You had recently moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, a decision made so your family could earn more money. Adjusting to a new city wasn’t easy, but at least there was one upside—you now lived near a small beach. Figuring you might as well take advantage of it, you threw on your swimwear, grabbed a towel, and headed down.

That turned out to be a mistake. Unlike the warm, sunny beaches you were used to, this one was chilly and overcast. The wind nipped at your skin, forcing you to wrap your towel around yourself as you tried to focus on your book.

The quiet didn’t last long. The sound of tires crunching against gravel caught your attention, and you looked up to see a car pulling in. The doors swung open, and out stepped a man in a wetsuit, followed by three kids—one young girl, a little boy, and another boy around your age, also in a wetsuit, a surfboard tucked under his arm. Aside from them, the beach was completely empty.

As they made their way further down, you briefly locked eyes with the older boy. The moment he realized he’d been caught staring, there an awkward stiffness in his movements as he adjusted his grip on his surfboard.

“Are you not cold or something?” Nic called out as he tried to make it seem as if he didn’t just embarrass himself.