My eyes flutter open to the bright sunlight coming through the window behind him. I deem this the best morning ever.

              "Morning sunshine. Theirs Advil on the table for you."

              "Morning." I yawn sitting up in bed.

              "Marcus should be back with breakfast soon."

              "Awesome." I get out of bed and head to my bathroom. "Oh my God!" I exclaim at my reflection in the mirror. My hairs a tangled mess. I groan at the thought of having to wash it later. Returning to my bed I fall onto my stomach smashing my face into my pillow.

              "Want the Advil?"

              "No, I'm fine. I may need it later for a headache I'll get yanking all the knots out my hair."

              "I'm back." Marcus yells from downstairs. When Angel and I walk into the kitchen Marcus has trays from hash brown heaven set up in front of each of the bar stools.

              "Thank you, Marcus. You're the best." As I walk past him I give him a kiss on the cheek.

              "Yeah, I know." He jokes. Rolling my eyes I sit next to Angel and start shoving food in my mouth.

              "What?" I ask Angel when I notice him staring at me.

              "How are you not hung over? Even a little bit?"

              "I didn't drink that much. Only four beers. Hard liquor is the only thing that can get me drunk if I drink enough but I've still never had a hangover."

              "Rose has been blessed with a high tolerance for alcohol. It is pretty difficult to get her drunk and even when she drinks a lot she doesn't get a hangover." Marcus adds. Angel stares at me in disbelief.

              "You've never had a hangover?"

              "Nope, never and I've only been drunk twice in my life. Whiskey and vodka. When I mix those two, it ain't pretty but still no hangover amazingly."

              "Wow, you're lucky."

              "Luck mixed with knowing my limit. Or when Marcus sees I've reached my limit." I laugh nudging Marcus with my shoulder. He smiles at me.

              "You get your bag for the trip already?" I ask Marcus.

              "Yeah, I picked it up before I went to go get us breakfast."

              "How about you?"

              "My mom dropped mine off when you were still sleeping with a surprise in it." I quirk my right eyebrow up at him. "A box of condoms along with a note that said, remember to be safe and a smiley face." Marcus explodes with laughter and I slap my hang over my mouth to avoid spraying hot cocoa across the table. After swallowing I laughing uncontrollably with Marcus.

              "Aw, that's so cute."

              "It's flipping adorable," Angel says sarcastically.

              "She's just looking out for you and making sure you don't ruin your life by getting some random girl pregnant. It's pretty smart of her actually."

              "Okay, let's talk about something else now."

              "I've got something else we can talk about." Marcus grins mischievously. Uh oh. It's never good when he's got that look on his face. "Who the hell was that guy you were making out with at the party last night? I didn't realize it was you in the pool all over that guy until Angel told me this morning. You guys were all over each other."

              "What can I say? He was a great kisser and crazy hot. I'd be a fool to pass him up."

              "You guys seemed about ready to start fucking right there in the pool," Marcus says laughing.

              "That is not true. We had a long innocent make-out session, a few dances, and a nice dip in the pool."

              "Innocent my ass," Angel says. I stop laughing and look at him.             

              "Not like it was any different from what you and your little blonde girlfriend were doing," I say coolly. He is being a hypocrite.

              "Dude that girl was all over you."

              "When I say you two in the kitchen you looked ready to start doing her up against the fridge," I say pointing my fork at him. "Have anything to say to that?"

              "Alcohol is bad." He responds.

              "And so is having a dick because you think with the wrong head." I laugh calling his lie. He barely drank anything. If he was alcohol-impaired no way would he pull me out a pool and then drive me home. "Anyway, I was thinking we could put in some practice before we head out to the beach house tonight."

              "And while you guys do that. I'll be watching the game I missed." Marcus wipes his mouth with his napkin then tosses his now empty container in the trash.

              "I'm up for some practice. We can work on our dance some more."

              "Great!" Let's get to it. "Oh, wait I need pants," I say looking down at my oversized t-shirt that covers down to my mid-thigh.

