After our second bottle of wine and too many s’mores to count, Nick and Harley throw in the towel and call it a night, walking back to the house hand in hand. Judging by the lights and the noise, the party in the backyard is still going strong. I wonder whether they’ll stroll in intertwined or if they’ll continue to hide their relationship in front of Nick’s family. I squint to try to see what they decide, but the shadows make it too dark to know for sure.

Gemma finishes up her glass of wine, then pushes up off the blanket. “I’m going to pack it in too. I’m beat.”

“Do you need me to walk you back to the house?” Jack starts to rise.

Gemma shoos him off. “I’m good. Just listen for my screams.”

I roll my eyes. “We’ll watch you until you get to the gate.”

She squats down a little so she can look me in the eye. “You good?”

There’s a lot of layers to that question. Do I want to stay here alone with Jack? Am I going to do something I might regret thanks to the copious amount of imbibing throughout the day? Is there a chance I’ll pass out on this blanket?

All valid questions.

But I smile and give her a reassuring hand squeeze. “I’m good.”

Gemma waves good night and treks back to the house. We watch her until she reaches the back gate, as promised.

Flopping on the blanket, I lie flat on my back so I can look up and see the stars. Stars are one of the few things New York City life can’t provide, but here on the beach, a ton of them are sprinkled in the midnight sky above, like a pot of glitter exploded over a swath of navy velvet.

“Get your ass over here, Jackpot.” I might be tempting fate by inviting my suddenly sexy roommate to share a blanket under the stars, but I don’t much care. I’d like to blame it on the rosé, but really, I just want Jack to be near me.

He chuckles, and a few seconds later lowers himself next to me, sitting with his knees pulled into his chest, a beer bottle dangling from his fingers. “You all right down there?”

“Just looking at the stars.”

He tilts his head up. “It’s one of the few things I miss from growing up in Connecticut.”

“You grew up in Connecticut?” My attention is successfully pulled from the sky and focused on Jack. Who just revealed a truth.

He takes a long drink of his beer, like he didn’t mean to actually tell me that. “Yup.”