"OKAY, OKAY. I have my phone, my toothbrush, my lucky fuzzy socks," Hunter lists off his fingers, so loudly that I'm sure the rest of the airport could hear him. "What did I forget?"

        Devin snorts, wrapping an arm around his friend. "You remember to bring underwear?"

        "Underwear?" Hunter repeats, scrunching up his nose. "Shoot. Hmm. I must've forgotten. No worries, I'll just wear the ones I have on."

        Robyn and I both wince. "Dude, this is a five-day-long trip," Robyn groans. "You can't just wear the same underwear."

        "You're right, Robyn," Hunter remarks, snapping a finger at her. "I should just go commando!"

        I roll my eyes, glancing at my clock. Hayley and Roman were currently digging around the airport kiosk, quick friends apparently. I was happy that they liked each other, but if they didn't get back quickly I worried we'd miss the damn plane.

        The question of bringing Roman on the trip had been a surprisingly resounding yes. Devin was obviously on board with it, having issued the prospect, but I was shocked to see how quickly the rest of my friends agreed to it. Maybe they thought it'd make me happy or maybe sharing the rest of Roman's homemade cannolis with them softened them up.

        Either way, here he was, having taken a few days off of work just for this. He seemed flattered to have been invited and the smile on his face did all kinds of things to my stomach. Things I wasn't sure if I was okay with feeling just yet. But there was no denying that I did.

        "Hay and Roman have been gone an awfully long time, no?" I ask, wringing my hands.

        Hunter's brows furrow immediately. "Yeah. What's that about?" he asks, not even bothering to hide the jealousy in his tone.

        Robyn giggles. "Relax, testosterone. No need to be jealous. Look, here they come right now!"

        We both turn our heads to see Hayley and Roman laughing as they walk through the airport, complete with airport merchandise and sunglasses. I stifle the weird feeling clawing up my throat, coughing softly before leaning towards Robyn. "Just for the record," I mutter. "I am not jealous."

        Robyn looks up at me. "I've known you for ten years," she says with a laugh in her voice. "Trust me. You're jealous."

        I glare at Robyn and it's as I'm turning back around that I catch sight of Roman and Hayley. "Finally," I mutter, albeit a little too loudly as Roman and Hayley approach us. Roman glances at me with pursed lips before turning back to Hayley who was talking animatedly.

        "I'm pretty sure the cashier at the kiosk pissed her pants when she saw you," Hayley laughs, her cheeks red with amusement. "Could you, I don't know, look a little less intimidating?"

        Roman laughs back, nudging her with his shoulder. "Maybe she was afraid of you and all your talk about how, 'there's no way these t-shirts are worth $50!'" he says, mimicking Hayley's voice.

        I clear my throat and both of their heads snap to me. "I think the plane leaves soon, yeah? We should probably head out."

        I turn on my heel and begin walking towards our terminal, not bothering to see if my friends were following me. I hear the clicks of their feet as we walk and take a deep breath. I didn't know how much flirting from the damn kiosk kids I could handle and if—

        "You okay?" Roman asks, suddenly falling into step with me. He stares down at me with an unreadable expression, especially with his stupid sunglasses. "You seem a little tense."

        I smile at him sardonically. "Just peachy." We make it to the terminal and hand our tickets to the teller, beginning to board the plane. I keep my eyes off of Roman as best as I can, lifting my luggage and placing it in the carrier just above my head.

         Roman is there instantly, helping me push my bag and carrying half of its weight. I stare at him as our arms drop, anger building in me. "I had it," I mumble. Roman just stares back at me.

        "Yeah, I know," he responds. "Just wanted to help."

        The rest of my friends crowded around our seats, all fairly close to one another. "B, Roman, you two are sitting together, right?" Devin asks, eyebrows raised.

        "No," I say at the same time as Roman says 'yes.' Our eyes find each other and I bite my lip. "Figured you'd want to sit with Hayley," I mumble.

        Roman looks at me with a wounded expression. "Is that what you want?"

        I shrug. "Is that what you want?"

        Roman makes a face before leaning down so close to me that my brain fogs up. "Why are you acting like this?" he asks, speaking low enough that no one else could hear us.

        "I'm not acting any sort of way," I mumble. "Just go and sit by Hayley, Roman. I don't care."

       It was a bald-faced lie. Obviously, I cared. Couldn't he see how much I cared? Everything in my body was screaming at me to take the words back, to grab his hand and force him to sit next to me, to spend these next five hours with him and only him. My body wanted me to do something, but my mind was the one in charge here. I flatten my palms against my sides and take a short breath.

       Roman's face clouds over. "Hayley?" he calls out, keeping his eyes on me. "You and me?"

       I stare back up at Roman, our faces so close that if either of us moved any closer we'd be kissing. I take a staggering breath and lock my jaw as Hayley calls back to him. "Sure," she responds easily, either ignoring or not noticing the tension between us.

        Roman pulls back from me and shuffles through the aisle toward Hayley, sliding into the seat next to her. I take a deep breath that I hadn't been able to take with his face so close to me and slump down into my seat. What the hell just happened?

        There's the sound of someone taking a seat next to me, a long sigh leaving their lips. "Well, that was intense," Robyn mutters, running a hand through her hair. "You okay?"

         I take another deep breath, laying my head on Robyn's shoulder. "I am not jealous."

        "Okay, then," Robyn responds, laying her head on top of mine. "You're not jealous."

       But I'm pretty sure we both knew I was lying.

