The cloudy air inside The Tipsy Pirate Package Store was thick with incense smoke and a touch of grass. I inhaled slowly, deeply. Rather than shelves and display cases, this liquor store let cardboard boxes on the carpeted floor speak for themselves. Their inventories of vodkas and rums, tequilas and wines formed a shadowy maze that obstructed the back half of the store from sight. Jimmy Buffet's Brown Eyed Girl was playing overhead. I loved that song.

"I gotta piss, be right back," Perry grumbled, turning heel and disappearing into the cardboard maze.

I grabbed Pearl by the hand and led her to the left side of the store, where a row of refrigerators provided precious light. I scanned their glass doors until I found the seltzers. When I pulled the black plastic handle towards myself, the cool air felt amazing. It also gave me a moment's relief. I should've listened to Pearl and changed into shorts, but I had no intention of telling her that. We would be back at the rental before long and it wouldn't matter anymore. I clumsily tugged on a case of Black Cherry White Claws on the top shelf, getting the corner of the box stuck on the wire rack, and manipulating the angle until it yanked free, smacking into my shoulder. I buckled over slightly, "Ow!"

I smiled as I looked over at Pearl, expecting to quickly become the butt end of a joke, but Pearl wasn't looking at me. She was leaned up against the fridge to my left, pushing her arms together so her boobs looked bigger and biting her lip. I hardly recognized her and I was reminded for the first time this summer that a lot can change in a year. She was still a virgin though. I was certain that she would've told me. I followed her gaze to the man worth frothing at the mouth over, in public and sober.

Everyone has a type, I guess.

The tall brunette man exchanging fuck-me eyes with my best friend was wearing an unbuttoned yellow hawaiian shirt, khaki pants, and loafers. He was dressed like a spring-breaking frat boy, but he was pushing thirty. I realized that the confidence this man exuded must've rubbed off on Pearl, and everything made sense again. It eased my mind to have an excuse for her behavior.

The man broke his gaze, saying something to the stunning black goth girl who entered a few seconds after him, alongside a couple others, before he headed off towards the restroom. I didn't see anything else before Pearl grabbed ahold of my shoulders, shaking me violently and giggling, her face a blur of hair and teeth to my rattling brain.

"Jesus Christ, down girl!" I laughed. I swatted her hands off of my shoulders.

"Look. June, hear me out," Pearl's face was plastered with a smile, but her eyes were pleading, "I know I promised to keep it just us tonight but did you see the way he was looking at me?"

"Pearl..."

"I will literally do anything if I can invite him tonight," she begged, puppy dog eyes wide and unblinking.

"Pearl-"

"And-"

"There's an and?" I rubbed my brow, annoyed to already be in this situation on night one.

Suddenly bashful, Pearl looked down at her feet and took a deep breath. "Maybe... maybe I could borrow your bed for the night?" Pearl grimaced, "I'll wash your sheets in the morning, I promise."

"You want to sleep with him? Like tonight?" I furrowed my brow, taking it all in.

Pearl blushed, the rouge in stark contrast to her dark features and hair, "...Yes?"

I thought about it for a moment, but the decision was already made. Pearl was my sister, and I was not going to be the one to cockblock her the day she wanted to lose her virginity.

"You're lucky I love you," I said. "And as payment, you're carrying." I thrust the case of White Claws into Pearl's arms as she beamed back at me.

"Maybe you're the lucky one," she winked.

"Hm?" I couldn't seem to figure out how Pearl breaking her promise and stealing my bedroom made me the "lucky one."

"He has a friend," she said, her eyes darting over my shoulder for a moment. "And it seems that you two are matching."

"Is it safe to look?" I kept my eyes glued to Pearl's, who nodded with gusto.

I nonchalantly turned over my shoulder, pretending to scan the aisles, when I saw him for the first time. My breath hitched in my throat. Less than fifteen feet from me, Michelangelo's statue of David had taken human form. The hero who slayed Goliath was here and rummaging through a box of liquor bottles. I watched, deaf to everything but my heartbeat, as he found what he was looking for. He paused, reading the label on a bottle of scotch, before he found my gaze.

Even from a distance, looking into his dark brown eyes felt more intimate than sex. His lips parted for a moment before his mouth settled into a straight line. I finally remembered to turn the charm on, hoping that he could forgive my gawking. I smiled coyly at him, giving him a little wave with my dominant hand, my left. His eyes flew to my engagement ring and I watched helplessly as he rolled his eyes and stormed off.

"Hey June... you don't know him, do you?" Pearl asked hesitantly.

"No, why?" It was hot, too hot. I cursed myself again for not changing into shorts.

