He’d been my best friend, and his house had been a refuge for me. But everyone partying needed to be gone. These things normally wrapped up by four, but I needed things shut down by two at the latest. It would give me time to get rid of any stragglers and make sure Bay came back to the quiet, normal neighborhood she expected.

Trying to break up a party in full swing was an invitation for fights and people taking things to the streets. The last thing I needed was her coming home to a parade of cars rounding the block.

“I’ll make you a deal. Help me get everyone out of here by two. Make sure all the stragglers are in taxis or their parents have them or whatever. I don’t care. If you help me with that, you can use my room.”

“I swear. Hell, I’ll have them out by one.” He stared back at me with determination. I wasn’t sure if that was to help me or to get laid. Probably ninety percent getting laid, but I’d take what help I could get.

I nodded and slapped my hand into my pocket.

“Don’t touch anything and don’t have sex on my sheets.” I dangled the key in front of his face.

He snatched it out of my hand. “I promise. I’ll order you new sheets.” His head bobbed and weaved through the crowd, only to reappear seconds later leading Rebecca upstairs with his hand high in the air holding hers like they were in an extended ballroom dancing spin.

“Dare, why aren’t you dancing?” A junior wrapped her arms around my shoulder, her drink sloshing onto the floor.

“Not my scene.” I unlooped her arms and turned her toward one of the rising juniors.

I rode out the rest of the night teetering on the razor’s edge of calling the cops myself and shoving people out the door.

True to his word, Knox emerged from the bedroom and helped me corral everyone out of the house.

I directed the freshmen to start in the backyard to clean things up, including their own puke.

By dawn, everything looked normal, at least from the outside. Inside, the house was still a disaster zone, but at least, my room was relatively untouched. Whatever Knox had done, he’d left my bed as he’d found it.

Turning off the light Knox must’ve turned on, I collapsed in my bed in my boxers. The shades were drawn or I’d have had a perfect view to Bay’s house. The lights were still off when I’d come upstairs. Crisis averted.

Lying in bed, I vowed not to let the stupid shit going on in my head screw things up with Bay. But the clock ticking down to graduation only a few weeks away sat like a weight on my chest. Striking the balance between not screwing this up and not losing what little time we had left sent an uneasiness creeping through my body.

Was I trying to fuck this up with her?