“Yeah, but who’s he gonna complain to?” He puts the bottle to his lips and takes a long swig. Then he makes a face. “Ugh. This tastes like shit.”

He hands the bottle to me, and he’s right. It’s overly sweet. Disgusting. But I take a long drink anyway. There’s a peach on the label, but it tastes more like cough syrup than anything. I hand the bottle back to Lex and wipe at my sticky mouth with the back of my hand.

And that’s when the sky opens up.

Lex grabs my arm and pulls me to my feet. “Come on!” he shouts.

We run, laughing together, toward the cover of the sea porch. But we’re already soaked by the time we make it. We climb up on top of the picnic table to sit and watch the rain cascade off the roof like a waterfall. Lex hands me the wine bottle, and I take a long drink. The sound of the rain fills up the quiet. I pass the bottle back to Lex. I’m thinking about that weird flash of memory. Me hiding under the picnic table here. Hands over my ears. Angry voices. Gold strappy sandals and pink toenails.

“Av?” Lex is looking at me. We’re both dripping. “What’s going on with you?”

I watch a drop of water work its way down his nose. It moves between the freckles. Water is streaming down my face. Slipping down my neck like Cole’s fingertips. Dripping down my back.

“Everything feels strange tonight,” I tell him.

He nods. “It’s so weird that this is all gonna be over in a couple of weeks.” Lex takes another drink. He makes a face and shakes his head. “I don’t know how to go home after this.”

And I know what he means, because I keep thinking the same thing.

“It’s like Willa said that first day,” I tell him. “We’re becoming different people.”

“And that’s a good thing, right?” His question is so honest and real, it’s painful.

“I think so,” I say. “I sure as fuck hope so.”

We sit and talk for a long time, passing the wine back and forth while we listen to the rain.

Share a story.

Take a drink.

Lex tells me his dad is an asshole. “He moved away when I was little,” he says. “And I only saw him a couple of times after that. Then the fucker moved back to town a couple of years ago and didn’t even bother to tell me.” He puts the bottle to his lips again. “I ran into him outside the liquor store.”

“Seriously?” I say. “That’s messed up.”

“What about your dad?” he asks.

I shrug. “My dad isn’t an asshole.” I take the bottle from Lex and swallow another long swig. The sticky sweet warmth coats my throat. “He isn’t anything at all.”