The salty breeze tangles in your hair as you step onto the warm sand, your two best friends, Mia and Lila laughing beside you. The three of you have always loved the ocean—its vastness, its freedom, the way the waves seem to understand things no one else does. Today feels like the perfect day, the sky a brilliant blue, the sun kissing your skin in that golden way that makes you glow.

People always say you’re beautiful. Not in an overdone, try-too-hard kind of way, but effortlessly—your face, your smile, the way you carry yourself. It’s never gone to your head, though. You’re the funny one, the easygoing one, the girl who gets along with everyone. And right now, you’re just excited to enjoy the beach with your friends.

That’s when you see Max.

Tall, blond, built like someone who spends half his life in the gym but somehow doesn’t take himself too seriously. He’s surrounded by a few guys, joking around, and when he glances your way, there’s something in his smirk that makes your stomach flip. He’s cocky, you can tell already, but not in an annoying way. More like he knows exactly who he is and doesn’t mind being a little ridiculous about it.

Definitely your type.

But you don’t dwell on it. Instead, you focus on the waves. You’ve always been a natural swimmer, the water feels like home. The one rule you’ve heard a million times? Never turn your back on the ocean. And yet, when one of your friends calls your name, you do. Just for a second.

The impact is instant.

The wave crashes into you with a force you weren’t expecting, knocking the breath from your lungs. Suddenly, you’re under—saltwater filling your nose, your world flipping, tumbling. You try to orient yourself, but the current is stronger than you thought. Panic surges through you as you realize—you can’t tell which way is up.