"I'd give the whole package to you any day, sugar," John wiggled his brows, his eyes gleaming. "All you gotta do is ask. It's usually one and you're done kind of thing, but for you I'd make an exception. Want it again?"

Jace and Ford turned back around with their mouths hanging open. Alyssa was seeing red. She was going to have his balls alright. She was going to crush them the next chance she got.

"Meh. It wasn't as good as you thought." She retorted. "I'll pass. But thanks for the offer."

That wiped the smirk off John's face. "Take that back," he stalked toward her.

"No," she backed up with each step he took.

"Yes."

"Nope." Alyssa took off running. John followed closely and caught up to her. He stopped to pick up a handful of mud. He mashed it in his hands, going back and forth like he was forming a ball and then chucked it hard at Alyssa, hitting her back. She stopped and hit the floor. All John could do was laugh.

He got up and walked over to her, kind of feeling bad. Laughing at her hunched over back because he just couldn't help it, he said, "I'm sorry. Let's get you cleaned up," and reached for her. As he did, Alyssa turned over and threw a giant mud ball right in his face, and then she got up and booked it.

John stood tall, taking the hit and wiping the mud from his face as his friends laughed nearby.

"That's what you get!" she exclaimed, laughing ten feet away.

"Touche," he said. "Come on," he held a hand out. "I'm serious. Let's get you cleaned up. I know how much you hate getting dirty. I'll show you how it's done."

Walking back over to the tree swing, John gripped the bottom of the rope.

"Grip this as high as you can. Wrap your legs around it the way you would wrap your legs around my-"

"JOHN!"

"And once you reach your climax, let go," he joked.

"I swear, I'm going to kill you in your sleep."

Naturally, Jace and Ford laughed. "Go on, laugh it up, boys," Alyssa said, gripping the thick, braided rope in her hands, then she flipped them all off.

John stepped back and she eyed the water, trying to decide where to land. The drop off point scared her. It shouldn't considering she wouldn't hit it, but it did.

Taking a deep breath, Alyssa jumped, grasping the rope as high as she could and swung out and over the river, too scared to let go.

"Oh my God! Catch me," she screamed, swinging over the water. She ended up swinging back to the boys, too scared to let go then too, and they all joined in and pushed her back to the water.

"I'm going to kill all of you," she yelled, releasing the rope and plugging her nose before she hit the water.

The water was ice cold and she came up quickly looking for land. She couldn't imagine any dirt washed away at the rate she rose. Each guy laughed nearby and she flipped them off, again.

"I'm done with you assholes," she exclaimed. John helped her out and gave her his towel.

"What a mouth she has," Ford laughed.

"Let me show you how it's done, city girl," Jace said.

"It's all yours," she encouraged.

Alyssa watched Jace take hold of the rope, gripping it and tugging it in his hands. He winked, took a deep breath and hopped on. After the long swoop over the water, he let go and flipped backwards and heard a splintering noise and crack before he landed in the water.

"Did ya'll hear that?" he asked, back on the grass. Jace shook his head trying to rid some of the water.

Each one shook their heads no. Jace nodded and then hopped back on, this time sweeping out high over the water when he heard the crack again. Before he could let go, the branch splintered and broke, free falling from the sky. Jace flew into the water, still holding the rope as the branch followed. He hit the water on his back, a giant splash echoing over the river.

John, Alyssa, and Ford trekked down the dirt to the shore break to retrieve Jace. He came out unscathed, grinning like a fool.

"While that was fun as hell, you suck at tree swings, Johnny boy. You're cut off," he sniffled, and headed for a clean towel.

The four of them, including Jace, laughed hard together. Something cracked open inside her chest, and Alyssa realized how at home she felt for the first time in years. She absorbed everything around her and smiled. She was truly at ease for once and loving life.

"I have no idea why that would've happened, but Ford got it on camera. Let's go watch it."

