"So how did the move go?" I asked as I sat down with a bottle of vodka cooler.

Sam had a swing of beer then shrugged, "The move went fine, but it was a lot of driving. Hate to say it but it's going to be more of an issue to get down here for visits, you know? It took us over three hours this afternoon."

I grimaced, "Yikes. Yeah I wouldn't want to do that too often either. Does that mean we might not see you two for halloween?"

"We can't miss that!" Troy stated as he looked at his boyfriend. "You know these girls are going to be rocking some wild costumes, we have to come see them!"

Sam smiled, "Yeah we'll be here for that. Hard to believe it's only two months away."

It was Saturday, the last long weekend before school and everything started up again. And naturally we were celebrating with another BBQ party. This one would probably be a smaller affair than the others though. Erin and Logan couldn't make it, and Sue didn't know if Willow and Jenna were coming either.

Grace was on her way, and I was pretty sure Matt would be here as well. I figured Tracey would drop in too, probably with her girlfriend in tow.

"So how's working life?" I asked the guys. "You both started already right?"

Troy shrugged, "It's an adjustment. And yeah, Sam started in the middle of July and I started in the first week of August."

Sam added, "It was pretty lucky us both landing jobs in the same area. Not at the same place, but close enough it's not going to be an issue. And it's a pretty area, but I'm not looking forward to finding out what it's like up there in winter."

"It'll be cold and snowy," his boyfriend said with a smile. "No big surprises hon, just lots of cold and lots of snow."

Sam chuckled and had a swing of his beer.

Melissa came and joined us as I continued catching up with the guys. I didn't get a chance to talk to them so much at our Canada Day BBQ, so it was nice to spend a little more time with them this time around.

I found out they were living in Bracebridge now, and I learned that wasn't far from Gravenhurst which I remembered from our trip to the cottage in the spring. Troy landed a job doing environmental monitoring and assessments for some company that contracted out to a bunch of big firms in the area. And Sam was working with a company that cleared land for construction and stuff.

They both sounded happy with what they were doing, and both got the sort of jobs they were hoping for based on the stuff they were studying in college. So all in all it was good news for the both of them.

We didn't have too much to report on our side of things, like all our big news involved Lily stuff or Grace stuff, which meant it was either secret or at least it was private.

That just left us with boring stuff, like gearing up to head back to college for our last year or whatever. Which wasn't that fun to talk about, considering how it felt like the summer went by way too fast.

Our next guest to arrive was Matt. He greeted everyone and grabbed himself a beer, then we all sort of got caught up with him as well. I found out he just started work two weeks ago, his dad got him a job at the place where he worked. Apparently it was a printing company or something. Matt wasn't operating any fancy machines or whatever, he was mostly doing like shipping and receiving.

"How do you like that kind of work?" Sam asked him.

Matt shrugged, "It's fine. Like it's not great, but it doesn't suck. The pay's pretty decent and the hours are good. And there's opportunities to move up down the road. My dad said when there's openings they'll let existing staff get a first look at them?"

After a swig of his beer he shrugged again, "Anyways it's not a career or a calling, it's just something to do so I can pay the bills right? What I'm really looking forward to is the start of hockey season. I've joined a local league and we'll be starting training and practice games in about three weeks."

That got Sam and Troy interested. Neither of them played. but apparently they both watched the sport. And all three guys had several Strong Opinions about their favourite teams.

Me and Melissa both made our escape before any of the guys could drag us into that discussion.

It was good timing too since it meant I was already on my feet to meet Grace when she came in through the gate. I didn't see her car out there so I figured she took a ride-share, or maybe the bus.

"Hi Grace!" I greeted her, and we exchanged a hug and kiss.

She hugged and kissed Melissa too, then after they separated I asked our newest arrival "You didn't drive?"

She shook her head, "Took the bus for a change. I figure if I drove I'd either have to stay the night or I couldn't indulge. This way I have more options."

"Good thinking," I grinned.

She said hi to the three guys next, and my demonic intuition thing told me all three of them noticed how she'd changed. She didn't really look or dress any different but she did have that whole supernatural beauty thing going now, and she was a lot more calm and confident than she used to be.

Last time Matt saw her was a month ago at our second party, when she was just starting to try and loosen up. Meanwhile Sam and Troy had only met her once, at our Canada Day party when she was definitely shy and uptight.

After she said hi to them she went over to greet Susan and Amber.

The way Matt was looking at her, I didn't need my intuition thing to tell me he was wondering if Grace was a succubus now too, and if she was available.

"How about we start getting everything ready for dinner?" Melissa asked me. "Feels like just about everyone's here?"

I grinned, "You figure Sam will take over the BBQ again?"

"Oh yeah," she giggled.

I went into the house to start getting the food out, while Melissa got the BBQ started. Then she helped me bring things outside.

We went with ribs this time, I really liked them when we had Amber's parents over and wanted to do them again. We also had sausages and buns, incase anyone didn't want ribs. Like before I had a home-made BBQ sauce mixed up, and some coleslaw to go on the side. I also made up another sweet potato mash but that needed to be warmed up, so I got it in the oven for now while everything else went outside.

