After they rush from the hammock, the couple takes off inside, where the blast of the A/C sends them running for Josh's bedroom. Once they're through the door, Josh slams it shut, but rather than diving into their usual act of stripping each other, Nikki goes to switch it up with a game of tickling and horsing around to make Josh work for it.

"Come get me, baby! You want me; then you're going to earn it this time!"

Excitement takes over with Josh lifting Nikki into his arms. She squirms, attempting to break his grip. She's able to slip free and leaps onto the bed. Still willing to make it tough for him, Nikki turns to grab him and pin him to the bed by locking their hands together with a kiss to hold him captive.

Unwilling to let Nikki dictate the terms of victory, Josh bucks his back, rolling Nikki underneath of his body, then returns to another kiss. He settles a little of his weight to pin her down, but the battle isn't over. Nikki struggles at first to free a hand. Once she can worm her hand away from Josh's sweaty grip, she tickles him enough to where he rolls off the bed onto the floor.

Not wasting the opportunity, Nikki dives onto the floor, landing over Josh with a noisy thud. Rather than interlock hands again, she pins his wrists to the floor, using all her weight to win.

"Okay, okay, you can win! I give up, baby angel, I surrender!" Josh announces, smiling at his lover.

She leans in with a heated lip lock again. Ready for the passion of love shared between them, Nikki runs her hands through Josh's hair. She's more than ready to return to the bed rather than remain on the hardwood floor.

"Put me on the bed and have your way." She whispers while nibbling on his ear, using her warm breath to help melt his body.

In a single swoop, Josh lifts Nikki with ease then drops her on his bed while they're keeping a death grip on the other. Once her head is resting on his pillows, she paws at his shirt, trying to get it off his sweaty, sticky torso.

With ease, Josh removes Nikki's tank top along with her bra. Warm, easy breaths and kisses from her neck down to the tops of her breasts; Josh works Nikki's desire by changing up the way he plays with her breasts. Josh begins with a single drawn-out hot breath followed up by using his teeth to bite at her nipples, tugging them gently. It draws a line between pleasure and pain. He knows it's a new technique he's doing that works as her hands tighten in his hair with a death grip between each deep breath combined with moans.

Taking his time, Josh continues to make his way, stopping at the top of Nikki's shorts. With his teeth, Josh unfastens the button with his fingers undoing the zipper. A hand on each side of the shorts, he yanks with ease. Before he begins an assault between her thighs the way she enjoys, Nikki wants to flip the script by trying new things.

It fails Josh's attention that Nikki's drawn her legs up, preparing to pounce on him once he drops his jeans. By the time he sits between her legs again, Nikki hurdles forward, forcing Josh to land on his back.

"I wanna try this," she says in a low soft voice positioning herself lower on his body.

All Josh can do is rest his hands behind his head and wait for Nikki to begin to go down on him.

Unexperienced Nikki isn't confident at first, but once she splits, her lips slowly engulfing as much that she can handle until she nearly gags a couple of times. Each time she swallows a little more with her eyes aimed up to gauge Josh's reaction, which is one of approval with his eyes rolled into the back of his head.

A few more times of nearly gagging herself, Nikki's had all she can stomach for the first time. Hoping it's enough to satisfy her partner, she kisses her way back his stomach and chest memorized how much he's toned up over the last several months.

Nikki waits for Josh to open his eyes upon her knees, then falls backward, returning her head to the pillows. Josh scoots to the side, picking up his wallet from his pocket, retrieving protection, and places it on before he moves into place.

He drops down, stopping inches from banging his head off Nikki's. All he does is stare and wait while she uses her hand, gripping his dick and sliding the first inch or so into her body, and allows him to take over.

Hitting his rhythm as soon as he feels her hand release, Josh hits his stride with force. Eyes locked on one another with an intense stare, the two of them fade away from the world. All that seems to exist to them is nothing else beyond the bed. Nikki sees an exploding galaxy of hidden passion in his eyes, and Josh can see her love with a fiery desire that has no end.

The stare down creates such a tension swelling within their bodies that it increases dramatically. Other than the heavy breathing, barely a noise is heard. It's a new awareness, unlike any time they've had sex. It works them up until Nikki can't handle anymore breaking from the silence.

