I awoke startled, feeling a series of bumps. I nearly fell out of my seat. "Becca, what the-" I said, grabbing on to the arm chair. "We are finally landing" she said, yawning. "There is no way I slept for twelve hours," I said. Sure enough, I looked at the clock and it was nine o'clock at night. "Why did you let me sleep that long?" I said to her. "Well, I slept too," said Becca, laughing at me.
"Rise and shine sleeping beauties" said Andi, stretching. "Did you sleep at all Marinos?". "Nope" said Jesse, not turning around, and grabbing his bag. We grabbed our bags and got off the plane. As we walked through the airport, people were everywhere running from terminal to terminal. "I've never seen so many people in an airport before," said Becca. "This is one of the busiest airports in Europe," said Andi. Just then, two incredibly tall women, both with dark brown hair and bright blue eyes. The women were gorgeous, but they looked dangerous. Wearing all black, they confidently walked towards us.
I could see out of the corner of my eye Jesse staring at them. Getting nervous, he looked down, pretending not to notice the women. I could tell he was sweating, so I asked him "What's wrong?". Suddenly, the woman ran up to Andi and hugged her. "Hi honey!" she shouted in an accent. The other woman joined in hugging Andi. Andi turned to me and said, "Jenny, these are the Salvatore sisters". "Hi" I said, smiling at them. The one reached her hand out and said, "Jenny, Andi has told me so much about you. My name's Brandi". The other girl reached out her hand and said, "And I'm Monica". I was surprised at how pleasant these women were. I had originally thought that they would cause some trouble based on their appearance, but clearly, I was wrong, and they've had history with Andi and Jesse.
"Hello Jesse," said Monica, seductively. Jesse clearly had history with Monica. He refused to make eye contact with her. The way he carried himself was different. I could see him sweating when she spoke to him. "Jesse?" she said, putting her hand on his. "Hello Monica" he said, looking down. I walked away from him, giving him and Monica a moment to talk. "The car is waiting for you guys out front," said Brandi, talking to Andi and Elena. "Oh Jenny, I have so many questions for you!" she said, turning to me. "We have to get going, the car is waiting".
As we walked outside, we were met by a long, black limousine. "Where are we going?" I asked Brandi. "Jesse didn't tell you. You guys are staying with us" she said, opening the door. I turned to Andi confused. "Jenny, the Salvatore's have been close with our family for years. We share property here in Italy, so we can have eyes everywhere" she said. "I should have guessed" I said, laughing. The driver got out of the car and opened the doors. "Thank you," I said, getting in. Before I knew it, we drove off.
Jesse and Monica sat next to each other, still talking. Jesse looked uneasy, and clearly tried to avoid eye contact with her, and me. "I have everything around at the house," I could hear Brandi say. "Everyone has their own room this time". "Thanks, you know how much this means to Jesse" said Andi. "It's not a problem, I've been missing my partner in crime" said Brandi, winking at Andi.
"How did you two meet?" I asked. "Honey, Andi and I have been friends since grade school. We trained together, fought together, and nearly died together. We've been through a lot together, we're practically sisters" said Brandi. "That's awesome" I said, smiling at her. We then pulled into a giant house. "Holy shit is this your house?" shouted Becca. "Yes, it is," said Brandi, laughing at her. We got out of the car and grabbed out suitcases. "This place is beautiful," I said, admiring the house.
As we walked towards the house, I turned around to see where Jesse was. I noticed he was leaning against the car, talking to Monica. "Hey Monica, can you help me a second?" shouted Brandi from the doorway. "Yeah, I'm coming!" she shouted. She walked towards the door, leaving Jesse alone. I went over to him, and said "Hey, is everything okay?". "I'm fine…" he said, pausing. "You're acting different," I said. "You don't know anything about me" he said, scoffing at me. I was speechless, my mouth was wide open, in disbelief of what he had just said. I turned around, and walked towards the house, pretending Jesse and I never spoke.
"Need some help, J?" said Luka as I struggled to get my suitcase up the porch steps. "If you don't mind," I said, smiling at him. We walked into the house, and I was instantly mesmerized by the enormity of the house. "Jenny, I assumed you and Becca would want separate rooms. You can have the room down the hall and to the left" said Brandi. "Thank you," I said. As Luka carried my suitcase down the hallway, I couldn't help but to ask him, "Is everything okay between us?". "What do you mean? Everything is fine" he said, smiling at me. "I don't know, everyone just seems so off" I said, stopping. "It's been a long couple of weeks J. Everyone is exhausted. If you want my opinion, I think Jesse brought us here to avoid being at home right now" said Luka. "Why's that?" I said. "Because Shane hasn't stopped blowing him up" said Luka. "Don't tell Jesse I told you". "I'm not speaking to him," I said. "And what does Shane want?". "I wish I knew" said Luka.
