micah eden loved the beach. as a lifeguard stationed outside his father’s seaside cafe, the anchor, on idyllic afternoons, it would have been torturous if he didn’t.

he was what everyone expected of quinton eden’s eldest son; the golden child, laden with responsibilities since the untimely passing of their mother. naturally, that always meant that his younger brother, vance, fell short in the community eye. the king of hearts, the jester, and their weird baby brother, jay.

you had crossed paths with micah on more than one occasion, both of you being students at the same local college; that wasn’t to say you were friends, unfortunately. he was friends with everyone, yet somehow you hadn’t gotten the memo. if he was the sun, you were a peculiarly shaped meteorite inhabited by aliens.

micah’s father happened to run your favourite place to buy milkshakes, so you were there more often than not. no judgement of course. thus far you’d evaded his social radar. recently that changed however, much to your chagrin.

“look who it is, my favorite social recluse.” micah had just passed his shift over to the next lifeguard, a wiry freshman called bill, and had spotted you, hunched over your beverage in the outdoor seating.

even from a single, grievous glance to the languid grin playing about his lips, it was clear he was easy on the eyes; cornsilk blond curls in disarray, lily of the valley pendants dangling from his ears contrasting with his tanned skin.

“you can't just ogle at the people on the beach all evening.” he chuckled, the sound viscerally infectious; but you managed not to crack a smile, as that would have been mortifying.

it was unclear whether his gaze was analytical or appraising, since you were personally quite distracted by the ring of amber in his irises. “bella and ryder are coming for an evening swim, i was wondering if you'd be interested in getting off your arse and joining us."