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She laughed, then fixed him with her game time face. “Are you kidding? I went to a big ten school and got even better at corn hole. Let’s sink these suckers.”

They won every single game, to no one’s surprise. She and Archer slipped right back into being teammates with ease, like no time had passed at all. They cheered each other on and made faces and sly distractions as their opponents took their turns. Austin called it cheating; Archer called it strategy.

During the final round, as they played against Danny and Chris, it was neck-and-neck. The twins sat at twenty points, while Archer and Tea had eighteen. They only needed one more three-pointer in the target hole to win. The twins needed only one bag on the board.

Danny narrowed his eyes at the board, tossing a bean bag back and forth in his hand.

“Come on, man, you got this,” Chris said from across the lawn.

“Yeah man, don’t miss,” Archer teased next to Danny.

“Shut the fuck up,” Danny snapped.

“Daniel Bramble, language!” Rhonda hollered.

“Yeah Daniel, listen to your mom,” Tea teased.

Danny glared at her. “I agree with Austin. You guys cheat.”

She lifted her hands. “Didn’t know talking was cheating.”

“Yeah man, don’t be a sore loser,” Archer added.

Danny grumbled something under his breath, then squared his shoulders, took a step, and tossed.

The bag landed on the board, but the throw was too harsh. It glided across the wood and landed on the grass behind it.

“Noooo!” Chris screamed next to her.

Danny sank to his knees.

Archer pointed to Tea. “You got this.”

She nodded and relaxed her shoulders, eyeing the target, envisioning what angle she would need to throw the bag at the perfect shot. She let out a long breath, then tossed the bag.

It sank right in.

Cheers erupted across the lawn.

Tea held up her arms in triumph.

Archer swerved around a sulking Danny and Chris and ran up to her, bending low and grabbing her legs with his arms.

Fear plagued her chest. “Archer, NO!”

He laughed as he stood up, his grip on her legs tight as he threw her over his shoulder, then ran to the dock.

She pounded on his back. “Let me down!”

“You said it’s good to have traditions!” he yelled back.

“No, no, no, no—”

She was cut off by the cold water as he plunged them into the lake. She felt him squeeze his hands around her thighs before letting her go and making his way to the surface.

Tea came up for air, spitting water out of her mouth and onto his face. “You monster.”

He barked a laugh. “We do this every time we win, Tea bag!”