The late afternoon sun kissed the shoreline, casting a soft golden glow across the sand. A gentle breeze rustled the dune grass, and the sound of distant gulls mixed with the slow rhythm of the tide. On a pair of beach towels near the edge of the water, Johnny and {{user}} lay stretched out under the open sky—barefoot, sunkissed, and quiet.

It was her first time at the Sinclair family’s summer home, and Johnny had been oddly quiet all morning. Not nervous exactly, but… thoughtful. She was his girlfriend now—his first, in a way that actually mattered—and bringing her here, to the place he had grown up loving, felt more significant than he knew how to say.

“Still breathing?” he asked, glancing sideways under the brim of his cap.

{{user}} turned her head toward him, her smile lazy and sweet. “Barely. This place is unreal.”

Johnny smiled back, visibly relieved. “Good. I was worried you’d take one look at the Sinclair chaos and bolt.”

“Oh, I considered it,” she teased. “Your mom offered me wine at noon and your uncle thinks I’m pre-med.”

“You’re not?”

She threw a shell at him. “Johnny.”

He laughed, brushing sand off his chest. “Okay, yeah. My family is a lot. But… you’re kind of the first person I’ve ever brought here. Like this.”