They had ended the night with a long hug at the base of the stairs. Both were staying on the cautious side, and didn’t want to be caught together like that in the house. She checked to see that the coast was clear, and then slunk across the den and into the bedroom. Being extra careful not to wake Sandy up, Lexi gently twisted the handle and secured it into place. When she turned around, she realized all efforts were futile. Sandy wasn’t there.

Lexi’s heart beat in a panic. She could feel herself beginning to hyperventilate. If Sandy wasn’t there, then that meant that she knew Lexi hadn’t been in bed. Sandy would tell everyone. Lexi had no idea what to do. She couldn’t risk everyone finding out.

Changing clothes, she lay down on the empty bed, and contemplated her options. She could rush out of bed now and start making breakfast or something. However, she wasn’t sure at what point Sandy had left last night and it might make her look even more conspicuous. She figured she could go find Clark, and snuggle with him. That would cover her tracks if Sandy came back, but would hardly explain anything if Sandy had snuck out earlier in the evening. And anyway, after staying up all night with Jack, she hardly wanted to see her boyfriend. They hadn’t done anything wrong…well after they had talked it out they hadn’t. But either way, she wasn’t quite ready to wash the familiar scent off of her skin or erase the memories of their night together.

She was fresh out of options. When she was about ready to give up, the door burst open and Sandy sauntered in looking all too pleased with herself. Noticing that the room wasn’t empty, she gasped dramatically and swung the door closed behind her.

“When did you get back?” she asked hesitantly, fear evident in her face.

Lexi wasn’t sure why she looked so terrified. Lexi was the one who had been out at all hours of the night doing things that she didn’t want anyone to know about. Why would Sandy be so scared? “What time is it?” Lexi asked stalling.

“Please don’t tell anyone I was out,” Sandy squealed rushing to the bed and sitting heavily on the quilt comforter. “Oh God, please don’t tell anyone.” She looked to be about to go into hysterics. “I didn’t expect you to be back this morning.”

Now Lexi was really confused. Where had she been? Why was she so frantic about people finding out? Luckily, this saved Lexi from being confronted about why she had been out all night. “Where were you?” she questioned Sandy trying to compose her features.

“Okay, I’ll tell you, but promise you won’t say anything,” she demanded grabbing for Lexi’s hands as tears began to well in her eyes.

“Sure. I promise.” Lexi was just damn curious now.

“Okay. Okay,” Sandy said taking her hands back and brushing at her eyes. Obviously, she took some comfort in the fact that Lexi wouldn’t say anything. Her hysterics abated, she began speaking. “I woke up when you left. I knew immediately where you were going.”

Lexi tried to keep her face neutral, but couldn’t help her look of surprise. “Where was that?”

“Obviously you were going to Clark’s room,” Sandy said making the most girly giggle Lexi had ever heard.

“Oh.” Lexi breathed out a sigh of relief. Of course that was where Sandy would think she had been. Most sane women would have gone to see their boyfriend in the middle of the night while they were on vacation. That would have been the logical thing to do. She scolded herself.

“Don’t worry,” Sandy said conspiratorially, “I won’t let anyone know that ya’ll were up all night.”

Oh God, Lexi didn’t know it was possible to feel this bad. Lexi bit her lip to the point of pain and then began to push her hair behind her ear. She did not want to cry right now, but Clark was so damn smart. He would know. He would see Jack all over her. He would be able to piece everything together and realize what had really gone on last night.

“But when I saw you were gone, I snuck upstairs to the master bedroom.” Lexi nodded along. Really, she should have figured as much. The two had been all over each other since they had arrived. “Seth was very persuasive, and I…well…I stayed most of the night. I didn’t sleep much though,” Sandy said as if she were confiding in a friend. “I know you and Clark are together, but have you and Seth ever?”

Lexi quickly shook her head no. There was no way in hell. Seth was such a pig. “No. No. No. No. No.”

“You should maybe give it a try. He’s…wow…amazing.”

“Yeah, I don’t think so.”

“More for me then,” she said contentedly. “He made me swear not to tell anyone. It’s our little secret. So, if you could just keep it between us that would be great.”

Obviously Seth wouldn’t want Sandy to tell everyone that they were sleeping together. That way he could sleep with the other two girls he had brought with him without any of them knowing about it. How did Sandy not see that? Lexi didn’t really care to find out. As long as they were both under the impression that they were keeping each other’s secrets that would work out just fine for her.

She was exhausted, but still she was unable to sleep for very long. Tumbling noises from upstairs informed her that the guys had woken up. From that point on, she would never get any shut eye. Lexi grabbed her toiletry bag and hobbled into the empty bathroom. She stared at her reflection in the mirror in surprise. No wonder Sandy had thought she had been up all night doing the nasty. She was a wreck.

Her hair was tangled and windblown from a night on the beach. Her cheeks were plump and rosy. Her lips cracked and chapping. Two large circles had formed under her bloodshot eyes from the lack of sleep. Luckily, Sandy hadn’t noticed the sand covering her body or else she might have asked more questions. Despite her exhaustion and renewed fear that Clark would notice a difference in her, she was ready to start the day. She was ready to see Jack again.

After a shower, Lexi figured she at least looked presentable, and was ready for some breakfast. As she exited the room and began to climb the stairs to search for something to eat, the smell hit her. Pancakes.

She turned the corner and found Clark already in the middle of whipping up a fresh batch. Smiling brightly as she entered the room, she walked up to him and grasped him around the middle.

“Good morning to you too,” he said leaning down and giving her a kiss. “You look fresh this morning.”

She blushed. “Thank you, dear.”

“Go have a seat, and I’ll get you some pancakes. Orange juice, yes?”

“Uh...yeah. Sounds great,” she said turning away from him. Her gaze rested on the breakfast bar where a certain someone was seated looking smug.

“Mornin’,” Jack said tilting his head at her as a welcome. She watched as he poured an exorbitant amount of maple syrup on his pancakes.

“Good morning to you,” she said cheerfully, taking the seat next to him and glancing back up at Clark. After pouring several pancakes onto the griddle, he turned around and was staring at her intently.

“Sleep well?” Jack asked between mouthfuls of the oozing goodness.

Lexi leaned back in the chair and prayed she didn’t blush. “Sure,” she said unable to keep a mischievous smile from creeping onto her face. “You?”

“Nah. Slept like shit. That couch is full of lumps. Feels more like sand,” he told her forcing down another bite, but still not looking up at her.

Clark looked between the two, and seemed genuinely pleased that they were having normal conversation. Every other time they were in a room together, Lexi was fleeing the premises or they were locked in a tight, spitfire conversation for several minutes then Jack would storm off. It wasn’t pretty.

“Man, that’s because it probably is full of sand. Think about how many times people sit on that couch after coming in from the beach,” Clark said shaking his head.