Chapter 1

Serenity's POV

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"I think that's the last of it," Dad said as he pushed the hood of my trunk closed.

Dusting his hands off on his shirt, he pulled me in for a bone-crushing, bear hug. It had been almost six months since I last saw him in person. One of the drawbacks to going to college completely across the country.

It seemed like every time I came back, he aged five years. I remembered when he still had a full head of chestnut hair like mine, but now his was thinning. And the crow's feet at the corners of his eyes were getting deeper. But at least his hugs stayed the same.

"Thanks, Dad." I hugged him back, squeezing him as tightly as I could. Sure, I was twenty, but he was all I had.

"Well, I'll be damned. Is that Little Miss Serenity?" A familiar, brassy voice came from across the yard.

Dad and I parted to give Mr. Barrett our attention. Everything about him seemed the same. Other than the gray hairs poking through his rusty-brown beard. Mr. Barrett gave us a wave over the fence with a pair of tongs he held.

"Why don't you both come on over, huh? Macie's back from college too, and we're feeding her and a couple of friends before they head up to the mountains. Got the grill all fired up." As if to prove himself, he held up a plate of raw burger patties. Like the smell of the barbeque wasn't enough.

"Well, jeez, Phil, that's nice of you. Let me just run these up to Serenity's room real quick." Dad grinned at Mr. Barrett before kissing the top of my head. "I'll meet you over at Phil's, alright?"

"Sure," I shrugged. It wasn't exactly what I wanted to do on my first night back, but I hadn't seen Macie in almost two years. She didn't usually come back for holidays like I did, but last year, she was in Italy for an exchange program so she couldn't come home at all.

We'd been best friends growing up and all through high school. But time had a way of distancing people. Sure, we were still friends, but probably not as close as we used to be. College helped her find freedom. I guess that was a benefit to going to a state university. Not that I was shaming her. I was happy for her, probably even envied her a little.

And as I followed Mr. Barrett around the fence and to his backyard, I realized that a "couple" friends were really almost a small party's worth. Almost ten people my age were mingling, and I felt very overdressed in my t-shirt and jean shorts compared to their swim attire. How did I forget that Mr. Barrett put in a pool last summer?

"Ser!" Macie squealed from the pool before swimming over to the edge. Rubbing my arm, I felt too awkward to move as she hoisted herself out and hurried over to me. Almost as soon as she reached me, she threw her arms around my shoulders and hugged me tightly.

"Hey, Mace," I sighed, hugging her back. It didn't really bother me much that her skin was soaking through my clothes, but it was a little weird that she was hugging me. When was the last time we talked? A few months ago? Something like that.

"Damn, girl. You look good. What do they feed you at Harvard?" Macie held me at arm's length, assessing my appearance. "Probably superfoods and all that expensive stuff."

"Yeah, well…my tuition better be paying for something good," I rolled my eyes before quickly changing the subject, "So, how was Italy?"

"Mmm…fantastico!" Macie giggled, but before she could continue, the sound of ice moving around caught her attention. She looked over her shoulder, then grabbed my hand and dragged me over to where her mom was fishing out a soda from the cooler. Beverage in hand, Mrs. Barrett turned and smiled at Macie approaching with me in tow.

"Oh! Serenity, it's so good to see you." Mrs. Barrett cracked open her soda.

It was scary how similar Macie looked to her mom, but maybe that was a good thing. Considering Mrs. Barrett had basically no wrinkles or gray hairs, Macie's smooth skin and blonde hair were safe from the effects of age. Unfortunately, it was also a big reason that the guys in high school used to sing Stacy's Mom to Macie, except they change the lyric "Stacy" to "Macie." For obvious reasons.

"The pool looks good." I shoved my hands in my pockets, turning a little to look at the pool. It felt weird to be here as if years hadn't passed. As if I was still the same freckle-faced kid eating popsicles in her backyard. As if I was still Macie's best friend.

"Doesn't it? Phil does his water aerobics in it. The doctor says it will help his blood pressure," Mrs. Barrett shrugged, taking a sip of her soda. Then she patted my shoulder, "Well, I'll let you kids hang while I go see if the chef needs any help."

"I'm awful at introductions, but over there—" Macie pointed to the two girls by the diving board, "—is Chelsea and Natalie. They go by Chels and Nat, though, so don't call them their full names."

I was used to seeing pretty people back at school, but these two? These two had walked straight out of Instagram. For the most part, they looked similar with their matching, brown buns and slim builds. They were everything I wished I could've looked like. Thin, effortlessly pretty…

Pushing the thought away, I decided they were eerily similar in appearance, and considering they didn't go by their full names, I really didn't think I wanted to find out how they took being called the wrong name. So I asked, "Which is which?"

