Before too long, Nikki's head hits the pillow as she's out cold. Unfortunately for Josh, it's another restless night. He tosses and turns until he looks at his watch and notices it's nearly sunrise.

The covers go flying in the air with Josh getting dressed to head down and puts his feet in the water. With the morning waves splash against his legs, Josh stands there, arms crossed, red-eyed, and wonders what his future has in store.

It isn't long before Mr. Katua joins him.

"Morning, son. Take it you had a long night."

Caught off guard, Josh turns his head to see Mr. Katua handing him over a cup of coffee.

"Oh, hey, uh yeah, sir, but it's nothing new I haven't slept good in years. Ah, coffee, thank you!"

Josh takes his cup, sipping it tasting the sugar mixed almost perfectly to how he does it.

"How'd you know I liked sugar in my coffee?" Josh asks.

"Simple old saying, young man; they say daughters find guys a lot like their father. Since I like sugar with my coffee, I figured you might as well." He pauses for a second before he gets to his main point.

"Listen, I can tell you're a troublemaker. I know because I was one too when I was your age. The only thing I will say is if you get my daughter into trouble, you'll deal with me. I like you, kid, but you're not above my law as a dad."

What he says doesn't come as a surprise. Josh has been expecting the 'dad talk' for some time. He stands there, taking another sip of the steaming sweet coffee, thinking of what to say.

"You're right; I have been at the center of a lot of trouble and problems. As far as getting Nikki into it, you ain't gotta worry, sir. Since I've met her, it's calmed down a lot. She's the last person I'd want to drag into my world of hurt."

Mr. Katua stands there for a minute then returns to the house to give Josh the chance to enjoy as the sun appears over the horizon alone. Once the sun settles in place, Josh strolls back to the house to find it empty with a note.

"Hey Josh and Nikki, we went out to breakfast at Gallies. We'll be back afterward, so have fun because we're leaving early in the morning for home. Love, mom, and dad." Josh reads aloud.

Finding out that they have the house to themselves, Josh flops on the couch to convince himself not to head upstairs to ravage Nikki's body again. Without realizing it, he falls asleep on the couch.

That's where Nikki finds him when she reemerges from her room. She gets a pillow helping him lie down to get a nap in while she gets cleaned up and ready for the day.

Nikki takes her time after stepping out of the shower to admire herself in the full-length body mirror. As she twists and turns, she tries to discover what it is that Josh sees in her.

"He says I'm gorgeous, but I can't see it! Yeah, I'm skinny, but that's it, and ugh, these glasses make me look like a total nerd. Well, whatever it is, he enjoys it, and that's fine by me."

With a slip of her hand, Nikki's towel drops to the floor. She slips into her favorite faded orange spaghetti strap shirt and low-cut shorts. After brushing out her long brown hair, the next item on her list is putting on her face. Not even having a chance to put everything back in her makeup bag, there's a knock at the door.

"Nikki, babe, you in there?" Josh calls out from the other side.

"Yeah, babe, I'm dressed. Come on on inside."

The door cracks open, and Josh pokes his head inside.

"Well, hello, my angel! I guess I missed my chance to attack you since we're here alone." Josh says during a yawn.

"Yep, sorry, babycakes shop's all closed until we get home." She goes over, giving Josh a quick peck on the lips with her hand on his cheek.

"Not to sound bossy or rush but get ready, and we'll go out for something to eat. I wanna check this place out a little better away from the beach. I might apply to a couple of schools down this way if it's nice enough." Josh says with Nikki pushing against the door to get him out.

"Believe me; you'll love the area and not wanna go back home. I never want to leave. I love it here, which is why I plan to move here after college." She reminds him, continuing to push the door shut and locks it behind her.

The rest of the day runs smoothly, and soon after midnight, the cars get packed up to head home. Josh drives alone since he's not stopping in Teays Valley but continuing straight back to the house, where he finds a surprise when he finally crawls out of bed later that day.

"Yo James, thanks for letting me sleep so long, bub I..." he stops dead in his tracks, "Momma C, you're home, well early."

"That's where you're wrong, my adoptive child. I'm home for good; I took a job driving a tow truck, making better money. I can be here now since you boys are getting into some serious dating. I met James' new girlfriend, and she's gorgeous and polite." Momma C explains, bursting Josh's bubble trying to get Nikki over for a full night.

"Well, uh, welcome home, momma, and uh, food smells good. I'm just going to grab a bite and well head out."

Eat now; taste later isn't just a military thing around Josh. He wolfs down a plate and half worth of food before he escapes outside. He stops when he reaches his car.

