front of me to Bethy, who was watching, horrified.

“She’s lost her mind. I don’t know what’s gotten into her lately,” Bethy said, covering her eyes. “I do not want to see that.”

Laughing, I reached over and took her hands from her face. “Take a walk with me. Maybe they’ll be done with this when we get back. We can miss the actual public sex.”

Bethy sighed and slipped her hand into mine, then nodded. “OK. Yeah. Because at this rate, they’re probably going to do it.”

Woods, Thad, and Jace needed to hurry and get down here for the show. It was probably the only action they were getting tonight.

We headed away from the condo and further into the darkness. I kept Bethy’s hand in mine, because it felt good. As long as she was good with it, I was keeping it there.

“How old is your friend?” I asked her.

“She turned seventeen last week. Her parents are getting divorced, and she’s taking it hard. Her mom walked into her room a month ago and caught her giving a guy head. It was bad. She’s lost her mind. But her parents aren’t doing much to stop her.”

“Might not be smart to follow her to parties. Can’t be safe for you. Guys might think you’re open to that stuff, too,” I said. I didn’t like the idea of any guy forcing himself on Bethy. She was so damn sweet, with a body that was way too mature for her. I did my best not to ogle her. It was easier to think of her as the sixteen-year-old girl she was if I wasn’t looking at her very developed assets.

“If this is what she intends to do at these parties, I won’t be coming with her anymore. I don’t want to watch her do this. Besides, I start working at the club next week. I won’t have time to party with her. I’m saving up to get my own place as soon as I graduate.”

She would be working at the club? I liked that. More than I should. “Really? What will you be doing?”

“The only job Mr. Kerrington will allow Aunt Darla to hire me for is the lifeguard position at the pool.”

So she’d be in one of those red swimsuits all day. Even more appealing. I never visited the pool at the club, but I just might start. “I’m sure you’ll wear the uniform well,” I said, unable not to say it. I was flirting, but damn, it was hard not to.

She stopped walking a moment and glanced up at me with those big eyes. I had surprised her. Which made her even more damn appealing. She was actually surprised that I thought she’d look good in a swimsuit.

“What?” I asked, grinning.