Casey, Carlos, and Reece walk up and Dylan runs his hands through his hair. "They were making out, dude," he slurs to Reece before they both start giggling. Casey gives me an a-ha look. "You little liar. There is a full story!" "Can you guys give us a minute, please?" Dylan asks them, sounding impatient. They all laugh and giggle as they walk off. It's hard not to laugh too. "Guess we don't have to sneak kisses in now." He sighs and wraps his arms around me. His forehead rests on mine and his eyes peer into mine. "Good. I don't want to hide them anymore." Before I can say anything else he says, "Come with me inside? I need a water." I nod and take his hand as he leads me inside. All the beer is going right through me and I need to find a restroom before I pee myself and start a tradition of embarrassing myself at Dylan's house. "Hey, where's the restroom?" I ask Dylan once we're in the kitchen. "It's the door right before my bedroom door on your left," he says. "Want me to wait for you outside the door? I don't want any assholes bothering you." "No, I'll be okay," I say. I kiss his cheek before walking toward the restroom. After I finish, I quickly wash my hands to rid them of the beer smell and fix my hair in the mirror. I take a deep breath before opening the door and stepping out. Down the hall are two girls talking. One looks like Lauren, so I face away from them, but their conversation catches my attention. "And Jacob? He didn't want to come or what?" the other girl asks. I pause my walking and pretend like I'm on my phone while listening in. "He said he was going to come. I mean, we always come to Dylan's parties," Lauren says. "This is where we first hooked up." "Here?" "Dylan's the one who offered me and Jacob a room," Lauren lets out a laugh. "I felt bad for Lacey, but Jacob said they hadn't even slept together yet. It couldn't have been that serious." My heart remembers the pain I felt when I found out Jacob had cheated on me. I knew Jacob had cheated at a party, but he had done it at Dylan's party? Jacob blatantly lied to Lauren too when he told her we hadn't had sex. "I mean, I'm not complaining now. We don't have to sneak around anymore. He was just at my house yesterday," she continues. I can't listen anymore. My mind is racing with the information I just heard. I don't know if what she's saying is true, but I have to find out. Dylan is still in the kitchen, standing with Reece. Seeing him hurts so badly because I want to blame him for Jacob cheating, but I know it's not his fault. "What's wrong?" he asks. "Can we talk? Outside?" He nods and I pull him through the glass doors and I take him to the side of the house where no one can bother us. "Seriously, Lace, what's wrong?" he asks me. "You knew, didn't you?" It's a test, of course. I need to see if he'll be honest with me, like he always has. His face shows confusion, but it quickly crumbles. He looks away and I know Lauren told the truth. "Why didn't you tell me?" "I didn't know how—" "After listening to my rants, and seeing me hurt, you didn't think to tell me that Jacob cheated on me here, at your house?" He holds up his hands. "Slow down." "Don't tell me to slow down," I say. "I just want to know why you didn't tell me in the first place. I had to hear it from the girl he cheated on me with. Do you know how hard that was?" "I had no idea who you guys were last year. I saw Jacob and that chick and assumed they were together, and I didn't tell you because I didn't think it would matter now that you guys aren't together." He narrows his eyes at me. "Are you trying to blame me for your douchebag ex-boyfriend cheating on you?" I can't speak. My mouth feels like there's cotton stuffed inside and my head hurts. "Jacob made his own fucking choice. I didn't know you were his girlfriend back then. He made the choice to sleep with that girl," he says, stepping closer to me. "It's not like your relationship with him was perfect anyway." What the hell? "What are you trying to say?" I demand from him. "Jacob ran all over you," he raises his voice. "He owned you and you let him. You let him run all over you and speak for you, and shit. Were you even your own person?" My fists ball at my sides. How dare he say that I've never owned my own body. Jacob did not run over me. "Don't turn this back onto me. And isn't that what you're doing now, Dylan? How can you speak for me, when you don't know shit? You've never even been in a relationship." He scoffs and laughs like it's a joke. "Whatever, Lacey. When I am in a relationship I'll make sure my girlfriend has her freedom and doesn't need me to speak for her every fucking minute," his voice drips with hurt and anger. I have to get out of here before I let him see me cry. "Screw you," I say, pushing past him. I search for Casey and I find her by the pool with Carlos. The tears are starting to come out and I try to wipe them away before I stand in front of her. "Can we go now?" I ask her. She looks at my face and frowns. "Hey, what's wrong?" "I'll explain in the car. Can we just go now? Please?" I plead. I want to get out of here before Dylan tries to talk to me again. "Um, yeah, sure," she looks at Carlos, still frowning.