I stared out at the ocean, my knees curled into my chest. Although my hair was piled on top of my head in a messy bun, some strands had broken free, aided by the Seabreeze. The loose strands of thick red hair tickled my face and stuck to the layers of sunscreen on my shoulders and back. To my dismay, I couldn't tan to save my life, only freckle.

I checked my phone. It read 3:14 PM and no new text messages. I was supposed to meet Danny, this guy I was seeing, here at 3. We'd met in our community college's music appreciation class, before he dropped it and decided to try pursuing modeling full time. I hoped to tell him my plan to move to Vermont. Maybe he would encourage me. Lord knew I needed the encouragement to make such a bold move that would not only mean readjusting to new surroundings, but pissing off my dad in the process.

While waiting for him, my eyes wandered to seagulls in the distance that fought over someone's forgotten fast-food wrapper, the greasy yellow paper ripping in different directions while the seagulls made their shrill cries.

I was suddenly in a shadow. I looked up to see Danny. He smiled with brightly whitened teeth and said

"Hey!"

I smiled back

"Hey there!"

Danny tossed down his man-bag and sat down beside me, turning my head to kiss him. My lips met his. Every time I would hope it could be different, but it was true that Danny Meyers kissed like a fish.

He began telling me

"So I've gone to a few casting agencies and I really think they'll all get back to me. Like, 2 weeks without a call isn't long in the modeling world. Anyway, I got new headshots. Wanna see?"

He pulled some glossy papers out of his bag and handed them to me. I smiled

"Oh wow, those are good. And... you signed them?"

He nodded

"Yeah. I thought maybe when I'm a huge name, people can look back on these and be excited to have an autographed picture of me. You can keep one. It'll be worth something someday."

I took one and handed him back the rest

"Thanks."

He said,

"You know Summer, I think you could be a model too."

I blushed,

"Wow, you think so?"

He nodded

"I mean yeah. Like, you're not that tall and don't have those 'striking features' like one of the greats, but you're pretty. And it's kind of rare to see a red haired, blue eyed, super--SUPER pale girl, especially around So-Cal. I mean, like if there's ever an ad for a girl to hold bagpipes, or maybe like a halloween costume store needs a girl to wear a leprechaun costume, like you're the exact person I'd think of."

That wasn't exactly a compliment... I changed the subject

"Well I'm really more interested in my art, though."

He nodded

"Yeah, I've seen it. It's good. Like, pretty good but who buys art anymore? Isn't that some old rich people thing? And one day when I'm a millionaire model, I will be buying stuff like the Mona Lisa, not recent stuff."

I rolled my eyes and replied

"You can't buy the Mona Lisa"

He smirked,

"Watch me, babe."

I asked

"So, wanna go in the water? I want to go swimming."

He sucked in a big breath of air, then shook his head at me,

"I just got a spray-tan and I don't want it coming off. They say salt water is really abrasive to the tan. But, you can go in! I was gonna take some selfies by the palm trees anyway."

I shrugged

"I think I could sit back awhile longer. I actually wanted to talk to you about something... I think I want to move to Vermont."

He raised his perfectly threaded eyebrows

"Really? Why would you ever want to move there?"

I answered

"When my grandpa passed, he left me the deed to his lake house, studio, and property. My dad wants to sell it and use the money to invest in my college... but I think it's time for a change."

Danny seemed to actually be contemplating the difficult situation... but then replied with

"Don't go. That'd be stupid. Plus, you won't be able to hang out with me, and trust me once I start getting club appearances, you'd regret being so far away."

I stood up

"Yeah, I think I'll go for that swim now. Don't wait up."

I turned and walked away with no future plans to see dear Danny...