I opened the door to my room, and walked in. "Thanks for your help, Luka" I said. "No problem," he said, putting my bag on the bed. "And Jenny,". I turned and looked at him. "I'm always here for you, okay?" he said. "Thanks," I said, smiling at him. Luka walked out, and I started unpacking my bags. For the first time in a long time I was in a room alone. I had spent forever staying with Becca, and it felt weird not being in the same room as her.
"Hey J," said Andi, standing in the doorway. "Brandi ordered some pizza; it's going to be here in about ten minutes". "I'll be down in a few," I said. "I'm almost done". "Okay, do you need some help?" said Andi. "I'm just about done," I said, putting my suitcase in the closet. "Let's go". We walked out of my room and headed downstairs. Once we made it to the kitchen, we were met by everyone else. "Sorry guys, I didn't realize I took so much time" I said, as I felt myself getting red in the face. "You're fine J," said Luka, smiling at me. I could tell Luka had started to act differently towards me since we had talked. It was a more comforting and warm feeling. I felt as if I could tell him anything.
Jesse was sitting at the table scanning through papers. I wanted to go over and talk to him, but at the same time I didn't because I was still angry with him. Come to think of it, I think he knew I was angry, but was too selfish to say anything. Suddenly, I heard the doorbell ring. "Conner, would you check that please?" said Brandi. Conner nodded, and opened his computer. With the press of a button, he was able to see who was at the door. "Food's here" he shouted from the other room.
"Well one thing's for sure, I could have whipped up something quick instead of paying for pizza," said Lacy. "You guys are guests; you know I can't let you cook Lace. You guys are on vacation" said Brandi. I couldn't help but notice Jesse roll his eyes at Brandi. "I saw that Marinos" she scolded. Jesse took a deep breath and shuffled his papers around. I grabbed a plate and a slice of pizza and sat down.
I occasionally looked up to see what Jesse was doing. There was obviously something wrong, but I had no idea what. I never said or did anything wrong to him, yet I wonder why he's being distant. "What are you thinking about J?" said Andi, taking a drink. Startled, I choked on my bite. "Sorry," I said, laughing it off. "Nothing,". "Are you sure? You seem off" she said. I looked over to see Jesse eyeballing Monica. He saw me look at him, then continued to stare at Monica. At this point, I had enough. Now, he was doing it to spite me. So, I did the first thing that came to my mind. I stood up, slammed my plate down, and walked out of the room.
~
"What the-" said Becca. "Andi what was that about?" said Brandi, turning me. "Here we go" I groaned. I knew exactly what was going on. I knew Jesse and Monica had a fall out a while back. I find it odd how Jesse planned this whole trip to spend time with Jenny, but he knew we would stay with Monica and Brandi. I walked around the table and whispered to Jesse, "Might want to check yourself Marinos, this is your mess. You fix it, not me". Jesse rolled his eyes at me. "You know I'm not wrong" I said to him.
~
I stormed off to my room and locked the door. I was infuriated. All I knew was, Jesse was acting like this on purpose. I asked myself, does he even care about me anymore. I didn't want to cry, but I felt like I was about to break down. Suddenly, I heard a knock at the door. "Jenny?". I could hear Brandi on the other side of the door. I went over and opened the door. "Brandi I'm sorry, I shouldn't have stormed off like that. I'm not very good with first impressions" I said, getting ready to cry. "Hey it's ok, I'd be mad too" she said. I felt like I could talk to Brandi. It was no wonder her and Andi were friends, Brandi was a great person, and she was easy to talk to. "It's been a long day Jenny, how about you get some sleep?" said Brandi. "That's probably a good idea" I said. "Goodnight Jenny" she said. "Night Brandi, thank you for everything" I said.