"Oh Josh, yes baby, don't stop, not yet, please..." Nikki groans with her body tensed up.

"I'm about there, don't stop, faster please, faster baby faster!"

Her plead doesn't go unanswered because Josh picks up the pace and intensity. He slams into Nikki's body. Her body barely hoists off the mattress when she reaches her orgasm.

At the same time, Josh can't hold back anymore and explodes while Nikki experiences her orgasm. After his body finishes expensing its pleasure, he slows down the pace until he feels he can't go on. Josh rolls off to the side, panting heavily to keep from crushing Nikki under his weight.

"Wow, that was beyond intense, babycakes. I don't know how many ways I can tell you how much I love you, but I do so much." Nikki says, curled up on Josh's chest, listening to his fast-beating heart.

Josh stretches, followed by a kiss to Nikki on the crown of her head.

"I love you more than you could ever know, and I always will. You're my first love, and no one can take that away from you."

She squeezes him with the arm draped across his chest, but the cuddling doesn't last long since they need to get dressed before anyone arrives home and catches them in bed.

"We better get dressed and back out to the living room or head out for a while," Josh suggests reaching for his clothes seconds before he lands on the floor along with Nikki.

"Ow, my butt!" He says, making Nikki laugh until she snorts.

The laughter comes to an end so that they can get dressed, but Nikki's shirt somehow got shoved under the bed when they dropped to the floor. She lays flat on her stomach to reach for it, but when she looks under the bed, her shirt isn't the only thing she finds.

In her sight is an open alcohol bottle. To further investigate, she crawls a little further under the bed, retrieving the bottle only to discover it's empty with just a few drops left collected of the brown bourbon liquor. In one hand, she has her shirt, and in the other, the bottle with a death grip ready to kill Josh the instant she gets to her feet.

All Nikki can see is red at this point when she shoves the bottle in Josh's face.

"This better not be what the hell I think it is! Why is there an empty bottle of booze under your bed? I thought I made it clear anymore drinking equals no more me in your life! You low-life lying two-faced son of a bitch!"

Josh is caught off guard, not unaware that the bottle was under his bed. He tries to cool her down with a step back, seeing her face glow a shade of rose.

"Now just wait a minute, sweetie, that ain't mine, I swear. I haven't had a drink in months, and I am not lying about it. It's not worth you being like this."

"Again, I'll ask, then what the hell is it doing in here?" Her breaths become heavy and erratic.

"Josh, I'm dead serious. If you don't want me walking out that door for good, then you will tell me the truth right now!"

"I swear, Nikole, it's not mine! If I knew how it got there, I would tell you. I haven't been drinking; I mean hell, I'm barely ever here, and when I'm not down here, I'm with you and your friends! I love you, and I wouldn't drive you out of my life!" Josh yells, trying to fight the tears beginning to build in his eyes.

Nothing he said phases how she feels. The rage takes control of her entire body and mind. Instinct kicks in after she releases the bottle, followed by a slap across the face.

"I know better than that, just quit lying to me!" Tears fill her eyes, now mixed the rage with a side order of pain, feeling betrayed.

"Just tell me the truth so that I won't leave, please! I can't take being lied to, damn it, and I know this is yours. It's in your room, under your bed, and you're the one who had a drinking problem after your mother kicked you out of her house. It has to be yours. It has to be, and, and, and..." She pauses, wiping away the tears after she slides her shirt back on.

"And you're such a lying bastard, goodbye!" She screams, slipping into her flip-flops, and darts for the door.

"Nikki, wait, please! It's not mine, I swear on my life! You're too important to ruin what we have!" Josh cries out, reaching for her but just misses her when the door slams in his face.

Alex overhears the commotion and heads outside. James pulls into the driveway just in time to see Nikki haul off, slapping Josh. He hurries to park his car to find out what's going on.

"Hey, what's wrong?" He asks, standing between the door and the driver's seat.

Nikki doesn't allow Josh to speak up to defend himself.

"This dumbass has been secretly drinking in his room. Even after I told him that if I caught him, I would be gone."

James can't believe it and goes to defend Josh on his behalf, seeing his best friend nearly in tears.

"He ain't been drinking. I can vouch for him. Girl, you mean too much to him. He isn't that stupid. Calm down and talk to each other; there has to be some other explanation of why it was in his room."