              "That'd be a good idea." Angel laughs as he throws our containers in the trash. Once I've changed we practice what we came up with yesterday.

              "Perfect," I say after our fourth time of practicing it. "Have any ideas for what to do next?"

              "Can you do the splits while you're in a handstand?" I nod yes.

              "I was thinking you could do that and I'm behind you so next you wrap your legs around me. Can we try?" I go into a handstand with my back facing what would be the crowd then put my legs into the splits. Angle stands where is technically in front of me now and places his hands on my hips. "Now I'm going to lift you toward me and I want you to wrap your legs around me. One, two, three." Falling toward him to help him lift me correctly I wrap my legs around him. "Place one hand on my side and the other on the back of my head." I do as he says and he places one hand on my stomach and the other holds onto my left thigh. "Now I'll turn us around three times, next unwrap your legs from me so I can lift you and I'll turn us two more times standing in place." We try it then he sets me down, does a half turn so I'm facing him and dips me. His arm is around me and his hand is flat against the bare skin of my back.

              "What not?" I say breathless. He's leaned over me his face close enough for me to feel his breath on my skin. He lifts me up.

              "Turn." He spins me once and I add another one. "Go into a bridge then flip back up."

              "And you said you weren't a good choreographer. You just came up with thirty-two counts in ten seconds." I laugh. He rubs his hand against the back of his head shyly.

              "Well, it helps when you work with the best." We smile at each other and decide to come up with another thirty-two counts before we get ready to go.

              "Time to deal with this mess on my head," I say to myself as I get in the shower. Half an hour later my bags are packed, my hair is straight, and everyone is downstairs. I check my watch. We're an hour ahead of schedule. "You guys want to get away that bad huh?" I ask all of them with a chuckle.

              "Yeah, since the end of spring break last year." Brian laughs and everyone joins him.

              "You guys ready to get this party started?"

              "We've never been more ready. It's time to relax for the first time since the school year started." Marcus says.

              "Then let's get this show on the road," Angel says from behind me. His hair still wet from the shower and he smells delicious.

              "I'm taking the BMW. Up to four people in my car."

              "I'll ride with you." Angel, Brian, and Marcus say at the same time. 

              "We'll give the two lovebirds their own chariot." James gives Marcus the finger but can't help letting out a laugh. We split into groups and head to our designated cars. Then we're off. As usual, we hit traffic as soon as we get on the freeway. Close to two hours later I pull into the garage and leave it open for when James and Jasmine arrive.

              "Second or third floor?" I ask Angel.

              "Third."

              "Follow me. I'll show you to your room." He follows me up the stairs with his bag thrown over his shoulder. "This is Marcus's room." I point at it as we walk by. "And this will be your room." I push the door across from Marcus's room open. The floors are dark paneled wood and the walls are white with portraits hanging on some areas of the walls. The windows are large and take up most of the wall. "Here's the bathroom." I open the door to show him. "My room is the door at the end of the hall. If you need anything that's where I'll be." Shutting his bedroom door behind me to let him get settled in I head to my room.

               My room is similar to Angels except for the portraits in my room are photos I've taken and the windows are floor to ceiling showing off the beautiful view of the water. I open the curtains completely letting in the remaining sun. Leaning my head on the window and my palm I let out a sigh. This break is going to be interesting. I can't tell if it'll be interesting in a good or bad way yet. I'll find out soon I guess. Letting out another sigh I close my eyes.

              "Come in," I say to whoever knocks on my door. They come in and close the door behind them.

              "It's beautiful," Angel says standing next to me.

              "Yeah, it is," I say quietly. Looking up at him I notice him staring at me and not out the window like I thought he was. He shoves his hands in his pockets and clears his throat.

              "I was wondering if you wanted to go into town."   

               "Sure, that sounds fun. Most of the shops will probably be closed but there's a really good restaurant I know of."