The next morning, I woke up fairly early. I didn't want to face Jesse or anyone after what I did last night. When I walked out of my room, I was overwhelmed with a strong smell. It was sweet, clearly breakfast. Almost immediately, I knew it was Lacy. In my white robe, I walked to the kitchen and was bet by the girls. "Morning J," said Elena. "Hey," I said. "Are you hungry?" said Lacy. "French toast is on". The truth was I was starving, I only had a few bites of pizza last night. I smiled at Lacy and sat down. Within minutes, Jesse and Luka arrived at the table.
"Good morning" said Jesse, looking at his plate. I couldn't tell whether he directed that towards me, everyone else at the table, or his French toast. Nevertheless, I didn't speak. Becca and Andi came over to me with their plates and sat down. Lacy and Elena sat across the table. "I am starving" said Becca. "Good morning to you too" I laughed. Brandi suddenly joined us, holding a full mug of coffee. "I was thinking we could have a girls day, no?". "Brilliant idea sister," said Monica walking in. "Andi, a word?" said Monica. "Of course,". Andi and Monica walked out of the room. Just then, Jesse walked out of the room behind them. "What's his problem?" I said to Lacy. "No clue" she said, glancing over in his direction. "Who cares J, let's just have fun while we are here" Elena said, taking a sip of her coffee. "I guess you're right" I said. As I looked down the table, I noticed Luka and Conner whispering to each other. "What are you too babbling about?" said Becca. "How funny you look B" said Luka, winking at her. Becca rolled her eyes then stuck her middle finger in the air at them. I laughed as Luka aimed, and threw a piece of French toast at Becca. "You son of a—" she started.
Just then Andi, Monica and Jesse walked back in the room. I exchanged glances with Jesse, who let out a small but noticeable smile at me. I smiled back and took a drink. "Andi Hun, we decided to have a girl's day. You don't have a choice" said Brandi, laughing. Andi grinned and rolled her eyes. "Let me get dressed then we can go" I said. As we dispersed from the table, I walked to my room. It felt weird not sharing a room with Becca like we normally do. I shut the door and walked across the room to the window, gazing at the beautiful Italian atmosphere. Suddenly, I felt hands on my shoulders. I took a deep breath, knowing as soon as I inhaled his intoxicating cologne it was Jesse.
"I'm sorry" he whispered. "For?" I inquired, still facing the window. "Being an ass". Jesse kissed my neck, then put his chin on my shoulder. I turned around and faced Jesse. "What's the matter Jesse? You haven't been yourself". "I know, and I'm sorry" he said, taking his hands off my shoulders. "I wanted to do this for you, but I made it worse". Clearly, I struck a nerve with him, but the truth was I felt guilty. Guilty for making him think that I was mad at him, when really, I wasn't. "But Jesse, we just got here. You haven't ruined anything." I said, attempting to reassure him I wasn't mad. "You don't hate me?" he said, eyes welling with tears. "Of course I don't silly" I said, kissing his cheek. Jesse wrapped his arms around me, tighter than I expected. "Don't leave me today" he said, choking back tears. Not knowing what to say, I just hugged him tighter. "I won't" I whispered.
I grabbed a t-shirt and a pair of spandex. As I walked into the bathroom in my room, I noticed Jesse sat on the edge of my bed. Putting his hands on his forehead he let out deep, groggy breath. Something was clearly bothering him, but I didn't want to overstep anything. I walked out of the bathroom and sat down next to him. "Jesse, what's wrong?" I said, putting my hand on his leg. "Today was the day Shane killed my parents" he said. "Every year today he goes on a killing spree, and we've always failed to get him. He's always gotten away with it because he's two steps ahead of us. Shane has plans for it every year. When I was locked in that room the night of the gala, I saw his hit-list. Jenny you were at the top of it. That's why I decided to come here this week".
Not knowing what to say, I just hugged him. "It's ok" I whispered. "I knew we'd be safe here for a while. Brandi and Monica have always hated Shane, so they offered to let us stay here as soon as I told them his plans" he said, frantically. "Jesse, calm down" I said, placing my hand on his cheek. "I understand". Just then, someone knocked on the door. Jesse shot up and pointed his gun at the door. "Put that away!" I scolded. "Come in". Andi walked through the door and laughed as she noticed Jesse put his gun away. "A bit twitchy today huh Marinos?" she laughed. "J, we figured it might not be the best idea to go out today, Conner showed us the radar and it's supposed to storm all afternoon". "That's okay, we can go another day" I smiled. I turned to Jesse, "I'll be back okay?". "Okay" he said, smiling at me. After I walked out of the room, Andi pulled my arm.