Sure enough Sam took over the grill, but me and Melissa both briefed him on the ribs and the sauce, like I wanted to make sure he'd do them just right.

Over the next half hour or so the smell coming off the BBQ got everyone's mouth watering. We were all looking forward to dinner when another guest showed up.

Willow came in through the gate. Susan went to greet her, and after the two exchanged some quiet words Sue disappeared into the house with her friend.

I was still next to Melissa, and my best friend gave me a worried look. "That can't be good."

"No," I frowned. "I hope everything's ok."

A few minutes later Sue and Willow came back outside. Willow greeted me and Melissa, then poured herself a glass of wine before moving on to say hello to Amber and Grace.

While her friend was greeting the others Susan looked at the two of us and asked quietly, "Do me a favour and keep an eye on Will ok? Don't let her drink too much... Or if she does, then don't let her drive ok?"

I nodded quietly while Melissa asked, "What happened?"

"She and Jenna broke up last week," Sue half-whispered. "Apparently she caught Jenna cheating on her, and from there things just got worse."

"Crap," the busty blonde sighed. "All right, of course we'll keep an eye on her."

Susan thanked us, then she moved back to join Amber and Grace again. And I was pretty sure she asked the two of them to keep an eye on her friend as well.

Looking at Willow with my intuition thing going, I could tell she was putting on a brave face and everything. She came out to the BBQ because she'd spent the last four or five days moping around at home and she knew it would be good for her to get out and be with friends. Which felt to me like she was trying to be positive and move on and stuff, so I had a feeling she was going to be ok.

Sure enough Tracey and her girlfriend showed up as well. The two teens arrived just as the food was ready, so they grabbed some drinks along with paper plates full of ribs and slaw and mash and everything.

Like last time, Annie was still uneasy or anxious around me but both she and Tracey were well-behaved and polite again.

Soon enough everyone had food, we had lots of cold drinks ready, and some fun music playing on the outdoor speakers.

I mingled a bit more, then ended up sitting with Amber and Matt as the three of us enjoyed some ribs and stuff. They were already talking when I joined them, and I listened in a bit.

"I think she was an intern over the summer," Matt was saying. "She's staying on though, so I think she got hired full time."

Amber gave her friend a look and told him "You should have invited her to come out with you tonight."

The blond jock grimaced, "You think? I don't know, I think it'd be weird. Like especially as a first date kind of thing. I mean, you and me were best friends all through high-school, then the stuff that happened at your last two parties..."

"Well you don't have to tell her any of that!" the succubus cutie responded with a laugh. "Definitely not on the first date anyways. But whatever, if you like her and she seems into you then definitely ask her out! After the long weekend, make a point of seeing her on Tuesday and ask her out on a date for Friday."

Matt had a swig of beer then nodded, "Yeah ok. Worst that can happen is she says no. Then it'll just be awkward any time I see her at work after that."

I didn't need my intuition to tell me he was still interested in Amber, but I was pretty sure my succubus girlfriend already had that conversation with him. Like she told me back in July, she wasn't into him and anyways he needed a safe human girlfriend.

When I was done eating I went around and mingled a bit more, and spent some time talking with Willow. We avoided the painful topics and mostly just focused on what was coming up at school and stuff next week.

Eventually we all had enough to eat, so Sam and Troy helped shut down the BBQ and the left-over food got put away in the fridge. Then when it started getting dark out Susan got a fire going in the outdoor fireplace thing.

There were still lots of snacks around, and lots more drinks in the coolers. Everyone kind of gathered round the fire again like at the last party, but it felt like things were already starting to slow down.

Like most of us would be back at school in a few days, the rest were heading back to work. Canada Day felt more boisterous like we were celebrating the start of summer, where this was quieter and more relaxed, as we reached the end of summer.

At one point Melissa put on the coffee machine, and I noticed Willow had a mug of coffee in hand after that. I was pretty sure I'd seen her drinking water earlier too, and my intuition thing told me she'd been responsible and hadn't over-indulged.

Matt switched over to coffee as well, it looked like he knew he wasn't going to be getting another night with Amber so he was going to head home after the party too.

Sam and Troy had already claimed the guest room again. With their drive home being so long now there was no way they'd be doing that tonight. And finally Tracey asked Amber and Susan if she and Annie could crash in the den again.

That just left Grace, who'd been enjoying wine as she mingled and everything. I wasn't sure if she'd crash on a sofa here, though she was always welcome to join us in one of the beds. Or she could take a bus or ride-share back home if she wanted to sleep in her own bed.

I got the answer to that question about a half hour later when Willow decided it was time to head out. She had an arm around Grace's waist, and at some point they'd decided they were both going back to Will's place.

Sue looked a little conflicted about that but she kept quiet. Everyone bid the two a good night, then they headed out together.

Matt stayed a while longer before he took off, and the rest of us hung out around the fire till it burned itself out around midnight. Then we all did a bit of tidying up before heading into the house and calling it a night.

The teens went down into the den, Sam and Troy disappeared into the guest room. And Amber joined the rest of us in the master bedroom, so we had lots of high quality cuddles through the night.

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