While Josephine was sitting on the airplane seat, She lifted the window shades to catch a glimpse of the world under her. The once salmon and purple sky transformed into a vast expanse of jet-black that engulfed mountainous South Africa. A canopy of luminous stars materialized amongst the ocean of blackness. Some were dull, merely flickering into existence every now and then, but there was an adequate amount of shimmering stars to illuminate the dark, moonless night. The Adriatic Sea glistened, mirroring the dazzling assemblage of glittering stars and the luminescence from the tiny ports and food markets that lined the small country of. The faint wind brushed against the waters of the ocean, and the push of the waves reflected. The airplane tilted slightly to the right and began a slow and steady turn. Below, the capitol looked like square plots on a huge map. Small cars heading down two-way roads came into view, as well as enchanting various colored homes that brightened my window. Sh

She’s here again—rock girl. She’s sitting up on that same big rock, a hundred yards away from my beach house, where she sits every day. Hence, the nickname, Rock Girl.God, I’m lame.With her sketchpad resting against her bent knees, her eyes are fixed on the paper like her life depends on it while her hand freely moves the pencil over the paper, drawing...I have no clue.I wish I did.I mean, I could take a wild guess and say she’s drawing the scenery—the pier, beach, sand, sky. There’s plenty of shit like that here in Malibu. But still, I want to know exactly what she’s drawing that has her so enraptured.Like, I really want to know.I’ve been watching Rock Girl for a week now.I saw her on the first day when Max and I arrived at the beach house,which will be my home for the next year. This will be my year of freedom before I have to go to Harvard, and then once I graduate, it is on to work for my father to learn the family business.Can’t wait. I have to stop myself from rolling m

My alarm is going off with an annoying insistence. On a groan, I reach over and slam my hand on it, turning it off.Time for work.Ugh.Summer has only just begun, and I’ve worked the last seven daysstraight as a favor for Grady. I can’t wait for tomorrow when I can sleep in. I’m only doing the overtime because Grady is the best boss ever—a retired pro surfer, and the Shack is his life—and he asked me because we’reshort-staffed at the moment. I’m also doing it because I need the money. Paige, who works part-time in the shop with Base and me, has been on vacation. And Tad, who does the surf lessons with Grady, has been out sick with the flu. So, Grady has been pulling Base out of the shop to help with the surf lessons. So, I’ve been manning the shop alone. But Tad and Paigewill be back tomorrow, so I’ll get the day off. Yay!For tomorrow, I was thinking, once I drag my ass out of bed, that I mightactually spend the day at the beach and lie out in the sun, read a book, swim, and may

Stopping at my desk, Hanna regarded me warily. “Uh-oh, youreyelid’s twitching. What’s wrong? Did someone mistake you for the model on the Syphilis Awareness billboard again?”I narrowed my eyes at my friend and coworker. “No. And I don’t look anything like her.” We’d had this conversation already. But Hanna liked to poke at me in that way that only one of your closest friends would.“You have the same pale blue eyes and high cheekbones. Her hair isn’t exactly the same platinum blonde shade as yours, but it’s close.”People always assumed my hair color came straight out of a bottle. In truth, I’d inherited it from my half-Swedish grandmother.“But she doesn’t have your blunt bangs or Jessica Alba-mouth,” Hanna went on because, yeah, she was a pain in my ass when bored.“Can we not talk about the model who looks nothing like me, please?”“Of course.”“Great. If you’ve come to speak to Dane, he’s not yet back from his lunch meeting, but he shouldn’t be much longer.”“I came to check on

Pulling my black, skin-tight, off-the-shoulder dress out of mycloset, I bit my lip. It was sexy yet elegant, even with the thigh slit, and I loved it. But I’d never worn anything like this before in front of Dane, my boss. It would feel weird.My gaze flicked to the more formal dress further along the closet rail, but then I remembered what Dane had said to me yesterday before I left o-Verve ...Don’t dress as my PA. Wear what you’d wear to go on a date, not what you’d wear to go to a business dinner.I looked back at the black dress I was holding and gave it a firm nod. Yes, this would do. I’d throw on a light layer of makeup, add some jewelry, maybe curl the ends of my hair and leave it down. First, I needed to shower.Blowing out a breath, I put a hand to my fluttering stomach. First dates were always nerve-wracking. But this wasn’t a real date, so I technically had no need to feel nervous. There was no pressure to impress, no worry that this might end up being a waste of my time,