boulders jutting out of the sand. It isn’t illegal to be here at night, but we don’t want it advertised either.
“I hate that you don’t have a phone,” Ezra says, looking over as he yanks up the emergency brake. “Your brother doesn’t sound quite as sexy.”
“I’m sure your bromance will work itself out eventually.”
Ezra laughs, reaching over to take my hand, tugging me closer. “I missed you today,” he says. “We can always skip the party and hang out at my house.”
“Oh?” I raise an eyebrow. “Will we watch Lifetime movies with your mom?”
Ezra leans forward to kiss me, his arm wrapping around my waist to pull me tighter against him. “We can stay here,” he whispers against my mouth, his touch beginning to blot out any other plans I had tonight. We’re thoroughly exploring our options when the lights of another car flood the front seat, and I pull back. The car parks, but the moment has passed.
“You’re such a tease,” I say, and then check my reflection, swiping away any smeared lip gloss before turning back to smile at him. Normally I would find this car make-out kind of hot, but the day is still off. Besides my morning meltdown, I might be feeling a little guilty for my straying thoughts of Harlin.
“We should go,” I say, nodding toward the beach. “I’m sure your fans would like to see you.” My boyfriend is the reigning king of all things handsome at Deseo High School. Homecoming king, prom king, and he’ll probably win them both this year too.
Ezra blows out a frustrated breath and then watches the couple climb out of the car that just parked in front of us. “You know you’re the only one I’m here to impress, Claire.”
“I am impressed,” I say, giving him a long stare-down. Ezra laughs loudly, leaning in to give me one more quick kiss before opening the driver’s door. Everything seems to have snapped back to normal, and I smile as I grab my beach bag from the floor and get out.
Ezra locks the car and then appears next to me, taking my hand as we head across the sand. Every other Friday is like this—a bonfire on the beach, all our friends with the occasional new face of someone’s boyfriend or girlfriend.
As we round the rocks, Ezra lifts his hand in a wave when his friends call out to him. I wasn’t joking about fans; they really do idolize him. They’re all a year younger than me, but luckily my brother has moved on from the cradle-robber jokes to the Ken-and-Barbie ones. I’m glad—they’re less embarrassing.
Ezra gives me a squeeze before going to join his friends on the other side of the fire, and I maneuver through the people to where Soleil has taken up residence on a sun-bleached log. She hands me a red plastic cup when I sit down next to her.
“Your brother’s playing glow-in-the-dark Frisbee with the girls’ soccer team,” she says, sipping from her drink. “Why is he such a social butterfly today?”
I glance sideways, noting that her usual playful expression has slipped. She may have had too many drinks. Although Soleil may not like River, she definitely likes when he likes her. Clearly they have issues.
“Maybe he’s looking for attention,” I offer. The last thing I want to do is talk about my brother’s love life, and I start to scan the faces by the fire, hoping to find a new topic. I take a drink from my plastic cup and wince at its sugary sweetness. I set it aside.
“Where’s your boyfriend?” Soleil asks. “This party’s a bust. I need something pretty to stare at.”
I laugh. “You know Ezra. He’s probably making plans for an after-party already.”
“Always liked that guy.”
Across the sand, I notice a darkened figure coming toward the fire. I lean forward to see who it is. The silhouette is long and tall, and I don’t recognize her at first. When the amber light hits her face, I’m surprised to see the girl I gave a ride to this morning. But I’m even more surprised when Ezra walks up to her and starts talking like they’ve known each other forever.
“Who’s she?” Soleil asks, tipping her cup toward Lucy.
“A new girl in town. I gave her a lift to the Cordova Apartments today. I’ll be right back.” I start toward Ezra and Lucy, the cold sand sifting through my sandals. The air is crisper the farther from the fire I get. Neither seems to notice me, but then Lucy turns suddenly like she expected me to be there. I stop. A chill runs over my skin.
“Hey, Claire,” she says. At the sound of my name, Ezra looks over, all smiles. “This is a really cool spot,” Lucy continues. “Hope you don’t mind if I crash.”
