Charles –

A bonfire was glowing twenty feet down the beach and people were still milling around. He spotted Abby, sitting down on a towel, arms wrapped around her knees, staring out at the ocean. Alone. No Rowan, no Mason.
Lying down for a nap after humiliating her boyfriend should have made her mad enough to never speak to him again. But she was still here, and he knew it was because of him. He needed to apologize.
“Hi,” he said, walking up to her and standing there, hands shoved in his pockets. “Can I sit?”
“I guess,” Abby said. “Who’s the girl?”
“Which one?”
She gave him a searing look.
“I forgot her name. Honestly.”
“Why are you being such a jerk?” Abby asked. She looked on the verge of tears.
“Excuse me,” Charles said, very quietly. “But if I remember correctly, you’re the one who won’t leave her boyfriend. You can’t have it both ways.”
“I don’t want it both ways,” Abby said.
“Really?” Charles was getting angry. “Because you could have fooled me. Who is the jerk in this situation, me or you?”
“Charles.” Abby had tears on her cheeks. “You make it sound so easy. Like I can just drop everything and be with you. It’s more complicated than that. Besides, if I dumped Ace, would you suddenly be my boyfriend?”
Charles didn’t say anything. There wasn’t really anything to say to that.
“That’s what I thought,” Abby said.
“Don’t cry, love. I’ve been a bastard. I’m sorry,” he whispered. He moved closer to her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close.
She tilted her head toward him and Charles tried to kiss her. He didn’t care if the whole school saw them. He hoped that maybe she wouldn’t either. But she pulled away.
So be it. He sighed. He didn’t want to hurt her anymore. If their relationship had to be a secret, if they had to keep it from Mason and Abby’s mom and Rowan and all the rest, then that was better than no Abby at all.
“Come on, let’s go to my car,” she whispered.
“Okay,” he agreed.
They got into the backseat of the car, where they lay, kissing. Something about her was different—more willing. As if now that he’d accepted her terms for their relationship, she was willing to accept his. He pulled off Abby’s jacket and fumbled with the strings of her bathing suit top. She let him unbutton her jean shorts and peel off the still-wet layers of her bikini bottoms. Her body was illuminated by the blue glow of the moon through the windows of the car. She sighed and wrapped her arms around him as his lips moved against her warm skin.
Somehow, in the aftermath of all that frustration and anger, they had gotten even closer. Charles wondered if maybe he really could love her, after all.