"Can't say I have, Jace."

"Ah, a body shot virgin. Well now's the perfect time to do it. I'm lubed up and ready to go."

Alyssa tried really hard not to laugh, but it was a futile attempt. She busted out giggling, feeling pretty tipsy at the moment. Jace was a funny guy.

"She's good, Jace." John answered, squeezing her hand.

"I don't even know how it's done."

"Well, watch and find out, pretty girl," Jace slurred. "You can be next."

A shot was handed to the blonde, Sarah, she realized. She quickly threw it back then ran her tongue along his hips slowly. Jace moaned as the girl did it and rested his head back.

Alyssa swallowed. Well . . . that was actually hot.

Jace stood up, stumbling a bit. "Alright, your turn honey," he said to Sarah. Instead of running lemon and salt on her stomach, Jace did it at the tops of her breasts. Naturally, the guys in the crowd hollered. A glass was handed to Jace. He took the shot, licked the salt up then kissed her lips after. The crowd yelled and Sarah stood.

"You're turn, brother," Jace said to John, whose eyebrows rose high.

"Come on, you gotta let Alyssa try it out."

"I'll let her try it out on me, anytime," someone said. Heads turned and landed on Ben, who was smirking. His eyes were locked on Alyssa and John didn't like it one bit. It was as if he was trying to undress her with his beady eyes. "Hey, Ben," she said sweetly.

"No need, Ben. She's got me," John spoke up.

"And if she doesn't want him, she's got me," Jace joked.

"And me," Ford chimed in. Where did he come from? It didn't matter. What mattered was keeping Ben away from his girl.

"Why doesn't she answer for herself," Ben pushed.

She smiled sweetly. "I have Johnny, tonight" Alyssa said quickly. "Thanks though, Ben." There was no reason for her to be rude to him. He was her friend after all.

"Let's do this," Jace said, breaking the awkwardness. He rubbed his hands together and said, "Who's first?"

"I'll go," John said.

Reaching behind his neck, John fisted his shirt and pulled it off. It was the ladies turn now to holler for him and she didn't like it one bit. Alyssa bit her lips. Well, shit. Her eyes locked on his body and her mouth watered as he pulled his shorts low. A trail of peach fuzz led into his pants that she hadn't noticed before. He climbed up on the tailgate and laid back, his legs hanging on the edge. Sarah came forward to put the lemon and salt on him, but Alyssa stepped in.

"I got this," she said sharply. Alyssa took the lemon and ran it slowly across his waist, making sure to give him a good coating and then she sprinkled the salt on him. A shot was handed to her and she asked what it was.

"Tequila," Jace said, as if she should've known.

"Oh, shit. It seems like tonight is a first for a lot of things," she winked. Alyssa raised the glass and took a deep breath before she tipped it back. Holy shit that's gross! She thought to herself. Bringing the back of her hand to her mouth, she winced from the burning, disgusting taste. John reached for her to lean down and if he hadn't, she would've forgotten to lick him. Slipping her tongue out, she ran it seductively and as slow as she could from one hip to the next feeling every indentation, dipping slightly under the lip of his boxers. She went to stand up, but John pulled her face to his and kissed her hard, thrusting his tongue inside her mouth. She leaned in, completely forgot that people were around and kissed him back with the same intensity. Her heart hammered against her ribs.

"You did that shit on purpose," John said, breaking the kiss. She grinned, her heavy lidded eyes gleaming at him.

"That's what you get for working me up as I drove your fruity truck."

A huge smile broke out on his face and he kissed her one last time before standing up. Her smart mouth and wild personality called out to John big time. He found it incredibly attractive. Fuck friends with benefits, he wanted more.

No, he needed more.

"Alyssa's turn!" Jace yelled.

"I think I'll pass."

"Awe, come on," Jace begged. "Don't be a Debbie Downer."

Alyssa glanced at John, who shrugged. "It's up to you," he said.

"Do it!" Ford yelled.

"What the heck? You only live once, right?" she jumped on the tailgate and went to lift her shirt, but John stopped her.

"Nope. Up here," he tapped her chest and rubbed the lemon on, then the salt. "Ready?" she nodded. John was handed a shot. He threw it back and then trailed his tongue along Alyssa's chest, making sure to dip between her breasts. When he finished licking all the salt off, he trailed his lips along her jaw to her mouth where he delved in and kissed her deep and slow.