"That was just... intense." Pearl watched me shakily remove my engagement ring and stuff it into my back pocket, concern etched into her face. "You okay, girl? You look a little... red."

"Yeah... yeah, for sure," I choked out. "I'm just embarrassed, is all. Note to self: gotta remember to remove my fucking engagement ring before attempting to hit on someone again." I made a pathetic attempt at laughter. Pearl pulled me in for a three-person hug: me, her, and the seltzer box that was stabbing us both in the chest. It offered me little comfort.

A chorus of laughter and frantic conversation erupted from the opposite corner of The Tipsy Pirate, with Perry's obnoxious voice mingling in the chaos.

Even Perry is off to a better start than I am.

I just wanted to go home, and soon, but I had a sneaking suspicion that I wouldn't be getting my way tonight. I pulled away from Pearl, a hard lump forming in my throat. She studied my face.

"Thank you, I'm feeling a lot better now," I smiled. Seeing Pearl light back up did bring me some comfort, but I knew I was going to need something stronger to get through the night, so I set myself off on a wild goose chase for a half-decent bottle of vodka.

I had narrowed my search down to two semi-tolerable options: Pink Whitney and Blue Raspberry Smirnoff. I was holding a bottle of each when Perry speed-walked up to me.

"June, just so you know, I met some really cool people and they invited us along to the local bar." I shot him an ugly look. "Before you try to say no, I already ran the idea by Pearl and she wants to go. Bad. Seems like Johnny made a real lasting impression on her," Perry scratched the back of his neck awkwardly before continuing, "I'll DD and I promise we'll only stay an hour or two. I know you won't do it for me, but maybe you'll consider it for your best friend's sake."

"Johnny?" I asked, uninterested.

"Johnny. He was in here earlier, tall guy... yellow shirt," Perry chuckled to himself, "Funny story, actually, we were at the urinal and-"

"I don't care what you were doing at the urinal," I spat, shaking my head in disdain.

"Well, we're going regardless," Perry snapped back. "All I want to know is whether we need to drop you off first."

I handed the bottles of vodka to Perry, staring at him blankly until he was comfortably carrying both. "Fine. Two hours max, I want to be home by eleven."

"Yes, Your Highness," he mocked. I scrunched my nose at him in distaste, but I held my tongue.

"So who do I have the pleasure of spending my night with tonight?" I asked, venom dripping from each word.

"Johnny, obviously. His friends, Rosemary and Sam. Sam's the cutesy little goth chick, and Rosemary..." Perry whistled softly. "Rosemary is her busty best friend, the thick brunette with the fat ass and the big-"

"Jesus Christ. I know what thick means, Perry," I crossed my arms against my chest, growing more impatient.

"Got it, sorry. Nate's coming too. Curly headed dude. I don't think that he's really friends with any of them." He shrugged. "Johnny said he's pretty antisocial at work so he was surprised he even came tonight."

"Hm," I responded shortly. "Well, you and Pearl can check out. I'll meet you guys at the car. Okay?"

"Sounds good," Perry said, quickly abandoning me to return to his new found friends. From where I stood, I could see Pearl batting her eyes seductively at "Johnny" as he yapped about god-knows-what and I grimaced.

She could do SO much better.

I pulled out my phone and tried to look busy as I quickly walked to the front door. My skin prickled, aware that I was being watched, but I ignored it.

"She said yes! Party of seven to The Captain's Hook!" I heard Perry proclaim loudly, followed by a cacophony of cheers.

As if he cares that I'm coming.

I breathed a sigh of relief when I made it out the door without attracting any further attention. I was aware that I was behaving like an antisocial weirdo, but I needed a moment before I could face Nate, the actual antisocial weirdo, again. I didn't like how vulnerable his gaze made me feel, and I was still recovering from the last time his eyes met mine.

I was hopeful that the rest of the group would forgive me for my absence as soon as I had a few drinks in me. Drunk June was an expert at making friends, and maybe even Nate would change his mind about me. I knew I couldn't expose Dean's secret to a man that he'd never even heard of, but maybe I could still recover from this. I would just have to get to know Nate before I could even think about trusting him with something this serious.

I mentally kicked myself. Typically, the people that I partied with would never know that I was engaged, let alone that I was engaged to a gay man. I liked to keep my options open on my nights out. Plus, I knew what people would think, the kinds of words that they would use to describe someone like me.

Beard. Opportunist.

Parasite. Bloodsucker.

Golddigger.

There were few words that would surprise me, as I had called myself all of the above in the privacy of my own room. If I could have given any piece of advice in that moment to my younger self, it would have been, "hate yourself so much that you stop expecting other people to like you. It'll set you free." It made sense in theory, but I grudgingly admitted that I did still expect people to like me, and if this was freedom, then it sucked major butt. I plopped my major butt onto the curb beside the rental car, burying my head in my hands. Maybe I was a golddigger, but it was better than being the directionless, lonely, poor girl that I would be without Dean. Maybe I was a parasite, but it was too late to become anything else.