Something snatches his attention next door. The house isn't empty any longer. A moving truck pulls up, towing a Toyota Tacoma with a red faded paint job Honda Prelude right behind it.

All Josh can do is stand there watching a middle-aged woman and her son get out to scope out the house in person.

"Really, mom... This is the house? I mean, come on, we could've stayed in Indiana and done better with a tornado." The young man argues, obviously annoyed with the place.

"Hey buddy, it's been a few years since anyone lived in that place. If you need any help with anything, I'm usually around during daylight hours, but after nightfall, not so much." Josh calls, outgaining their attention.

The two new neighbors come over to chat.

"Well, hi neighbor! I'm Virginia McMichaels, and this is my son Alexander."

"I'm Josh Bradshaw. Where y'all coming from?"

Alex takes the reign with his quick response without wasting words.

"Plainfield, Indiana, about an hour from Indianapolis. So, what's there to do in this back-hole shits town."

"There's not much actually, but most weekends when I'm not with my girl, or well even when I am, we head downtown to Cruise Avenue and just kick it. Unless we're too bored, then we hit up K.C. about forty-five minutes away in Charleston. Pretty much when the sun goes down, the real fun begins." Josh enlightens Alex, who's now leaning against his Honda.

While he's listening to the explanation, all Alex hears that sticks with him are the term girls. For him, it means potential hookups right off the bat.

"Very nice, so uh, your girl got any girls that could be or are single?"

Not thinking twice about its Josh trounces the request.

"I can't say for sure, but you're always more than welcome to hit the scene with us next weekend. Hell, just hit us up after school, and we'll make plans. Midtrail ain't a bad school."

Alex drops his first bomb about how that won't be possible.

"I dropped out and got my GED already. I was supposed to go to flight school to become a pilot and head out for the Army, but mom got a teaching offer here at some nursing school, and well, here we are. Yippee!"

Mrs. McMichaels listens to her son long enough to feel annoyed and makes her way inside. She makes her way to the front door struggling to shove it open since the lock is stuck.

The two boys continue chatting back and forth for a bit. When Josh goes to exit the conversation, Alex makes it to join his mother in the house. Josh takes off to enjoy the remainder of the last day of spring break.

It's during that week James drops some news on Josh during lunch.

"I heard they're redrafting the bus lines, and guess what. Next year I'll be going to Midtrail. Well, I guess we'll be attending there."

"No, WE won't! I've already got my classes scheduled, and I must stay at Highland to keep my half days. I have a morning Math lab on campus over at Mountain State, and then I'm here for my two-afternoon classes and then another two evening classes Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Sorry, bub, but it's not worth the drive, let alone risking losing knocking out some core classes early. Guess I'll be the lone wolf for our Senior year."

Tensions rise all over again with more unexpected changes between all three of the boys. Justin's become a ghost during the week, helping with a revival at church and going over to meet with the admission counselor for his college of choice. James also goes to enroll in IT classes at the votec. He's come into his own playing and tinkering around with computer class but becomes one of the best students the school has produced for information technology.

That leaves Josh being free those evenings to kick it with Alex. They quickly become good friends, and whenever Nikki and Josh aren't on the phone talking, he's out and about with Alex, especially when the sun goes down. They're downtown racing red light to red light betting with anyone they can hook into a drag race.

"Hey, you, yeah, you in the Toyota! Wanna put down twenty bucks?" Alex calls out from the window, trying to goat the other drive.

"Twenty bucks make it sixty, and you got it!" The young driver insists while revving up the engine to his older model Corolla.

"You best pay up, pretty boy," Josh calls out from his seat with a nod and a thumbs up.

Both engines are slightly revved up, ready to go. They wait for the light to switch green. Anticipation builds more than the heat from the roasting blacktop. Finally, the signal of freedom appears with both cars squeal their tires with people watching from the sidewalks.

Both engines roar, flying through first and second gears. Both cars are neck to neck until Josh reaches third, where the turbo kicks in best, dumping the spool up at 3600 rpm's, giving him the edge in the race seconds before he and Alex speed through the next light for the win. The cocky duo waits for the Corolla to pull up to hand over the money.

Alex is all glad to reach out to take the money out of the guy's hand.

"Alright, boss man, that makes an even three hundred tonight alone! How in the blue hell are you beating all these people?"

That's an easy explanation for Josh to settle just how they keep winning.

"I've got the timing down for the lights. I've spent hours riding, and I've learned the timing between the lights. If you notice, I watch the adjacent light turn, and by the time my foot lifts off the clutch, our light is green. Plus, I put a couple of grand into this car with the turbo system, and a bigger exhaust makes a difference. Hell, I've been toying around with some of these cars to make it seem fair. Can't bait them in if they lose by too much."

