On the beach behind them, the bonfire was burning down, the orange embers reflected in the water. The remaining couples were all leaving, wandering back to their campsites, sleepy, stoned and happy.

"It's getting late, I should get you back to your tent." They were still on the picnic table, lying with their bodies entwined, enjoying their solitude, kissing and talking quietly. Sam had just felt Sarah yawn against his chest and stifled one of his own.

"Um hm." She snuggled closer to him, she didn't want the evening to end. It felt good to lie here beside Sam.

He played with strands of her hair as he laid there, listening to the sounds of the crickets behind him and the soft shoosh of the waves. From far off he heard the low moan of a ship's horn, echoing across the water. He couldn't remember a time when he felt so peaceful. He didn't feel that nervous energy that had been running though his veins the past few weeks. He knew it was more than the hash and the wine.

'It's because of Sarah,' he thought, 'She calms me.' Then he heard a small snore below his ear.

"Sweetheart, come on, let's get you to bed."

Her eyes flew open. "Oh shit, I fell asleep?"

Sam kissed her and moved the hair away from her face. "See? You ended up sleeping with me, even though you tried not to."

She looked at the devilish grin on his face and felt it tug at her heart. "I think I had better get back to the tent."

The campground was quiet as they entered it. Small lamps on posts showed where the road was. They walked quietly, hand in hand. Once in awhile, they'd pass a campsite lit by the glow of a campfire, dark figures, either sitting or moving quietly around. They could hear whispered conversations and the occasional low laugh. A few times, the smell of pot filled their nose as they passed by.

They walked into Sarah's campsite and saw the lantern, its flame at it's lowest setting, on a table by the firepit.

"Pete's here." Sarah whispered. "He always leaves the lantern on for us." She turned and wrapped herself in Sam's arms. "I don't want today to end."

He raised her face to his, his lips touched hers, then his tongue slipped in and began another slow dance with hers.

Sarah felt herself melting into him and knew she had to pull back. 'I will,' she told herself, 'in just a minute.' She lost herself in his kiss.

Finally they separated and Sam gently stroked her cheek. "My god, do you know what you do to me?'

"Yeah, well, those are some sexy kisses you're giving me."

"I'm giving you? Your tongue drives me crazy."

They kissed again, even slower, deeper, than the last. Then they heard footsteps, trying to sneak quietly past them.

"Coitus interruptus." Sam whispered in her ear.

"Sorry," Midgie's whisper came from behind them. "I tried to be quiet. I forgot my toothbrush. I'm just going in the tent, now, to get it."

"Good night, Midgie." Midgie heard the laughter in Sam's voice.

"Good night, Sam." She chuckled back to him.

Sam saw Sarah trying to cover a yawn. "I saw that." He sighed. "You need some sleep, you're tired and I think you're still a little drunk. We'd better say goodnight now. I'll meet up with you tomorrow. Go now, before I change my mind."

He watched as she unzipped the tent, walked inside and zipped it close, then he walked away, whistling softly.

Sarah saw Midgie's dark outline, kneeling by her bag. "How was the bonfire with Dave?"

"It was super. And the night's gonna get even better, once I get back there. I'm going to have to keep a toothbrush there." Midgie muttered, as she rummaged through her bag.

"Wow! Really?" Sarah laughed. "Home run, already?"

They heard muffled laughing coming from Pete. "Hey! I'm still awake over here. I don't want to hear about Midgie screwing my cousin!"

Midgie grabbed a shoe and tossed it at Pete. "Go to sleep,Pete!" She giggled and whispered to Sarah, "I'll tell you all about it tomorrow." Then she scampered out of the tent.

Sarah unrolled her bag and, slipping her shorts off, crawled into it. She yawned and stretched, then rolled over, snuggling her head into the pillow. The hours she had spent with Sam played through her mind in a loop as she lay there.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a rustling coming from Pete's side of the tent. Sarah was aware that Pete was still awake, and from the sounds of it, he was tossing and turning. She watched his shadowed figure as he stood up and exited the tent. She waited a few minutes for him to come back, and then, with a sigh, she went out to him.

Pete was sitting on the picnic table, with his arms propped on his thighs, staring into the darkness.

Sarah slipped up beside him and looped her arm through his. "How was your evening?" She watched him close his eyes, and shake his head. The muscle in his jaw tightened.

"Not so good." He answered disgustedly.

Sarah laid her head on his shoulder. "Do you want to talk about it?" She asked gently.

He drew in his breath and let it out slowly. "You know, I sat there tonight and watched the couples on the beach. I watched how openly they cuddled while they talked and laughed. I felt cheated. I felt alienated. I was with someone tonight, too. So what if it was another guy? What if I wanted to be able to kiss and make out, feel the excitement of dating. I couldn't do it there. I was too afraid someone would see me." He gave a short, harsh laugh.

