A seventeen-year-old boy finds himself often in the company of a boy named Bob as they make summer excursions to a town called Somers Point. Bob drives too fast and is combative, but the boy and his friends are forced to put up with his since he is the only one who has access to a car. The pair dislikes each other, but those feelings are mostly concealed. When one of Bob's friends Fred shows up, Bob's behavior becomes worse. One night at a bar, Fred asks for a demonstration when a man brags about his judo skills. The man is surprised when he ends up being flipped onto his back Then the man's friend and Bob go toe to toe with the result being Bob winning. The boy sees the outlines of the men fighting against the rising sun. Bob and Fred find the story funny, but the boy finds it disturbing.

One of the boy's friends (named Tommy) tells him a story about another trip with Fred. Fred brought a "heavy" girl back to the place they were staying to sleep with her and then chased her out of the house naked while taunting her about her weight. Fred and Bob tell it as a funny story, but Tommy was horrified.

Later, the boy starts dating a girl named Anne, who is described as being a solid girl. She is surprised when the boy listens to her when she tells him she does not want to go any further when they are making out. He tells her they do not have to sleep together in the future, though she indicates that she wants to eventually. She comes along on one of the trips. At the end of the day, they end up staying at the house of one of Bob's friends. They all sleep in the living room. Bob and Tommy make suggestive comments and threaten to rape Anne. Eventually tension subsides and the boy holds a crying Anne until she goes to sleep. She indicates with her actions that she might be open to having sex with him then, but he does not proceed. The next day, they learn that Bob and Tommy plan on staying another day and they do not have the money to do that. This forces the pair to find their way back home themselves. The boy finds himself constantly waiting for the next thing on each leg of the journey. When they finally reach Anne's house, she implies they can have sex, but he says no. The boy attends a party and dances with another girl. He notices Anne watching him. The boy remembers feeling irritated when he left Anne's house without really being sure what he was irritated at. He thought he wanted to sleep with Anne. In the end, he did not though.