"Chels is in the leopard-print bikini and Nat is—"

"In the purple one. Got it," I nodded. "Are they related? Like sisters or something?"

"No, but they get that a lot. Oh! And those three over heeeeeerre—" Macie pulled me over to the fire pit where three, completely identical blond, surfer-looking dudes were poking at the flames with sticks, " —are Tate, Tuck, and Tank. They're triplets. Guys, this is Serenity."

All three looked at me, kind of nodding in greeting.

"Your name is Tank?" I asked the last one Macie had pointed at. I was just glad he was wearing a shirt, unlike his brothers. It made picking him out easier.

"Your name is Serenity," Tank chuckled, turning his stick in the fire. In a boyish sort of way, he was cute. Kind of like a golden retriever, which was fitting since he had the longest, shaggiest hair out of his brothers. Or maybe it was the dimple in his cheek that stood out to me.

"Touché," I replied.

"Want to ruin your dinner a little?" Tank pulled his stick from the fire, revealing what he'd actually been doing. Which was scorching a marshmallow beyond recognition. The poor, charred morsel drooped from the end of the stick. My nose wrinkled at the sight.

"That line was super lame," Macie rolled her eyes, answering before I had a chance. She looked around as if she had lost something. "Hm. That's weird."

"What is?" I asked, ignoring Tank's offering. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught him shrugging and deciding to eat the marshmallow instead.

"My boyfriend. He was just out here."

"Oh, Jake ran inside to grab some beers," Tuck—I think?—explained, giving Tank a dirty look as he obnoxiously chewed the marshmallow.

"Thanks. Be right back." Macie started to walk away before she turned and gave me an apologetic look. "Are you okay by yourself for a sec?"

"We'll take good care of her, Mace." Tank winked at me, his lips covered with remnants of the marshmallow he'd just devoured.

"Yeah…I'm good," I smiled at Macie, waving her away. That seemed to be enough for her because she high-tailed it inside. I took a seat next to Tank and held my hand out, "I'll make my own marshmallow, thanks.

"Yes, ma'am." Tank handed me the stick and then got a marshmallow out, stabbing it onto the end of it.

It was silly, considering there were opportunities to party and socialize at Harvard, but this was the first real social interaction I'd had with a guy my age in years. My last time was my first boyfriend right out of high school. That was…um…a disaster. But Tank? He seemed harmless.

"So, where do you go to school, Serenity?" Tate—I think?—asked from the other end of the row, leaning forward so that I could see him around his brothers. "Unless, you, ya know…don't go to school."

"Oh, I'm going to Harvard," I winced as the words came out. It always sounded so pretentious when I said it. Not that I was trying to be. But here I was, the only one in my class to make it into an Ivy League school. The local paper did an article on it too. It was a big deal. Still pretentious though.

"Damn," Tank whistled. He pointed at my head, yelling to anyone who was listening, "We got a certified genius over here!"

"Shhh!" I tried to glare at Tank, but couldn't stifle the giggle that bubbled out of my mouth. The blush on my cheeks was hot, so I quickly looked at my marshmallow…which was in flames. Pulling it out, I blew the fire out and shot a glare at Tank, "This is your fault."

"Awe, don't be like that." Tank patted my back before stealing my marshmallow and popping it in his mouth.

"Jesus Christ…how many of those are you going to eat, bro?" Tuck—the one in the middle of the three—asked, raising an eyebrow at Tank.

"The whole bag if I'm lucky," Tank replied after taking a rather painful-looking gulp. Then he looked at me, giving me another wink, "They don't call me Tank for nothing."

When the girls by the diving board came over, I had no idea. But Nat dropped into the seat beside me, and leaned forward to glare at Tank around me, "I thought you said that because you were 'packing heat' in your—"

"Ah, Nat! Jesus! You're like a spider, popping up when I least want you to," Tank nearly fell out of his chair and into his brother's lap. When he recovered, he motioned to Nat, "Serenity, this is my ex—emphasis on the EX—girlfriend, Nat."

"Word of advice," Nat turned her attention to me, not looking all too friendly as did, "Never—ever—date a frat boy. Especially ones that are legally named Tank."

I wasn't sure what it was about Nat, but her presence just rubbed me the wrong way. Maybe it was the fact she was in a completely different league than me. More specially, she was in one wayyyy above me. That was even more obvious when she was this close, her blue eyes sparkling like the prettiest sapphires. But then there was her attitude…

"Hey, babe, hate the game, not the player," Tank held up his hands defensively.

"Wait…you guys are friends still?" I looked between the two. Friends didn't seem like the right term, considering they were bickering like siblings. But they weren't at each other's throats yet, so enemies wasn't a good term either.

