"Oh, I'm so sorry," the responsible bumper said.

Kylie looked up into John's soft brown eyes and tried to smile. Hey, being nice to a cute guy, who'd been asking about her at school made trying to smile easy. But the fact that John had been friends with Trey kept the thril down to a minimum.

"It's okay," she said.

"I'l get you another." As if nervous, he shot off.

"It's real y okay," Kylie cal ed after him, but between the music and the hum of voices, he didn't hear her. The doorbel rang again. A few kids shifted around and gave Kylie a view of the door. More specifical y, the shift gave her a view of Trey walking inside. Beside him-or she should say plastered against him-sashayed his new slutty girlfriend.

"Great." She swung around, wishing she could teleport herself to Tahiti, or back home would be even better-especial y if her dad would be there.

Through a back window, she spotted Sara on the patio and Kylie darted outside to join her.

Sara looked up. She must have read the panic on Kylie's face, because she came running over to her. "What happened?"

"Trey and his screw toy are here."

Sara frowned. "So, you look hot. Go flirt with some guys and make him sorry."

Kylie rol ed her eyes. "I don't want to stay here and watch Trey and what's her name making out."

"Were they already making out?" Sara asked.

"Not yet, but get one beer in Trey and al he'l think about is getting into a girl's panties. I know because I used to be the girl in the panties."

"Chil ." Sara pointed back at the table. "Gary brought margaritas. Have one and you'l feel fine."

Kylie bit her lip to keep from screaming that she wouldn't feel fine. Her life had toilet-bound stamped al over it.

"Hey." Sara nudged her. "We both know al you'd have to do to get Trey back is to grab him and take him upstairs. He's stil crazy about you. He found me before I left school today and asked about you."

"Did you know he was going to be here?" Betrayal started unraveling the little sanity she had left.

"Not for sure. But chil ."

Chill? Kylie stared at her best friend and realized how different they'd become these last six months. It wasn't just Sara's need to party or the fact that she'd given up virginhood. Okay, so maybe it was those two things, but it seemed like more. More as in Kylie had a sneaking suspicion that Sara longed to rush Kylie to join the partying-non-virgin ranks. Could Kylie help it if beer tasted like dog piss to her? Or if the idea of having sex didn't appeal?

Okay, that was a lie, sex appealed to her. When she and Trey had made out, Kylie had been tempted, real y tempted, but then Kylie remembered her and Sara talking about how the first time should be special.

Then she recal ed how Sara had given in to Brad's "needs"-Brad who was the love of Sara's life-yet, within two weeks of giving in, the love of Sara's life had dumped her. What was so special about that?

Since then, Sara had dated four other guys, and she'd slept with two of them. Now, Sara had stopped talking about sex being special.

"Look, I know you're worried about your parents," Sara said. "But that's why you need to just let loose and have some fun." Sara tucked her long, brown hair behind her ear. "I'm getting you a margarita and you're going to love it."

Sara darted off to the table by the group of people. Kylie started to fol ow but her gaze slapped against Soldier Dude, looking as scary and weird as ever, standing by the group of margarita drinkers.

Kylie shot around, prepared to bolt, but she smacked right into a guy's chest, and darn it if more beer didn't jump out of the bottle and fal right between her boobs. "Great. My boobs are going to smel like a brewery."

"Every guy's dream," the husky male voice said. "But I'm sorry."

She recognized Trey's voice before she did his broad shoulders or his unique masculine scent. Preparing herself for the pain that seeing him would cause, she raised her gaze. "It's okay, John's already done it once."

She tried not to stare at the way Trey's sandy brown hair fel against his brow, or the way his green eyes seemed to lure her closer, or the way his mouth tempted her to lean in and press her lips to his.

"So it's true." He frowned.

"What's true?" she asked.

"That you and John have hooked up."

Kylie considered lying. The thought that it would hurt him appealed to her. It appealed to her so much that it reminded her of the stupid games her parents played lately. Oh, no, she would not stoop to their "grown-up" level.

"I haven't hooked up with anyone." She turned to leave.

He caught her. His touch, the feel of his warm hand on her elbow, sent waves of pain right to her heart. And standing this close, his clean, masculine scent fil ed her airways. Oh God, she loved his smel .

"I heard about your grandma," he said. "And Sara told me about your parents getting a divorce. I'm so sorry, Kylie."

Tears threatened to crawl up her throat. Kylie was seconds away from fal ing against his warm chest and begging him to hold her. Nothing ever felt better than Trey's arms around her, but then she saw the girl, Trey's screw toy, walk outside, carrying two beers. In less than five minutes, Trey would be trying to get in her panties. And from the too-low-cut blouse and too-short skirt the girl wore, it appeared he wouldn't have to try too hard.