Sarahs heart ached for him. Pete was gay, a fact they had discovered the summer they both turned 15. The night that Sarah and Midgie had first got high was also the night that Sarah seduced Pete. They lost their virginity to each other.

During that summer, they experimented on each other, learning about sex, and learning their way around each others bodies. For Sarah, Pete was her first love. Then, one day, Pete made a confession to her. He and a friend had been looking at nudie magazines in his room. His friend had leaned over to him, and kissed him.

"I liked it, Sarah." He had admitted. He looked at her meaningfully, "I liked it a lot."

Sarah's heart had broken then, she felt the pain, heard the crack. She had asked him, "As much as when we're together? Did you....Did you do stuff with him?"

He had looked at her sadly and nodded his head. She held him and rocked him, speaking small nonsense words to calm him as he cried. They had never had sex since that day, instead, becoming even closer friends.

Sarah never let Pete see that he had broken her heart. Together, they had their parents convinced they were dating, just to keep them off their backs.

Pete was afraid of the stigma attached to homosexuality. His father was very, openly, vocal against "queers", as he called them. And Pete had seen guys at school get beat up because they were different. He was always very careful to hide that side of him. Sarah kept Pete's secret well guarded. She would never let anyone hurt him.

Sarah wrapped her arm around Pete's waist and squeezed. "You and Jamie could have come back to the tent."

"Maybe I didn't want to be with him, now that I think about it. I just felt like something was missing." He shrugged. "Maybe that's not what I wanted tonight. I just don't know what I want. I don't know." He laid his cheek on the top of her head, his hand running down her hair, sighing. "I remember how we used to be when we were together, sex wasn't the only part I liked with you."

"Obviously, it wasn't enough, or you wouldn't have wanted more." Sarah said flatly.

"You know I really had no choice in the matter. I had to see why I could feel that way with guys." Pete wrapped his arms around her and hugged her close. "You are the only girl that I've been with, baby."

Sarah heard the pet name he used for her and smiled, "I love when you call me that, you know."

***

Sam was nearly back to his campsite when he realized he didn't have his cigarettes. He remembered it was his last pack, and there were still a couple joints in it, also. He knew he would be awake awhile yet, he had several lines to a new song running around his head, and he wanted to write them down.

He turned around and retraced his steps, slowly, head down, looking for the lost pack. He was almost back to Sarah's tent, in front of the trees lining the front when he saw the light reflecting off the pack, on the ground. He quickened his steps, stealthily, he didn't want to wake her up. His plan was to pick up the pack and leave just as quietly. He paused as he heard whispered voices, coming from their campsite.

He peered through the trees, and saw a couple, in each others arms, sitting on the table. A chill ran through him when he saw the long hair, reflecting the glow from the fire. The voices were low, hushed, and he couldn't understand what they were saying, but from the tone, he guessed it was an intimate conversation.

He stepped back, not sure what to make of it. Then he turned and headed back to his tent, his mind racing. Sarah had never actually said that she was dating anyone else. What could he do about it? He asked himself that as he walked.

***

Pete tipped Sarah's face up and scrutinized it. "You were drinking wine tonight. I smell it on your breath."

She giggled, "Yeah, Sam and I had some wine at the bonfire."

He took her hands, coaxing her towards the tent. "I seem to remember that every time you get drunk on wine, you have a killer headache the next morning. I'll have the aspirins by your coffee cup. "

He led her into the tent, and to her sleeping bag, zipping it up around her. As he was getting into his bag, he heard her giggling again. "What's up, baby?"

"I was just thinking that I am so glad you are around to take care of me." She giggled.

Pete chuckled, she was still drunk from the wine. He knew she would really be hurting in the morning, but right now, she was enjoying the feeling. "Get some sleep, Sarah. I'll have breakfast for you in the morning." He rolled over, falling asleep almost immediately.

***

Sam was walking to his tent, his thoughts on what he had just seen. He stopped, suddenly, as a new question came forward.

Who was the guy with Sarah? Pete? He had noticed little things going on between them during the day. And they were together now? He turned around and headed back to Sarah's.

As he approached, quietly, he saw that their campsite was now dark and quiet. He crept up to retrieve his cigarette pack. Evidently, whoever she was with had left and Sarah had gone to bed.

He was walking away when he heard her giggle and then a deep voice murmured something. He stopped and listened, all was quiet again. He stood still for several minutes, until the soft sound of snoring came from the tent.

He fought a battle in his mind. Part of him wanted to barge into the tent and demand to know what was going on. He wanted to look into Sarah's face and ask her how she really felt about Pete, see how she would answer him. The other part, the rational part, told him that it was nothing more than just good friends having a quiet talk. If he went into that tent now, no good would come of it. Sarah could accuse him of not trusting her.

He shook his head, walking away. He would just watch the two of them together and see how they interacted. He had some work to do tonight; he had promised Georgie a couple new songs.

He lit a joint to smoke on the way back, trying to focus his mind on putting words and a tune together.