"Mm… More like we have mutual friends who refuse to pick a side, so we are forced to interact," Nat narrowed her eyes at Tank, who was sticking his tongue out at her.

"Speaking of!" Tank put his arm around my shoulder, pulling me close to him. He wiggled his eyebrows at me, "Are you coming on the camping trip with us? You can share my sleeping bag if you want."

"I wouldn't do that unless you want herpes…or was it the clap?" Nat tapped her finger to her chin for a moment before giving Tank a sadistic smile.

"You started that rumor! You know I wrap it up, so my dick is clean. So clean you could eat off it. In fact, it's cleaner than your p—"

"Grubs up!" Mr. Barrett shouted, and I didn't think I could've jumped up any faster than I did. Luckily, my dad was standing over by the grill with the Barretts, and I made my escape to them since there was no sign of Macie or this Jake guy she was dating.

When we all sat down and started passing food around the enormous patio table, I remembered why I'd always liked coming over to the Barrett house. The yard was nice, and Mr. Barrett was a wizard on the grill. My mouth was already watering, my teeth dying to sink into one of his famous burgers. But I think the real reason I liked coming over here was that Mr. and Mrs. Barrett shared something I'd never experienced.

True love.

The way they gazed at each other or held hands whenever possible was something I wanted for myself. Heck, I'd wanted my dad to find that person for himself after Mom died, but it wasn't in the cards. Not when he had to work three jobs to keep a roof over our heads when Mom's medical bills hit us.

It sucked. Well, I never knew it sucked because when I was little, I got to hang out at Aunt Cathy's all the time. But after I grew up enough to understand more, I figured out that it sucked. By the time I didn't need a babysitter, Aunt Cathy and her family moved to Kansas. And while other kids had their mom, dad, or both attending activities or sports, I had no one.

But it was one of those things. It sucked, but we all had to do the best with what we were given. Which was probably why I never did anything bad. No parties, no drinking, no boys until I was out of the house. And even then, what I did do was tame. Super tame. Nothing like what Macie or Tank or Nat had probably done.

"Hey, space case, pass the ketchup, would ya?" Tank nudged me, pointing at the ketchup that my dad was handing me from across the table.

Blushing, I mumbled an apology as I perked up a little and took to the ketchup to hand off. As soon as Tank had it, though, he realized he had my attention and said loud enough for the whole table to stop their conversations, "You never answered my question, Serenity."

The blush on my cheeks darkened. "W-What question?"

"Are you going camping with us?" Tank asked. All eyes were on me. I felt it.

"Oh, I uh…I don't know. I don't want to intrude." I picked at the sesame seeds on my bun.

"Evening the numbers a little? You'd be doing us a favor," Chels said before munching on a potato chip. "No one wants to listen to these oafs talk all weekend."

"Sorry we're late," Macie interrupted, pulling who I assumed was Jake to the two empty chairs at the end. Anyone with eyes could guess what they'd been up to with their slightly disheveled appearances, but no one said anything.

Except, Dad choked on his beer a little. After a few coughs, though, he was good to go.

"We were just trying to get Serenity to go camping with us," Tank smirked at Jake, before shaking his head. Obviously, the two were sharing some sort of bro-code moment.

"Oh, she totally should!" Macie squeaked, practically bouncing in her seat. Jake moved his hand to the back of her chair and she settled down a little. "It would be so awesome!"

Camping was really not my thing. Dirt, bugs…wildnerness. I'd only been camping once before with my Dad. We ended up sleeping in the car because something had sniffed around our tent, scaring us both into submission. More than that, though, I literally just got back. It seemed a little rude to leave Dad by himself when I just got here.

But it was like he could read my mind because he shook his head. "Don't say no on my behalf, kiddo. If you wanna go camping with your friends, go for it. I'll be here when you get back."

Taking one more look at Macie was the worst decision I could've made. She was giving me her famous, puppy-dog eyes. Which was playing dirty. Really dirty, because I could never say no! They just had this guilt-inducing aura about them. Never in the history of ever had, I said no to Macie when she gave me that look.

"Welp…guess I'm going camping," I sighed, glancing at Tank. He was grinning like the Cheshire cat as if I'd just given him the best news ever. I knew it was all because I was some shiny new toy for him. But maybe, just maybe…that wasn't the worst thing to have ever happened to me. A cute guy taking an interest in me? Someone call the police.

After everyone went back to their own conversations, Tank leaned over and whispered in my ear, "My offer still stands."

Something about his tone told me he had a little more in mind than innocently sharing a sleeping bag. And maybe, just maybe, losing my virginity—finally—to someone I never see again wouldn't have been the worst thing either.

Peeking up at him through my lashes, I tried to keep my stutter to a minimum, but failed, "M-maybe I'll t-take you up on that."