       Robyn fell asleep on me sometime during our flight, but my eyes were still peeled open. I'd tried to fall asleep, but the sound of Roman and Hayley laughing and talking quietly to each other kept me wide awake. I couldn't help but stare at the back of Roman's head and wonder where these feelings of discomfort had come from. I was worried that they meant I liked Roman much more than I assumed I did and I was worried about what that meant for us.

I wasn't too good holding back my feelings. When I liked Mabel, I was practically breaking at the seams to tell her, at least until Sebastian slept with her. And with Sebastian, all my feelings seemed to come out at once. When I kissed him that night in Devin's garden, when I admitted I loved him in the middle of one of the worst arguments we'd ever had. I didn't completely understand how I felt about Roman, but if it was anything like any of those instances I was sure there would be trouble.

By the time we're getting off the plane, I've gotten my emotions in check. As best as I can, at least. Half of me wanted Roman to come up and speak to me, ask me if I was all right. But he didn't. And I couldn't even blame him for it.

¥

        I'd completely misinterpreted how rich Devin Forrester was. Even as we were piling into his 'Florida vacation' car—a dark gray Mercedes Benz with a black interior—I told myself that this was normal. Plenty of people had a Mercedes; plenty of people had two cars. But once we pulled up to the house, my entire point of view changed.

The house was enormous. There was no other word for it. It was a beige color that only seemed magical against the pink and blue sky, complete with so many windows it made my head dizzy. There were so many lounge chairs laid out beside a dazzling blue pool and a huge fire pit that seemed to have already been lit for us. Needless to say, it was the most expensive-looking place I'd ever seen. Though, that is coming from a guy who spent a good portion of his childhood living in cars.

"Holy smokes," Robyn vocalizes as we all climb out of the car, staring at the huge house in front of us, her hands on her hips. "You're, like, loaded."

Robyn and I exchange a glance. She and I were in similar boats, financially. Oba made good money and so did Robyn's parents—both of whom are therapists—but nothing like this. Nothing so extravagant. And even then, Robyn's never had to worry about money as I did as a kid. If she was shocked, coming from a financially stable household, then my mind was completely blown. It's safe to say we were both floored by the picture of luxury standing in front of us.

Devin winks at her. "And to think, if you let me put a ring on that pretty finger, it's all yours."

He grabs Robyn's hand and spins her around in a circle before his hand comes to sit on her waist. "If you're trying to force my hand by way of bribery, it might just work," Robyn jokes, standing on her toes to kiss Devin's nose.

"You two are disgusting," I grumble, grabbing my suitcase and running a hand through my hair. "Seriously. My stomach is churning."

Hunter looks up at me. "Do you have the bubble guts, little man?"

"No, I do not have the bub—is that a butler?!"

Everyone's head whips towards a short man walking up to us, a bright grin on his face. He bows once at us and I glance around at my friends, wondering if it was customary to bow back or not. Everyone else remained still so I did too, biting my lip. "Mr. Forrester. Have a nice flight?"

Devin grins and embraces the man like a brother. "As nice as stuffy airplanes can be, Samuel. Anyways, these are my friends. That's Hayley, Hunter, Roman, Braylen, and my girl, Robyn."

Samuel smiles even brighter, dimples piercing his cheeks. "How lovely she is. We're very excited to have you all."

"We?" Hayley asks, raising an eyebrow. She and Roman were standing next to each other, far too close for my liking. I turn my eyes just as they catch Roman's. If I couldn't even bear to look at him, how was I to get through this whole trip with him?

Devin laughs softly. "We have a few workers in the house, just to help out. Sam's the best of the best. We're in good hands."

"Please, leave your bags here. My team and I will bring them up right away. For now, just get comfortable and enjoy your stay!" Samuel says, shooting us yet another grin. I wondered if his cheeks hurt, but then again, he seemed like the person who was always smiling. The muscles in his face were probably used to it.

We all thank Samuel before walking down the brick floor and towards the house. Roman's arm brushes mine and I look up at him. "Can we talk?" he asks, whispering low enough that no one can hear.

My tongue goes dry. "Uh," I mumble, but by then we're stepping into the house. "Jesus Christ."

I don't know what I expected after looking at the beautiful exterior of the house, but the interior! There was a dark wood theme, lightened up with the cream curtains and sofas that seemed so soft I wouldn't even mind sleeping on them. There was a grand piano in the center of the room, meticulously polished, and bookshelves filled to the brim with novels. "Dev, this house is insane!" Robyn gushes, rushing to the kitchen and admiring the spaciousness of it.

"Just wait until you see the bedrooms," Devin responds with a wink.

        I turn to him. "Hey, how many bedrooms did you say there were?"

       Devin scratches his head. "Um, five, I think."

       "You think?" Roman laughs, spinning around in a slow circle as he takes in the room. "What, is there a secret room we should know about? Hidden behind a painting, perhaps?"

Devin laughs but I only stare back at him. With how intricate this house was, a hidden room didn't seem so far off. "There's this club nearby," Devin says, playing a couple of notes on the piano. "Thought we could stop by."

"A club? You have my attention," Hayley says, excitement in her voice. Roman smiles over at her and I can feel a pang of pain shoot through my body.

Devin looks over at me, eyebrows raised. "B? What do you think?"

I gnaw on my bottom lip, discomfort still settled in my stomach. I hated feeling like this. I didn't want to feel like this any longer.

So I smile, cocking my head to the side at Devin. "Let's go and get wasted."