Once the sun disappeared, John was on his way to pick up his girl. He pulled into Alyssa's empty driveway and she ran outside. She opened his truck door and slid in close to him with a huge smile on her face.

"Someone's excited to see me."

Alyssa rolled her eyes, a smirk on her face. "Don't get ahead of yourself. I'm just excited school is over and summer is here." When he didn't respond, she followed his gaze.

"What?" she looked down at her outfit.

His mouth hung open. "I'm in shock right now. Where did you get a camo shirt from? I know that's not something you had in your closet."

Alyssa playfully smacked his arm and sat back. "I ordered it a few weeks ago," she said, staring straight ahead trying to suppress a smile.

John's mouth turned into one of the sexiest grins she'd ever seen. A panty melting, impish grin while his eyes lit up. Her stomach turned over and her cheeks flushed. "You bought that for me, didn't you?"

"Psh."

"Admit it. You bought that shirt to wear for me!" he exclaimed.

"I bought it to fit into your little town, that's why."

John continued smiling, not saying a word for a moment. "You are such a liar!"

"Whatever," she pushed her lips together. "Let's go." She may have purchased the shirt with John in mind, but no way was she admitting to that.

"I wouldn't think white shorts went with camo, but you're lookin' pretty good right about now. Actually, I don't think any of the chicks wear white with camo," he said, putting his truck into gear.

"I'm never wearing this shirt again. In fact, I'm going to burn it tonight at the bonfire."

John barked out a laugh. "Then what will you wear?"

She looked over at John with a twinkle in her eyes. "Your shirt of course." John wore a muscle shirt, his toned arms were curved and cupped perfectly as he drove with an arm draped over the steering wheel. The way he drove his truck was pretty damn hot. Never had she thought that before. Maybe because she had never seen someone like John who got her all hot and bothered drive a truck.

Remembering what Jace said about guys and their ATV's, and how just not anyone drives them, she wondered if that included his truck. She was going to test that theory.

"Can I drive your truck?"

John looked at her as if she asked him to sign over the title to it. "What?"

"Can I drive your truck," she repeated, enunciating each word.

John hesitated. "Right now?"

"Yeah, I'll slide over and take the wheel while you gas it."

"Well, that's not what I was thinking, but it's a good thing we live in a small town or else this wouldn't work."

John let up on the accelerator and Alyssa got as close as she could to John. She leaned over and took control of the wheel.

"Want to just sit on my lap?" he asked. This wasn't working for him, especially with the way her legs were stretched out next to him begging to be caressed.

"Alright," she smiled. Carefully, Alyssa climbed onto John's lap making sure not to step on him or it could cause an ugly accident since they were still driving. Easing down on John's lap, he let go of the wheel and placed his hands on her hips as she took over and drove.

"Want the gas too?" he asked, and she nodded. Giving up complete control of his truck wasn't something he ever did, but he made an exception for Alyssa. Pulling up to a stop sign, John leaned back and watched Alyssa drive. His dick was growing hard with her little, plump ass on him. She reached over and cranked the radio and began wiggling back and forth in excitement.

"I like this. I kind of want a truck now."

"Baby, you can drive my truck anytime you want," he said with a flirtatious tone, thrusting his hips up. John squeezed her hips and didn't remove his hands, only slid them lower to her where her shorts cut off and curved his fingers under, gently rubbing her skin.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Payback is a bitch," he said, and leaned up to kiss her neck. John's fingers slid close to her now wet sex and she involuntary widened her legs. His other hand held her stomach, holding her in place.

"Johnny," she said huskily. "This isn't a good idea."

"That's not what you said a few weeks ago when I was driving," he reminded her.

Alyssa groaned, her head lulling back. "You play dirty," she said.

"You have on such tiny shorts . . . Do you know how easy it would be for me to slip my fingers in you right now?" he whispered against her neck, his fingers grazing her wetness. Luckily, they were pulling up to the party otherwise he would take Alyssa just like this.

"Too bad we're here," she said.