"What did he say to you?" she said, concerned. "Today way back when, I guess Shane killed his parents. He said the night we went to the gala he had a hit-list, and I was on it" I said. "I can't believe he told you" she said, glancing back towards the room. "Well he did" I joked. "You truly are something special J. Don't screw it up" Andi laughed. As we walked to the living room, the rest of the girls were sitting on the couches. "She knows" said Andi. "About—" said Brandi. "Shane". "Oh, I gotcha" said Brandi, winking. "Are you okay Jenny?" said Monica, handing me a coffee. "Yeah I am fine, Jesse isn't though" I said. "Today is especially hard for him, try not to think too much about it. He will be okay" said Elena, joining the conversation.
I sat down on the couch and drank my coffee. It was still only eight-thirty. I was used to waking up fairly early, but I still needed my coffee to function. Luka and Conner walked into the living room laughing. "What's so funny?" said Andi, watching them. "You're never going to guess what—" started Conner. Suddenly, the door swung open. "Conner you son of a—". As I turned around to look, I felt a strong body crash into me, knocking me to the ground. I looked up into a pair of bright, baby blue eyes and a head full of the reddest hair I've ever seen. The man was inked head to toe in tattoos, and instantly gave me the stereotypical "bad-boy" vibe.
"Oh my God I'm so sorry" he said, helping me off the floor. "It's fine," I said, praying no one else noticed. "Are you alright?" he said, staring at me. "Yes, I'm fine". "Good. If you excuse me, I need to kick someone's ass" he said, storming off. I turned to Andi. "What just happened?". "I see you've met Scott" she said laughing. "Who's—" I started, almost instantly interrupted by the sound of shattering glass. Conner and Luka charged through the room, being chased by Scott. "You're going to die Harris!!" he shouted. Andi took one step forward, stopping the boys in their tracks. "Are you three done?" she roared. "He started it!!" all three of the boys said, pointing to each other. I couldn't help but laugh out loud from the kitchen, making all eyes turn to me. "I need to speak with this one," said Scott. Scott walked over to me and put his hand on the small of my back, ushering me towards the door. I couldn't help to notice a familiar figure standing in the corner of the room. "Trust me" Scott whispered.
In the shadow in the corner, I saw Jesse staring down Scott, clearly angry. Nervous, I walked away from Scott's grasp. He grabbed my wrist and pulled it towards him. "Excuse me!" I shouted, grabbing my arm back. Suddenly, I heard a gunshot. Scott let go of my arm and instantly grabbed his arm. "What the hell!!" he shouted, agonized. I knew immediately who did it, and I didn't flinch when the gun went off. I could hear Andi and Elena laughing behind me. "Jesse Michael Marinos!!!" screamed Brandi. "You know the rule about guns in my house!!!". Jesse smirked, and walked towards me. "Scott, keep it in your pants!!" shouted Monica from the other room. "I'm sorry Jenny, he can't get a hint!". "I heard that!!" Scott shouted from the other room.
"Michael?" I laughed. "Shut up" he said, smiling at me. "Are you okay?". "I'm fine, but Scott isn't" I said, glancing in Scott's direction. "Oh, he'll live, not the first time I've shot him" said Jesse, boasting. Jesse interlocked his fingers with mine, and we walked towards the couch. The rest of the girls were sitting on the couch, Becca and Elena making faces at me as I walked with Jesse. I stuck my tongue out at them and sat down. "Monica is Scott your—" I started. "NO!" she shouted. "He is not my boyfriend, or anything like that!" she laughed. "I didn't mean to assume" I said, leaning back. "He's my idiot cousin" said Monica. "I'm the idiot?" cried Scott, walking back in the room. Andi followed behind him, holding her med-bag. I looked over to Scott's arm and noticed it was bandaged and wrapped. "You're welcome, idiot" Andi said, sternly. Scott rolled his eyes and walked towards me.
"So, you're the Jenny Avery everyone's talking about". "What's it to you?" I said, sitting up. "Jesse Marinos' girl" he taunted. "Jealous?" I said, smiling at him. "Not one bit" he said, walking away. I could feel the anger rising in Jesse. I put my hand on his leg, attempting to ease the tension. "Do you want to go for a walk?" I said to Jesse. "Let's go" he said, standing up quickly. I looked at Andi and mouthed "We'll be right back". We walked outside and walked down the long driveway. Jesse inhaled deeply. "Are you okay?" I asked. "No". "Do you want to talk about it?" I said, grabbing his hand. "Not entirely". I nodded my head at him, and continued walking.