“Of course not,” I say. “I’m sorry I didn’t mention it earlier. Surfing concussion.” I look between her and Ezra. “Do you guys know each other already?”
Ezra grins. “Nope. I like meeting new people, though.” Ezra has always been kind of flirtatious, but not in a way that makes me jealous. He really is just friendly.
“Lucy, this is my boyfriend, Ezra. Ezra, this is Lucy—she moved here from . . .” I pause, forgetting what we’d talked about earlier.
“Thistle, Arizona,” she says. “Shitty little town. But it’s full of some great people. Anyway”—she shoves her hands in her pockets—“mind if I grab a drink?”
“I’ll walk you over,” I reply. Ezra says he’ll catch up with us later and returns to his buddies, who immediately eye and whisper about Lucy. I can tell Ezra’s proud to return with information. He and Soleil are similar in that way.
“Your boyfriend seems nice,” Lucy says as we head to the Gatorade cooler filled with juice and vodka. “Been together long?”
“About eight months.” I pull a plastic cup from the sleeve and hand it to her. I don’t feel like drinking tonight. “My friend Soleil and I were at the beach one day, and Ezra hit me with a Frisbee.” I smile, watching as Lucy fills her cup. “He came over to get it, and once we started talking . . . I don’t know; we clicked. Became inseparable.”
“You’re lucky,” she says, taking a sip and wincing at the taste. “I haven’t met a decent guy in ages. Just think, if that Frisbee had been a little off course, he might have ended up with your friend.”
I furrow my brow, never having thought of it that way. I glance back at Soleil, who’s staring at the ocean, looking bored to tears. “Hey, want to meet her?” I ask Lucy.
“Maybe in a few? I think I’m going to have Ezra introduce me to a couple of his guys.” She pauses. “If you don’t mind.”
I laugh. “I’ve never been the possessive type,” I tell her. “I’ll catch up with you later.”
Lucy bites on her lip like she’s nervous and then turns to walk over to where Ezra is standing. It’s only a minute before Luke and Kevin are laughing at something she said, clearly impressed with Lucy. I’ll admit I am too. I expect Ezra to look over at me, but he doesn’t. He seems content in playing matchmaker.
“Friend of yours?” a soft voice asks. I spin, startled, and see the new guy from my philosophy class standing a few feet away. He nods in Lucy’s direction.
“Uh.” I glance at Lucy but then shake my head. “Not really. Just met her today, actually. You?” It hadn’t occurred to me that they may know each other, but now I have a sudden dread that she’s his girlfriend (or ex- girlfriend). Two strangers in one day is pretty odd.
Harlin brushes a strand of hair behind his ear, studying my reaction. “Nope,” he replies.
His voice is tender, like a song whispered in my ear. His black leather jacket is worn, a bright white T-shirt underneath. When he runs his hazel stare over me, I think he might be the hottest guy I’ve ever seen. I dare to take a step closer. “How—” I clear my throat, anxious in a way I didn’t expect. “How did you know about the bonfire?”
“Your friend Sarah told me.”
“Who?”
Harlin pauses, then chuckles quietly to himself. “Sorry. I meant Soleil. She invited me before class.”
I can’t believe Soleil asked him and didn’t tell me. She obviously left out some important details from our chat. I wonder what else they talked about. Lucy’s laugh echoes, and I turn to watch her. Harlin comes to stand next to me, his shoulder nearly against mine. I have a sudden and irrational wish to touch him, and my stomach flutters at the thought. He smells like leather, like comfort, and I can barely catch my breath as I look at him.
“I’m Claire,” I say. Harlin offers his hand, polite and genuine. I slide my palm into his, and when we touch, a shock of electricity shoots up my arm, making me jerk back.
Harlin freezes, staring down at his still-outstretched hand, his lips slightly parted. Even in the firelight, I can see the blush rising on his cheeks. He doesn’t say anything at first, but then he lifts his gaze. He smiles, slow and
