The girls lay down on their towels, then began to apply sunscreen to their legs and stomachs. “So, what are you doing all the way out in Hanford, Paige?” Brina asked.

I supposed there was no harm in answering that question. Tatum and his mom had asked the same thing. My deeper personal reasons were no one’s business but mine, so I answered vaguely, “I just needed to get out of LA for a little while. And my car got a flat, so here I am.”

“Oh yeah, we read all about what Colin did to you,” Celeste said angrily.

“I think everyone did,” I admitted, embarrassed.

“What a jerk. Who does that and thinks they aren’t going to get caught?” she added.

I shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Well, he’s a real jerk, Paige. You’re better off without him.”

“Thanks, Celeste.”

“But he’s so hot. I bet he’s an awesome kisser,” Brina added before slapping her hand over her mouth. “I’m sorry. It just slipped out.”

“She’s always speaking before she thinks,” Celeste said, then smacked her friend on the arm.

“It’s okay. He is really good-looking. But that only goes so far when everything else about you sucks.” I instantly wished I could inhale the words back into my mouth as my mind flashed to a tabloid headline that read “Paige Lockwood Says Everything About Colin McGuire Sucks!” I needed to be more careful.

“Did he ever write any songs about you?” Brina asked, and I actually laughed.

“No. Colin doesn’t write his own music.”

“Seriously?” both girls asked in unison.

“Seriously. Not a single lyric,” I admitted, and felt good how that fact seemed like a slam against Colin. One more thing he didn’t do well, or at all.

Celeste’s eyes grew wide. “Wow. I’m shocked.”

“Don’t be. A lot of singers don’t write their own stuff. I think it’s more rare when they actually do.”

“So, how long do you think you’ll stay in town?” Brina asked.

“I’m not sure, actually.” My thoughts instantly drifted to Tatum’s body last night when he opened his door, shirtless and wet. Everything in me suddenly buzzed with energy and I longed to be near him, even if it wasn’t what he wanted. I enjoyed the way my body reacted to his.

“Well, you should definitely come to the field party tonight,” Celeste said.

“Oh yeah? What is it?” My interest was ignited. I’d never heard of a field party, but I assumed it was pretty much what the name implied.

“It’s a giant party,” Celeste answered.

“Oh my gosh, yes. Paige, you have to come. You’ll love it,” Brina added.

“What’s it like?”

Brina sat up, her face filled with excitement. “Everyone drives their big ol’ trucks out to the middle of the field. There’s always lots of beer and dancing—”

Then Celeste chimed in, “The guys usually do keg stands and act stupid. Someone always gets in a fight—”

Brina cut her off. “But it’s entertaining and just some good old-fashioned fun out in the open with no one else around. I guarantee you’ve never seen anything like it in LA, sweetie.”

She might have called me sweetie, but I knew there was a thinly veiled insult behind it. Before I could think up a response, Buster bounded over toward me with a stuffed toy in his mouth. “Buster, what are you doing here?” I looked around as I patted his head, knowing he had been at the shop with Tatum.

Buster moved over to the girls and Brina shrieked, “Ugh, get away from me, Buster,” as she shoved at the oversized dog.

“Buster, come here,” I said, and he jogged toward me.

The leaves rustled and Tatum appeared in view. The smirk that appeared on his face as he eyed my bathing suit was quickly replaced with a sour look when he noticed the girls next to me. Buster sat at my feet as I continued to scratch him.

Brina jumped up, her body barely covered in the tiny black bikini she wore as she moved toward him. “Hey, Tatum,” she crooned, pressing her chest against his and running her hand down his well-defined arm. His eyes looked past hers and locked onto mine.

I swallowed hard and tried to force myself to look away, but couldn’t. My eyes refused to leave Tatum’s, and I stopped the smile from forming on my lips as I watched him step away from her and remove her arm. “You girls aren’t giving Paige a hard time, are you?” His voice was stern.

Celeste glanced at me before looking back at Tatum with a smile. “No, sir. We were just telling her about the party tonight and insisted she come along.”

Tatum dropped his chin as he kicked at the ground. “Is that so?”

“It sounds like fun,” I said, and he raised his head to look at me.

“So you want to go?” he asked, almost as if he couldn’t believe it.

Brina moved toward him again and he put up a hand to stop her. She placed one hand on her hip and said, “You don’t have to come along, Tatum. We all know how much you hate socializing these days. She can come with us. We’ll take good care of her. Promise.”

My insides twisted. The party had sounded fun and I did want to go, but not without Tatum. I wouldn’t even consider going if he weren’t there. There was no way I trusted Brina to be alone with me at some random party. Too many things could go wrong. If anyone wanted to set me up or mess with me here, I had a feeling it would be her.

“If Paige wants to go, I’ll be the one who takes her,” Tatum informed a now-scowling Brina.

“I’m pretty sure Paige can make decisions for herself. She doesn’t have to go with you if she doesn’t want to,” Brina shot back, clearly pissed off for whatever reason. They both turned to look at me, while Celeste quietly observed the chaos. Maybe she was used to the two of them acting like this?

They all waited for me to say something, and I wanted it to be clear that my loyalties, however misguided, lay with Tatum, so I said, “If I decide to go tonight, I’ll go with Tatum.”

His mouth began to turn up into a smile before he bit it back and turned toward Celeste. “Is it at Luke’s farm?” he asked, completely ignoring his ex.

“Like always,” she responded with a tight smile. I could tell she was holding back a laugh. I realized in that moment that I liked Celeste.

As Tatum held out a hand to me, I instinctively reached for it as if it was the most natural thing on earth. Under normal circumstances I might have fought him on it, but Brina made me uncomfortable, and I sensed he didn’t like me hanging out with her. He pulled me to my feet and I fought the urge to grip his hand in mine so tightly that he couldn’t let me go. Instead, he released me easily once I was standing, and my body mourned the loss of his energy that trickled through me whenever he touched me.

After I shimmied into my cutoff jean shorts and threw on my tank top, Tatum grabbed my towel and motioned for me to follow him. “’Bye, you guys. I guess I’ll see you later.” I waved at the two girls, who were leaning toward each other whispering something I couldn’t hear.

“See you tonight. ’Bye,” they both yelled before returning to their private conversation.

Tatum walked in front of me as he tossed Buster’s toy for him to fetch. Once we were out of earshot, I teased, “Well, that was the quickest swimming-hole excursion I’ve ever had.”

He stopped on the path and turned to face me, his expression serious. “Stay away from Brina, Paige. I mean it.”

“She found me, not the other way around,” I said innocently as he moved closer toward me. With each step he took, my heart thudded more painfully inside my chest. He leaned toward me, his lips mere inches from mine, and I held my breath in anticipation of what might come. Fighting my attraction for Tatum was a lot of work.

“You can’t trust her,” he whispered, and I prayed for him to close the space between us completely. Instead, he turned back around as I stood there dumbfounded, fighting for air.

Field Parties Are a Bad Idea