I need a drink.

As if on cue, two girls that I assumed to be the infamous Sam and Rosemary exited the liquor store, both swinging hefty black grocery bags at their sides.

"You must be June. Care for a shooter?" The smaller of the two piped up. I nodded.

She found a seat to my right, rustling around in her bag until she pulled out three ninety-nine cent double shot bottles of cinnamon whiskey. She passed one to Rosemary before handing me mine with a smile.

"I'm Sam and this is Rosemary," Sam grinned. Rosemary gave me a friendly little wave. "To a great night with new friends," she twisted the cap off with a snap and raised it above her head. "May we not remember it in the morning!"

"Cheers," Rosemary squatted in front of the curb and smiled at me as we clinked our drinks together.

"Cheers to new friends." I decided that I did not mind these girls. Sam really was cutesy, her hair in twists, dyed a gentle maroon. My eye was drawn to her heavy black eyeliner, which was accompanied by three tiny white stars hand-painted beneath each eye. It wasn't a style that I saw much of back home, but it worked for her. She seemed sweet. Rosemary was not as chatty as Sam, but her eyes were kind. She wore her dark brown hair perfectly slicked back into a low tight bun and gold hoop earrings that swung with her as she threw her head back. I doubted that her earrings were real and I snuck periodic glances at them as I downed the whiskey. The blissful burn of liquor in my chest allowed me to relax finally, and I breathed.

A-Ha! A rust spot! Left earring, halfway down.

I could feel the corners of my mouth twitching upward, but I repressed them to the best of my ability.

"So, how do you guys all know each other?" I inquired.

"We're coworkers. At Dolphin Coast's very own Dolphin Coast Animal Hospital. Original name right?" Rosemary responded, as she fished out three more shooters, from her bag this time. "Sam, Johnny, and Nate are our vet techs and I'm the receptionist." She passed Sam and I each a shot of Tito's before laughing, "Actually now that I think of it, almost all of our staff is here tonight."

"Who's missing?" I asked, cracking the seal of the vodka bottle.

"Mr. Gus Andrews, our vet. He's kinda a big deal around here. How long are you in town?" Sam chirped, before swallowing her shot of vodka in one gulp. Impressive.

"We're here all summer." I said before leaning my head back and opening my throat, attempting Sam's maneuver. I sloppily got it down in a couple of gulps, but I dribbled and scrunched my face in a way that she had not. Embarrassed, I wiped my lips and chin with the bare back of my hand. Sam acted like she had not seen, smiling at me with unwavering warmth, but Rosemary stifled a laugh. She was lucky that I was still sober enough for semi-rational thinking, or that wouldn't have gotten a pass. I strategically shuffled on the curb until I was completely facing Sam.

"Oh cool!" Sam exclaimed, "Well, you'll prolly run into him from time to time here. He's a reallyyy really sweet older guy... kinda looks like Santa." She had begun to slur her speech. "He shows his face allll over town. I really dunno how he has time for it all."

I was quiet for a few moments before I erupted into a fit of giggles. Drunk June was taking a hold and my laughter shook me rhythmically, shaking the stress from my formerly rigid body.

"What, what is it?" Sam asked, an anticipatory smile creeping onto her face.

"He doesn't just show his face over... a-all over town," I stammered, trying to get a hold of my laughter.

Sam gasped dramatically, throwing her hand over her black-lipsticked mouth, "Pleeease.... please tell me you didn't see him at the... b-beach..." Sam too was borderline toppling over with giggles now. "I promise... I promise I've t-tried to get him a new swimsuit!"

"Girl, no shot I saw your boss' fuckin' ass cheeks earlier today!" It came out louder than I intended, and I giggled, biting my lip in an attempt to control myself, before a voice cut through the night air. I stopped laughing.

"I'll just wait in the car," the gruff male voice stated. I was frozen in place, my eyes still locked with Sam's. She wore a curious expression and I finally let my eyes flit away, suddenly uncomfortable under her gaze. Following the sound of footsteps, I had looked up at the perfect moment to see Nate disappear into the backseat of the Black Ford Explorer, roughly shutting the car door behind him. The rest of the group, including Rosemary, was now clustered at the back end of the car, talking amongst themselves.

"If he slams my car door again, I'm not inviting him again," Sam whispered in my ear, shaking her head,

I mouthed 'I'm sorry' to her with a sympathetic smile. We both stood up, brushed ourselves off, and joined the rest of the group.