              "I'll go see if anyone else want to come." Rummaging around in my bag I feel around for one of the nicer dresses I brought with me. It's black with a long deep V that stops near the bottom of my breasts and has a heart shaped cut out in the back. I put on a pair of tall red peep-toed heels. Red lips and a coat of mascara complete my outfit.

              "You guys ready to hit the town?" I ask everyone as I enter the kitchen.

              "You betcha," Marcus says winking at me. "And can I tell you how hot you look."

              "Yes, you can. You know I always love a compliment." He walks over to me and wraps his arm around my side leading me to the door.

              "Well, you look hot. Smokin' hot."

              "How do you not have a girlfriend when you say sweet things like that all the time?" I try to pretend I'm serious but a few laughs escape.

              "I don't know. You tell me because I ask myself that all the time." He jokes back. I lock up the door behind me and we head to town. Two blocks later we arrive. Like I predicted most of the shops are closed but our restaurant isn't. Angel holds the door open for us and places his hand on the small of my back when I walk through the door.

              "This place seems like a nightclub with a restaurant in it." He says into my ear leaving his hand on my back.

              "Food, music, and dancing. It's my favorite three things wrapped in one." Our waitress seats us at a table in a more quiet area further away from the dance floor.

              "Can I get you guys started with drinks or appetizers?" The waitress asks cheerfully. We all give her a drink order. "Do you guys know what you want or do you need a few minutes?" I examine the list of tapas again.

              "Work your magic, Rose," Marcus says.

              "We'll start with two orders of chips and guacamole and two orders of the halibut ceviche to start off with. For the entrees, we'll do three orders of the grilled skirt steak, chicken flautas, and seared scallops. Two orders of carne asada tacos, kale, quesadillas, and sautéed prawns, please."

              "Sounds great. I'll get that started right away for you guys and will be right back with your drinks." The small plates come out quickly and fill up our table. Each bite is a delicious explosion of flavor in my mouth. Once we finish our meal we chat amongst ourselves for a while.

              "Would you like to dance?" Marcus asks extending his hand out to me.

              "You know I do." I take his hand and we go to the dance floor. The light is low and the song playing has a great base. Since we are here a little earlier in the night there are only a few people dancing. I put my arms around his neck and he places his hand on my hips. We sway back and forth to the beat, sing loudly to the songs, and swing our heads around. He takes one of my hands from around his neck and spins me in a slow circle, wrapping his arm around my back when I'm facing him again. Jasmine and James join us on the dance floor.

              "Mind if I cut in?" Angel asks Marcus.

              "Not at all. Have fun you two." He gives me a wink then goes to ask some girl to dance. The song playing ends and is replaces with a slower melody. Just my luck, a slow dance.

              "Hopefully the power doesn't go out this time." He places one hand on my hip and places the other in my hand. I follow his lead.

              "Don't jinx it." I laugh. We glide across the dance floor.

              "When did you start up this annual trip?"

              "Seventh grade. My grandma used to take us before she got sick which was about the end of freshmen year. Sophomore year I drove us all up here even though I only had my permit. Luckily I didn't get caught."

              "You would have been screwed if you got caught."

              "I know. It was dumb but worth it. Everyone needed to get away from home. James parents were going through a divorce. Brian's parents would not get off him about his grades even though they were all A's and a few B's. Marcus, well he just doesn't get along with his parents. They are constantly yelling at him for no reason. And me, well my dad and step-monster are never home so I just hate being at that house alone all the time. As you can tell we are a pretty damaged bunch but that's what brought us together. We were there for each other when no one else was. From, the look on your face I can tell you can relate which means you've got something going on at home too. Don't worry." I say when a panic look crosses his face. "You don't have to tell me about it. You'll tell me when you want to or you'll decide you don't ever want to tell me. It's up to you but I'm here if you ever need anything." I close the space between us and lay my head on his chest. Closing my eyes I breathe in his familiar scent of fresh rain. What's he hiding? He pulls me closer to him and we continue gliding across the dance floor long after the song has ended.