Driving into the open field, trucks were parked all around. A giant bonfire was center stage about fifty feet away, and just about every young adult in South Fork was here walking around with beer or sitting on tailgates. John slipped his finger under her panties and she moaned so low he knew she was trying to hide it.

"I can't find a parking spot," she whispered. "How the hell do I back this thing in?"

"I found one, I can back it in for you," he joked as his finger pushed inside. She clenched her thighs, squeezing his finger. "It would be a tight squeeze, but I could make it work." Alyssa laughed. "Sugar, you're making this too easy for me. You're saying all the right things."

"I can't help it," she laughed. "Oh, right there!" she yelled.

"Yeah? You like that?" he said, pushing in and out of her. His dick was straining under her ass, probably aching the worst it ever has.

"Not you, John. A parking spot."

"Aghhh," he laughed. His head fell back against the head rest.

John looked out of the window and spotted his friends as she backed in his truck. Jace and Ford stood together, mouths hanging wide open in shock and clutching their beers to their chests.

"Here, you need this," Jace said, handing him a double shot of whiskey. He passed one to Ford and Alyssa too. "It'll put some hair on your chest and replace your balls."

Jace winked at Alyssa, where she hid her smile behind her shot glass. Ford was in the process of tipping his shot back when he laughed at Jace's comment and spit half of it out. "That was a good one," Ford said.

"Dude, you should just hand the keys to your fruity truck to Alyssa. She looks much better driving it."

"Is that jealousy I smell?" John asked, and threw his shot back.

"Nah, I'm just busting your chops," Jace said, and handed him another.

"Another?"

"Since when did you become such a light weight, Suzie? It's summer. This is how we roll."

John shrugged, Jace was right.

"Let's make a toast," Ford said. The four of them raised their glasses high. "Here's to the good times and one epic summer." They clunked their glasses together and threw the shot back. Alyssa cringed from the burn at the back of her throat. She definitely wasn't a whiskey or bourbon kind of girl. She leaned toward beer.

"I'm pretty sure I'll be growing that chest hair by the end of the night." she coughed, her eyes watering. "That's some strong stuff."

"Get used to it, blondie. It's what's on tap tonight," Jace said.

After their round of shots, they split up for a bit to mingle for the next hour. Everyone was relaxed, laid back and having a good time without a care in the world. Games were being played, cornholewhich she recognizedand music coming from trucks. Taking center stage was the bonfire. It was huge, probably twenty feet high by five feet wide and it blazed under the heated star covered sky. She was captivated by it.

Alyssa smiled. She loved everything about this night. Who knew she would come to love the little back pocket town of South Fork so much?

She walked around hand in hand with John. The whiskey was streaming through her veins, warming her blood and making her feel good. John kept her close and hardly took his eyes off of her. In fact, she didn't see him even glance at another girl. Maybe this friends with benefits thing wasn't such a bad idea after all. Considering the way he held her hand, or when he leaned against a truck with his arms wrapped around her while he talked to a friend, she was falling hard for him. She didn't want to, she wanted to keep it strictly platonic, but he was making her swoon hard.

Not to mention, his southern drawl was pretty damn sexy.

Hooting and hollering and excitement pulled John and Alyssa toward the crowd growing around a truck. They had no idea what was going on, but as they shimmied their way through to the front it was quickly discovered.

Jace was doing body shots. At the sight, John burst out laughing.

His shirt was long gone and his shorts were hung extremely low on his flat stomach. A brunette girl rubbed lemon on his waist and then sprinkled salt across. When she was done, Jace looked behind and spotted John.

"Johnny boy!" he yelled with a big grin and glossy eyes. They slapped hands and said hi.

"Jace! Let me guess-you lost your shirt."

He grinned.

"You can't be trusted to be alone anymore. How do you always lose your shirt?"

"The fuck if I know," he said. "But it's not like I need one while doing body shots-hey girl," he said when he spotted Alyssa. "Ever done a body shot?"