Alyssa grabbed the back of his head and kissed him hard. Their tongues thrashed in and out as if they were making love through a kiss. That body shot worked her up good and she wanted John. Not breaking the kiss, she leaned up and swerved to his front spreading her legs. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and, as if he was reading her mind, he lifted her up and walked away. The group of friends went wild as he carried her off, her feet dangling down his hips.

But they didn't hear them. In that moment it was just them.

John made it to his truck and pushed her up against the side hard, her hips rolling into his. The body shots were a dumb idea because now he was drunk and horny as fuck. Deep breaths and rising chests, they were panting into each other when he broke the kiss.

"Never, ever, do a body shot again," rolled off his lips, the heat in his eyes seared her core. "That tongue of yours is dangerous."

"I could say the same to you." Alyssa inhaled, breathing in a mixture of Georgia air, John's earthy scent, and the firewood burning as she slid down his body trying to find her footing.

"Somehow, somewhere, we're going to finish what we started tonight."

"I'd like that," she whispered huskily.

Sometime later, they were getting ready to call it a night. The party was winding down, the crowd was thinning out. The four friends had been there for countless hours.

John stopped drinking after the body shot to sober up, but he could still feel the effects. Now they were looking for Ford and Jace.

"There they are," Alyssa said, pointing.

"Hey guys, ready to head out?" he asked both Ford and Jace as they walked up to them.

"Johnny!" Jace said, giving John a sloppy side hug.

"I'm ready," Ford said.

"Are you okay to drive?" Alyssa asked Ford.

"Sure am. I haven't drank anything other than beer after we did those double shots hours ago. I was ready to head out anyway. I gotta help my pops on the farm tomorrow. It's been an epic night," Ford said, walking away. "See ya'll tomorrow."

"Jace?" Alyssa's voice was raised.

"You know you're my best friend, Johnny boy?" Jace said cheekily to John, not hearing Alyssa's question.

He laughed. "Oh yeah? That so?"

"That so," Jace repeated, walking to his truck.

"Want to head to my house and we can hang out back for a bit?"

Jace wiggled his eyebrows. "Sounds like a hot date."

Alyssa shook her head. "I swear, you two can't say anything without turning it into a sexual innuendo."

They high fived each other and she laughed.

"You okay to drive, Jace? We can drive if you want."

Jace looked at her like he was insulted. "I got this, pretty girl," then he jumped into his truck and spun out.

It was an epic night for sure. Gotta love summer nights in a small town, John thought as they turned onto the dirt road that held so many memories for him.

John watched as Jace drove down the bumpy dirt road in front of him. It was close to midnight, the pitch black night sky set behind the moon. Jace was doing a piss poor job trying to keep on the straight and narrow path and John couldn't help but laugh at his recklessness. He knew Jace was putting on a show driving the way he was, doing crazy eights and yelling out of the window and such. Lord, they liked to get wild in their trucks and do stupid shit.

Jace being crazy and wild was nothing new. There wasn't anyone on the long empty road for miles but him, Alyssa, and Jace anyways.

As Jace's truck was gaining speed, he swerved in and out of the lanes. Fuck. What the hell was Jace doing? John sat a little higher in his seat and glanced down at the speedometer. They had never gone that fast, at least not that he could remember. It was scaring the shit out of him.

"Hey Babe, grab my phone. Call Jace and tell him to take it easy, would ya?" He decided he was going to make a call instead of waiting.

"Sure thing."

Alyssa's blonde locks covered the side of her face as she dialed, the phone nearly slipping through her fingers when they hit a pothole. John watched as she tucked her hair behind her ear then raised the phone. Her creamy soft skin glowed from the moonlit sky as her foot bounced rapidly on his dashboard.

Glancing back to the road, he could see Jace's silhouette lean over, probably trying to grab his phone. Jace swerved sharply in an attempt to avoid a group of bushes. He hit a pothole, pulling the truck abruptly to the right even more and nicking the shrubs and trees on the passenger side of his truck. The sound of the impact made him think of a gun going off, the pinging getting louder and louder.

Jesus Christ. John's heart dropped into the pit of his stomach as a shiver ran through his body.

With wide, panic filled eyes, he watched Jace's truck hit a small tree, then another, a domino effect moving in slow motion. Pieces from his truck flew off onto the shouldera broken headlight, the side mirror. From the corner of his eye, Alyssa dropped her feet to sit up higher. She drew in an audible breath and leaned forward, blindly reaching for John and squeezing his forearm. The horror in her grip mirrored his. Tires screeched as a cloud of dirt puffed up behind the truck and rocks went flying.