"Gotcha!" Alexander says with an evil smile, "you're a mean, mean man, but you know what? I dig it, my brother!"

Before they head back for the main drag to the house, Josh pulls over to grab a bite to eat and splits up the money since Alex is an enormous help drawing people into a race.

"Alright, alright, three hundred divided up makes it a buck-fifty apiece. Here you go, Alexander, and don't waste it in one place."

"I am, though, and it's going back for pilot lessons. They're a little more expensive here, but hey, once I'm finished, it's off to the Army. This isn't a half-bad town, after all. Making decent money out on the streets with you and I have less than a mile to go to class from the house, and best yet, no tornados!" Alex admits after chewing his food.

Josh just shrugs his shoulders while chomping down on a burger. He's just glad not to be tied down to a typical teenage job taking up his free time and weekends.

After a late dinner, the clock in the car shows it's nearly a quarter to one.

"Ah, man, we need to get back! I have to be up in five hours for school, and then Saturday Nikki is coming down for the day." Josh says with panic to his voice, knowing he's about to get his ass chewed if Momma C is awake.

"Floor it then!" Alex states settled into the passenger seat.

Luckily Momma C is out on a call for a wreck on the interstate. Josh sneaks through the house heading back to his bedroom, where he power naps before a shower and finishes the day at home after school.

Early Saturday morning, there's a tapping at the front door. Momma C calls out for one of the four boys to get it.

"Hey, one of y'all get the door! I'm finishing up breakfast." When she doesn't hear footsteps from the basement, she yells out from the kitchen.

"Hey, sorry, the door is open; just c'mon inside!"

Nikki pushes the door open and takes a whiff of breakfast floating from the kitchen. Overwhelmed by it, she walks into the kitchen and offers to help.

"Is there anything I can help you with, Ms. Cline?"

"Yes, dear, if you don't care, please make a new thing of coffee. Once I'm finished with the eggs, it'll be ready, and if you could make me a coffee with brown sugar. Yes, I know it's weird, but I like it, but I would love you forever!"

It's an easy request that Nikki is all too happy to do. She also sets plates and silverware on the table and sets out the boys' milk and juices.

"You're an angel! If you don't mind, go get the boys, and when they get done, they're cleaning all this up!"

Again, it's an easy request that Nikki is delighted to do for Momma Cline. She marches downstairs, where she discovers the boys hitting the weights or hitting the heavy bag. She sees Josh pushing his limit at lifting just above his body weight at one hundred forty-five pounds. Her body reacts to the sight of his body shining from sweat over his muscles. She's speechless until they notice her standing at the steps.

"Nikki...hey baby...Nikki, hello..." Josh says, trying to snap her back into reality.

"Hey, baby angel, are you okay?"

It isn't until he walks up, touching her, that she snaps back into the room, nearly drooling.

"Yeah, sorry, just had something I was thinking about, but the food is ready, and yeah, food, yeah, did I mention Ms. Cline sent me down there for food that is ready." She tells them like someone who had been drugged and left groggy.

All four boys get a chuckle as Josh helps turn her around and watches her ass bounce up the steps walking behind her. On the way up, he slips back into his shirt, feeling the burning sensation of his muscles from the weights.

Out from behind the door, they get a place at the table. James and Alex take a spot leaning against the counter as they wait for Justin to say grace before digging into the food.

"Mom, that was fantastic!" James shouts, placing his plate in the sink.

"Glad you feel that way, son, because you're on dishes. Josh, you're in charge of making sure everything gets wiped down and garbage. Justin and Alexander, well, one sweeps and dusts; the other will mop and put away the dishes once they're dry. Miss Nikki and I are going to go into the living room and enjoy a good chick flick!" Momma C lays out her orders and guides Nikki to the living room, where they pop in a videotape.

Time goes by, and the kitchen is spic and span at last. From there, the boys take their leave, with Justin heading out on his own. Alex walks over to his house, shutting himself in for a while. Josh and Nikki walk outback, where they nestle up in the hammock.

Early afternoon their peace is broken up by Momma C after a page comes in for her to head out to a deadly car crash on a narrow backroad. She calls out to the young lovers who are nearly asleep by the gentle swaying back and forth motion from the sliding glass door.

"Hey kids, no monkey business while I'm out on this call! I'll be back as fast as I can. Have fun, and Nikki, as always, glad to see you, honey!"

They don't wait for the sliding glass door to close when Josh begins to move on Nikki to get her into the mood to fool around. He starts by sliding his hand to the bottom of her shirt, gliding his hand freely up her side, sending a cold shiver down her spine. She picks up the hint and plants the kiss that signals for them to head inside.