That's the second time when Nikki's cool blows with the tears free-falling down her cheeks.

"Really, you can vouch, YOU can vouch for him. The one person who has hated me since the first day we met. Tell me how you can vouch for Josh? Do you sleep with him every night? Did you put a video camera in his room to tape him 24/7 to make sure he's not drinking? Have you held his hand to ensure he's sober? Please teach me how you've kept him from drinking since you supply the place and the booze he's lied to me about."

"I can't, so you'll have to trust me when I tell you that he hasn't had a single drop to drink. Maybe it was an old bottle from when he was drinking or something. I'm telling you to calm down before you make probably the biggest mistake of your life." James battles back, staying where he stands to keep an eye on Nikki and Josh.

Although her gut instinct is demanding, she drops the argument. Nikki can't help but listen to her brain, with the evidence being the only thing held against Josh. She marches over to her car, making one final announcement before she drives off.

"Josh, you better listen good. It's over. I'm done with you. If you had just told me that you had been drinking, we could've not talked until I came up with something. Instead, you lied right to my face, and that hurts. I love you with all my heart, but this hurts too much to stay here or come back. So, don't call me or message me again. It's over. Goodbye!"

Stunned by her actions, the boys remain still until her car is out of sight. After she's gone, Josh strolls to the back yard where he drops into the hammock. With an arm hiding his eyes, Josh lays there, trying to keep his breathing smooth and calm rather than hard and painful.

"Dawg, you alright? I'm here to talk to, you know." James offers, taking a seat on the bottom step.

Josh breaks his silence keeping his eyes hidden from his best friend.

"You know something; there's been a storm raging in me for some time now. For years, the darkness surrounds me, and all it's done is gained strength and power with every battle I've fought. I was standing in the eye of the storm when she came and pulled me out of the hurricane. She placed a new light in my eyes, and for the first time, I found shelter from this storm. Finally, the clap of thunder forged from my anger was dying, and the lightning strikes that fuels my intensity were fading away. I had a feeling of hope that was making me feel like a new man. She's gone, and the shadows of it all are returning with more force. I can't escape from it without her, bub. I love her. I truly love her. I lost her over something stupid that I wasn't doing. I swear to God I haven't been drinking. I don't know where the bottle came from, but it ain't mine!"

All James can do is sit there and ponder what to say to comfort Josh's pain.

"Just give her some time and space is all I can say, dawg. Let her cool off before you go after her and stick to your guns until she believes you. I'm here to help you in any way I can, but I'll leave you be to let you do your thing. Need me I'll be out front chillin' with Alex."

The steps creak under James' weight going across the deck. He disappears, leaving Josh there to break alone. Known as the trio's toughest, Josh tries to hold back, but the searing agony of it all leaves him in tears.

After the sun drops out of the sky, the pain shifts to anger; Josh rolls to his feet, heading inside. Entering through the kitchen, he goes to reach for a bottle of Smirnoff vodka over the oven. Rather than numb the pain through ways of the past, he kicks, hits, shoves, and slams the stove around. The concern over damaging a gas line doesn't concern him.

It isn't until Justin arrives that Josh cools down. The rampage against the inanimate object comes to an end with a hand resting on his shoulder.

"Bro, I heard about what happened; you gonna be alright?" Justin says to gain Josh's concentration.

"I don't know. All I know is she thinks I've been drinking, and I haven't touched it. The first time I got slapped for something I haven't deserved, and she left me over nothing. The girl I love more than life itself is gone for nothing."

Justin stands there informing Josh of what's going to happen.

"Here's what we're going to do, bro. We'll stay in tonight, order some pizzas, watch some boob tube, and you know what I noticed. You didn't crack that bottle and start drinking again. Tomorrow or something, we will both talk to her. She probably needs space to calm down. I'll crash on the couch, and I'm not leaving you here to suffer alone."

Nothing else is said after Josh finally makes a move away from the stove. One final slam against it with a slight screech noise that Josh doesn't pay attention to at all. Then he's off to the living room to try to relax.

Eventually, James returns to join the other two in the living room. Before Justin passes out, he notices a little red light blinking. Slowly each of them crashes out before Momma C returns from the scene of the crash. It's a night of comfort in silence with the trio coming together once more like in the old days.