We walked up and down the mile-long driveway several times in complete silence. The company of each other was enough. Suddenly, I could hear Lacy shout "Come on losers it's time for lunch!". I laughed, and we walked back to the house. As we stood on the porch, I turned to Jesse. I held his giant, solid hand in my petite one. "I'm here if you need me, I promise" I said, kissing him. I smiled at Jesse, then walked inside.
"Took you long enough" said Andi. "I've had to listen to these bozos for an hour". She pointed nonchalantly in the living room, and I saw Becca, Luka, Conner, and Scott arguing. "Oh no" I said, laughing. "You sexist pig!!" shouted Becca. Conner and Luka each grabbed one of her arms and held her back. "Let me go!" she shouted, trying to grab ahold of Scott. "I didn't say anything anyone else in this room doesn't know!" Scott yelled. "ANDI DO SOMETHING!!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. "Excuse me Jenny," said Andi, walking angerly towards the mess. "What did he say now?". "He said I can't punch right because I'm a girl!!" Becca cried. "Luka, Conner, let her go" said Andi, smirking. "He's all yours girl. You can get a few swings in before I do". Becca catapulted herself over the couch, chasing Scott around the room. Brandi and Andi sat back and laughed as the situation escalated. "He really does this to himself" Brandi laughed.
"Lunch is on!" shouted Lacy through the noise. I walked over to Lacy and grabbed a plate of sandwiches from her. "Here Lacy, I can carry it". "Thank you," she said, smiling. I set the plate down at the table and sat down. "What did you make for me Lacy?" said Luka, walking over to the table. "Look yourself" she laughed. By the time everyone sat at the table, I already had finished my sandwich. "What are we going to do after lunch?" I asked. "I was thinking, what if we went out?" said Monica. "Jesse, we upgraded security last week, and we got a new order of Italian bourbon" Brandi chimed in. "I'm in!" Claire shouted, standing up. "Fine," said Jesse, reluctantly.
Suddenly, Scott walked over to the table holding a towel over his nose. Upon closer inspection, I realized blood was pouring out of his nose. "Becca!" I scolded. "He had it coming!" she laughed. "I'm fine doll-face" said Scott, winking at me. I could tell Jesse wasn't too fond of Scott, so I gently placed my hand on Jesse's leg without anyone noticing, in an attempt to calm him down. "Well, how about us girls get around, then we can go?" said Brandi, trying to ease the tension. "Great idea" said Andi, hastily. The eight of us girls left the table, leaving the boys to clean up lunch.
We walked to Brandi's room, which was clearly the biggest bedroom in the house. A large king size bed with silky white sheets, a jacuzzi in the corner, and a bookcase that took up the entire wall filled the room. "Brandi this room is huge" I said, staring at the painting on the ceiling. "Did you do that?" I said, staring at the enormous painting of clouds on the ceiling. "I did" Brandi said proudly. "It's amazing!" I exclaimed. "Thank you," said Brandi. "Brandi where is your—" started Lacy. Suddenly loud music flooded the room. "Found it!" screamed Andi. Andi came charging in the room holding a giant speaker. Claire followed behind her holding four bottles of beer in both hands. "I thought we should get a head start". I rolled my eyes and laughed. Before I knew it, everyone else had gotten their dress on, and walked out of the room.
I put on a baby pink, skin-tight sleeveless dress. I figured Jesse wouldn't approve because of how short it was, but I didn't care. Tonight, I was going to have fun with the girls, and I wasn't going to let them hold us back. Andi and I were the only ones left getting around. I turned to her and noticed she was wearing her traditional black leather jacket and pants, and even her work boots. "Andi, why don't you loosen up?" I said. "I have a bad feeling J,". "Should I be worried?" I asked. "No, I can just be paranoid sometimes. Andi rifled through her bag, then lifted my dress up. "Andi what are you doing?" I laughed. She attached a holster to my hip. One with a loaded gun. "Andi, I don't even know how to use that". "Just in case. You'll figure it out" she winked. "Give me your shoe". I handed Andi my high heel without asking questions. She grabbed a knife out of her pocket, and a piece of tape and attached it to the bottom of my heel. "Andi you're scaring me" I said, concerned. "I have a bad feeling about tonight J. Just trust me.". I hugged her and said, "I will". We walked out of the room and met everyone else in the living room.
