I kind of abandoned Chase the moment we arrived at the hotel, only to meet Dad's fury.

Duncan was wincing at every word but I could hardly blame him. He tried to call many times and warn me but I never heard my phone ring.

"An overnight beach party!" Dad boomed. "How could you be so irresponsible?! Did you know that your mother was ready to call the police?!"

She wasn't my mother but I figured it wasn't a good time to push that fact again.

"The only reason we didn't go mad with worry was because your brother convinced us that you were OK." Dad glared at Duncan and added, "Although he refused to tell us where you were!"

I could never repay Duncan's loyalty but I was definitely going to try... once I got out of this storm.

Unfortunately, I couldn't tell Dad the truth.

If I told Dad that Chase was just a friend, he could get him into trouble for fraternizing with a guest. If I scraped up enough balls to tell Dad why I was really with Chase and begged him to keep quiet, I'd be outing my "friend" in the process.

I was fucked any way I spun it.

"You're grounded in this hotel room until Sunday," Dad said, letting the guillotine blade fall.

"But those are my last two days!" I said in horror.

What I meant was my last two days with Chase.

"Well, you should have thought about that before, Tanner Edward Davies!"

Full name treatment! Fuck, I was never going to get out of this punishment.

"And I'll be taking the phone," Dad said, holding out his hand. "I'm not letting you stay in touch with whatever miscreant that put you up to this."

Fuuuuuuck!

***

"Look who I brought," Duncan said, standing next to Chase in the hallway.

"Duncan, I don't know what to say."

"Whatever it is, say it to him," my brother said, pushing us into the room. "He only has a fifteen-minute break and your dad will come and check on you soon. I'll guard the door."

"That guy deserves a..." Chase tried to say but I already had my tongue in his mouth.

"I'd let you do everything you did last night twice over but I'm grounded and closely monitored," I said, looking ashamed.

"Your brother told me everything, I'm so sorry..."

"I don't regret a single second," I said, cutting him off again with kisses all over his face. "Waking up next to you was a dream come true."

"Is there anything I can do to get you out of this situation?" he asked, looking genuinely guilty.

"No," I said, honestly. "I don't think there is, but will you visit me during your breaks?"

He scrunched his brow before saying, "I can do that and more."

Handing me his iPhone, he added, "Use this to email me, I can use my old Blackberry."