The second Jemma turned onto the long gravel driveway, she cranked the music louder still.
“There she fucking is!”
Through the windshield, the lake house came into view—big, beautiful, and set right against sparkling blue water. The dock stretched out behind it, a boat already tied up beside two jet skis.
You laughed as Jemma slapped the steering wheel excitedly.
“Three months,”
she said.
“No professors. No exams. No responsibilities. No shitty campus apartments.”
“No jobs.”
“We don’t talk about August yet.”
She parked and jumped out immediately.
You climbed out after her, staring up at the house.
“Okay, you seriously undersold this place.”
“I know.”
Jemma grabbed her sunglasses from the top of her head.
“It’s obnoxious.”
Before either of you could reach for a bag, a loud crash came from somewhere inside.
Then—
“YOU FUCKING IDIOT!”
Jemma froze.
You looked at her.
She slowly closed her eyes.
“And there goes my happiness.”
Another voice came through the open windows.
“It was already broken!”
“It wasn’t broken until you fucking touched it!”
Jemma abandoned the luggage and marched toward the house.
“I swear to God, if they’ve broken something already—”
You followed her inside.
The voices led you toward the big open kitchen overlooking the lake.
Three men stood around the island.
And—
Oh.
Jemma had mentioned her brother and his friends were staying here.
She had neglected several important details.
Like the fact that apparently all three of them looked like that.
Delano stood beside the counter in a faded T-shirt and shorts, dark brown hair slightly messy, tan arms crossed over his chest. His bright blue eyes went to his sister first.
Then to you.
They lingered for half a second before going back to Jemma.
“Look who finally decided to show up.”
Jemma dropped her purse onto the counter.
“Some of us went to college instead of spending our twenties seeing how many concussions we could collect.”
A blond guy leaning against the island grinned.
Payton.
“And yet,”
he said,
“we’re still smarter than you.”
“You tried to jump a golf cart over a creek.”
Payton pointed toward the third man.
“Roper said we’d clear it.”
Roper sat on a barstool, tattooed arms resting on the counter, black hair falling slightly over his forehead.
His brown eyes remained completely serious.
“I said you wouldn’t.”
Payton frowned.
Roper took a swallow of his beer.
“Very different sentence.”
You snorted before you could stop yourself.
Three sets of eyes landed on you.
Roper’s mouth twitched.
Delano looked between you and Jemma.
“This the friend?”
“This is the friend,”
Jemma said.
“And you’re all going to behave.”
Delano gave her an incredulous look.
“She’s been here thirty seconds.”
“Exactly. I’m getting ahead of it.”
Payton looked you over with absolutely zero shame.
“Probably smart.”
Jemma pointed at him.
“No.”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“You were about to.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I’ve known you since I was nine.”
Payton considered that.
“Fair.”
Delano pushed away from the counter and nodded toward the front door.
“You bring half your apartment again?”
“It’s called having belongings.”
“Last summer you brought eleven pairs of shoes.”
Jemma stared at him.
“You own a boat you barely know how to drive.”
“I know how to drive the fucking boat.”
Roper looked at you.
“He does not.”
“Fuck you, Roper.”
“See?”
Jemma gestured toward them.
“This. This is what we’re living with.”
You smiled.
“I’ve had worse roommates.”
Delano’s eyebrow lifted.
Payton immediately straightened.
Roper glanced between them before muttering,
“And now you’ve challenged them.”
“She’s been here two minutes,”
Jemma groaned.
Delano gave you the faintest smirk.
“You might want to reconsider that statement in about a week.”
“Or tonight,”
Roper added.
Jemma grabbed your arm.
“Come on. I’ll show you your room before they start measuring their dicks.”
“We already did that,”
Payton called after you.
Delano shoved him.
“Jesus Christ.”
“What? We’re Marines. We got bored.”
Jemma kept walking.
“I fucking hate all of you.”
Payton laughed before calling after you.
“Hey, college girl.”
You looked back.
He’d leaned against the island again, messy blond hair falling across his forehead, green eyes fixed right on you.
A slow grin spread over his face.
“Don’t unpack your swimsuit too deep.”
You lifted an eyebrow.
“Why?”
Payton picked up his beer.
“Because I’m taking you out on the lake.”
Jemma groaned beside you.
“And it begins.”
Payton winked.
“You’re gonna have fun this summer. I promise.”