"No, no way" said Jesse, walking up to me. "You can't wear that". "Put a sock in it Marinos" said Andi. "You don't want to end up like Scott over there do you?" said Monica, laughing. Scott swore at Monica from the other room. "I promise I'll be careful" I said to Jesse, kissing him on the cheek. Jesse let out an exasperated sigh and nodded. I stood on my toes and whispered in his ear, "I'm armed and dangerous Mr. Marinos. I'll be okay". Jesse let out a small laugh. "I love it when you get all bossy" he said, smirking. He bent down and kissed me. "Are we ready to go?" said Luka, jingling Brandi's car keys, interrupting our moment. Jesse shook his head. "Boy slow down, we are wearing heels" scolded Lacy.
"You're driving my car?" said Brandi, questioning Luka. "Well yeah…" said Luka. "You obviously have the biggest car here, so we're going to ride in that". Brandi laughed and opened the car door. After we piled in Brandi's giant eight seated SUV, Luka sped off. "Were exactly are we going?" I asked. "Only to the best bar in all of Italy" said Monica, boasting. I sat between Andi and Monica in the back of the SUV. The boys crammed in the front few rows, while the rest of us sat in the back. Although the ride didn't seem to take forever, we were in the parking lot of an extremely crowded bar in minutes. "Why are there so many people?" said Becca. "Honey, this is the best bar in all of Italy. Owned by yours truly" Monica winked. We got out of the car and were instantly surrounded by cameras. "Mr. Marinos are you having an affair with Miss. Salvatore?". "What about Miss. Avery?". "Have you been involved in Italian business affairs?". Jesse put his hand on my back, and we walked inside. "Try to stay together and pay attention tonight" said Jesse. Everyone took off in different directions. "What did they mean about you and Monica?" I whispered to him. "Don't worry about it" he said. "Let's get a drink" he said, diverting the subject. "We're talking about that later" I insisted. He rolled his eyes and walked me to the bar. I noticed Andi flirting with the man at the bar. "Is she—" I started. "No, she's working" he laughed.
~
I was nervous about going tonight. Thinking it was my duty to protect everyone, I geared up Jenny with anything I thought she could figure out how to use. Jenny was smart, I knew she'd be able to figure out how and when to use the gun I attached to her hip. I knew something would go wrong tonight; I just didn't know when. Jesse was clearly nervous, we both were. Although, I knew we would be okay since I had Brandi by my side and Jenny was geared up. The first thing I needed to do was find the weakest person at the bar. Clearly all eyes were on Jesse and Monica walking in, but I noticed several others staring at Jenny, which I knew would strike a blaze in Jesse. Jesse would then cause a scene, putting all eyes on us. I had to get as much information about the building as I could, so I went to the bartender.
Putting my acting skills to use, I swooned over the bartender, who clearly had an ego bigger than his IQ. "You must see everyone who comes here?" I said, eyeballing the bartender. "Yes Ma'am, and you're new" he said, watching me. "Can I get you a drink gorgeous?". "I'll pass thank you,". The man was clearly interested in me, as he kept glancing at my exposed legs. "See something you like?" I winked. The man leaned against the bar getting closer to me. Jesse smirked at me, and I knew I was going to hear about it later. "I'm looking for someone" I said to the man, who was staring in my eyes. "I can help with that" he said, with a low husky voice. "Shane Russo" I said. "Never heard of him" he said, breaking eye contact with me. "Don't lie to me baby" I said, putting my lips close to his. "Top floor, third door on the right" he said. "Thanks" I said, standing up. "Wait—" he started. I pushed on my earpiece, "Jesse he's in the building!"
~
"Jesse, you're not drinking" I said. "What's wrong?". Jesse stood in front of me and kept dancing. "You've drank too much, J" he said, laughing. "I've only had one beer!" I shouted. "I figured you'd be drinking more Mr. I want to relax". I was perhaps the most sober person in the bar and unlike Jesse, I knew when enough was enough. "I'm just being careful" said Jesse. "Whatever" I laughed, grabbing his hand. We continued dancing for what felt like forever. "Where is everyone?" Jesse asked. "Conner and Elena are dancing… I haven't seen Luka or Becca since we got here. Scott's over with that chick... I haven't seen Andi or Brandi, or Claire. Monica and Lacy are at the bar" I said. "Very observant" said a voice walking towards us. "How did you miss me?".