At a lake house in South Carolina…
Steph
What are you doing here?!?!
Nick
Your angry texts always did turn me on 😘
Steph
We’re sitting down to dinner soon.
Steph
And my MOTHER is here…so privacy…
Steph
You were supposed to be overseas!
Nick
We’re on leave. Your brother asked me to come along.
Nick
Mike thought it would be a nice surprise so…SURPRISE!
Nick
This isn’t the warm welcome I expected, considering last time 🔥
Steph
I’m getting out of here…
Nick
You have to stay. Your family’s happy we’re both here.
Nick
We’ve come to the lake house every spring since we were kids.
Nick
You’ve never missed it.
Nick has been lusting after Mike’s sister, Stephanie, for years.
She has both beauty and brains.
She’s a straight A student who’s fresh out of med school.
She’s the type of girl you bring home to your parents and marry.
And Nick is notorious for his one-night stands.
Plus, Mike knows Nick’s reputation, and he’s been very clear:
Nick needs to keep his hands off Steph.
Steph
I’ll make an excuse.
Nick
They’re happy we’re all here again.
Nick
I’M happy you’re here.
Nick
I thought you’d be happy to see me too.
Steph
Before you told me you wanted nothing to do with me.
It’s true: A year ago Nick had told Steph he wasn’t interested in her.
But it wasn’t how he’d really felt.
Nick
Can’t we start over?
Nick
I’ll shamelessly flirt like always.
Nick
And you can pretend to hate it.
Nick
When we both know you love it.
Steph
You broke my heart, Nick.
They move from the living room to the dining room for dinner.
Nick glances across the table.
Steph won’t meet his eyes.
The sight makes his chest ache.
Under the tablecloth, he starts texting Steph.
Nick
Steph, you’re killing me…
Steph
You acted like kissing me was torture!
Steph
You told me that could never happen again between us.
Only after he’d kissed her so thoroughly that he was as turned on as he’d ever been.
It had taken everything in him to pull away from that kiss.
She’d come to the base to surprise Mike.
But Mike had been out, and Nick had been in.
They’d been alone together…
When she’d suddenly kissed him, he’d wanted to haul her into his bed without a second thought.
But he knew that Mike wouldn’t approve.
And that Steph deserved better than a one-night stand.
He cared about her, always had, but that was all he could offer…
Despite how much he wanted her.
So he’d pulled away, told her he wasn’t interested.
Steph
You don’t have that problem with other women.
Steph
Oh come on, Nick. Your bedroom escapades are legendary.
Steph
You don’t think I’ve heard Mike and his other friends talking about it.
Steph
I know your rules. One night only.
Steph
I knew that even when I kissed you.
Steph
But you rejected me and I feel like a fool, even a year later. End of story.
Steph
You can’t expect things to go back to the way they were.
Steph
I’m a geek. Always have been.
Steph
Nerdy. Mousy. Plain. Take your pick. I know.
Steph
I’m not even close to your usual parade of leggy blondes, so I get it.
Steph
But back then I guess I thought…
Steph
It doesn’t matter what I thought…
Nick
Stephanie, you’re too good for me.
Steph
Please don’t give me the you’re-like-a-sister-to-me-and-deserve-so-much better talk.
Dinner proceeds without any more texts between the two.
But there are plenty of furtive glances.
At the end of the meal, Mike speaks up.
Mike
I call dibs on the room with the lake view.
Mike
Nick, you can take the one next to Stephanie’s.
Nick
Isn’t Steph’s the one with the adjoining door?
Mike
Yeah, just keep it locked.
Mike
Don’t get any wise ideas, Casanova, or your ass is grass.
Nick
Wouldn’t dream of it.
After dinner, Nick goes to his room.
Through the adjoining door, he hears Steph enter her room.
He knows he shouldn’t text what he’s about to text, but he can’t help himself.
Nick
You’re not like a sister to me.
Nick
You’re not mousy or plain, Steph.
Nick
You’re gorgeous. Always have been.
Nick
The only one who doesn’t see it is you.
Nick
And I have NEVER thought of you as a sister.
Nick
Not since the summer you turned 21 and you came here with all these curves you’d never had before wearing that damn red bikini…
Steph
I was trying to get your attention 😉
Nick
I could have licked every drop of water that dripped over your cleavage…
Nick
I’d never wanted a piece of string to come untied so badly in my whole goddamn life.
Minutes pass without a response.
Nick
Look, sweetheart. I want you. I did even before that day.
Nick
But this can’t happen.
Nick
Commitment is not my thing. You know that.
Steph
That doesn’t mean I understand why.
Nick
Do you remember when my dad passed?
Steph
Of course. I came to the funeral.
Nick
Yeah, well, then you remember how hard it was for my mom, being the wife of a serviceman killed during deployment.
Nick
Suddenly she was a single mom.
Nick
I don’t ever want to leave anyone waiting at home for me.
Nick
If it hadn’t been for you and your family, I don’t know what would have happened to me.
Nick
I’ll always be grateful.
Steph
You deserve to be happy, Nick.
Nick
Maybe, but that doesn’t change anything.
Nick
You deserve someone who can commit.
Nick
Plus, I’m pretty sure Mike would kill me if I dated you.
Nick
If you were any other girl, it’d be different.
Steph
What Mike doesn’t know won’t hurt him.
Nick
You’re playing with fire, Steph…
Nick
Can we table this discussion? I’m not going to change my mind on this.
Nick
From a woman, fine never really means “fine.”
Steph
You said no more discussion.
Steph
So I’m not discussing…
Steph
I’m taking pictures 😈
