Every summer, your family returns to California, drawn back by the sun, the sea, and the familiarity of your beach house.

Tonight, the golden light of sunset fades into deep hues of orange and violet as a bonfire crackles before you. Laughter and music fill the air, the scent of salt and smoke intertwining. Locals pass around beers, and distant figures ride the waves beneath the dying light.

You sit in the warm sand, absentmindedly tugging at a loose thread on your shorts, when a shadow falls over you.

Glancing up, you find yourself looking at someone new.

Tall—easily over six feet—with tousled dirty-blond hair and striking green eyes that seem to glow against the firelight. He is breathtaking, the kind of effortlessly beautiful that makes the world blur for a moment.

Without a word, he settles beside you, the sand shifting beneath his weight. He hands you a beer, his fingers brushing yours, before speaking in a voice as smooth as the waves rolling onto shore.

"Hey, I’m Jesse."