Jace continued to fishtail, causing him to pull hard to the right where his truck caught a large bush, ripping the front bumper off. Was he pressing on the accelerator? Did he not know not to do that? It looked as if he was going faster when he needed to be slowing down.

"Oh my God," John heard Alyssa whisper before Jace's truck teetered on its side.

"Fuck." Jace had lost complete control. Glancing ahead, he spotted an old tree that stood out on the shoulder.

Right in the path of Jace's truck.

"Oh my God. Oh my God. Nooooooo!"

Time slowed, John's mouth parted in shock as Jace's truck collided head on with the tree. The screeching tires on the dirt road, the smell of burning rubber, and hearing metal crunching nearly stopped John's heart. The impact was deafening, and the crunching metal caused John to draw in a loud breath, air filling his lungs to the brink of pain as Jace's truck came to a stop, wrapped around a motherfucking tree.

John couldn't breathe. Even in the dark he could see the underlining of the truck and how it bent at an unnatural shape.

Pulling to a halt, John threw the gearshift in park. He switched on his high beams for light and flung the door opened running full speed to his best friend, screaming behind him, "Alyssa! Call an ambulance!" Smoke began to flow out from under the hood and his stomach curled at the sudden thoughts running through his head. He needed to get Jace out immediately.

"Johnny!"

Glancing over his shoulder, John saw Alyssa climb out of the cab. Mother fuck. She was running for him.

"Get your ass back in the truck, Alyssa!" he yelled at her.

Who was he supposed to save if something happened and the wreck caught fire, he thought as Alyssa was gunning for him. His girl? Or his boy?

Running around to the driver's side, the windshield was cracked into a million tiny pieces and covered in blood. John needed to think quickly.

A few steps to the right and he was looking through the back cab of the truck window.

Jesus Christ.

If John wasn't trying to save his best friend's life, he would have vomited all over the place at the sight before him. His stomach rolled tighter. No one could see their friend like this and not be affected. Blood covered the shattered windshield and the front of the truck was crushed like a soda can. Peering through the window, Jace's head was sandwiched between the door and the steering wheel, his body hunched over and his eyes closed as he lay against the driver's side door, unconscious.

"Jace! Jace! Can you hear me?!" John yelled, running to the other side. "Fuck man! Open your eyes! Jace!"

Yanking the door open, Jace's torso fell out of the truck, his head rolling onto John's arm as he caught him. Lifeless. He gave a little shake, and in an effort to wake him up yelled, "Jace!" Shards of glass were sprinkled on him and slipping onto the grass. He reached in to pull Jace out, but he was stuck. He could hear Alyssa's frantic screams in the background and he prayed she would not come any closer. He didn't want her to see Jace like this.

Reaching down, John laced his arms under Jace's laden, blood soaked body and lifted him. Something sharp dug into his forearm, but it didn't register in his mind as he tried to rescue his friend. A few more tugs but he was going nowhere. Jace was stuck, and not only that, he was dead weight. Reaching in further, he tugged on his belt loops for leverage to pull him out.

"Come on, buddy . . . I sure could use some help right now," he muttered as a tear threatened to roll down his cheek. He stepped closer and a piece of metal dug into his shin.

Nothing came from Jace. Not a grunt or groan or even a huff of air.

With everything he had, every last inch of willpower, John struggled to breathe as he tried desperately to pull Jace out of the smoking truck.

"Fuck," he murmured. "This isn't going to end like this, bro. Please . . . fuckin' help me get you out."

Gently he eased Jace down back on to the seat, and as he did, Alyssa appeared.

"Alyssa, get the fuck outta here!" He wasn't trying to hurt her, but he couldn't stand the thought of one piece of hair on her head being injured.

"No," she screamed with purpose. "Let me help!"

"I can't let anything happen to you, now go!"

"I'm not leaving, Johnny. You might as well tell me what to do because we're running out of time." John could see the steel determination in her eyes and he loved her for it. "He's my friend, too," her voice shook as her jaw quivered.

He nodded. "I'm going to lift Jace under his arms, and when I do, reach down and try to pull his legs out. I think they're stuck under the dash. On my count. Got it?"

"Got it."

"Three . . . two . . . one," he grunted, and pulled Jace with every ounce of fiber in him.