• Faye grabbed her luggage out of the trunk of the taxi cab that had brought her from the airport and breathed in the ocean air. Ew. It smelled like fish. But also gave her a salty taste in her mouth, which she loved. She had always been conflicted about the beach. She loved the sand beneath her toes, but she hated the seaweed and the sharp rocks. Sand spilled onto the walkway to the mansion as well, and she got some through her neon green flipflop sandals and onto the bottom of her feet. It was pretty hot outside. Faye was glad that she had wore a tight-fitting lime green tank top with yellow polka dots and dark-wash jean shorts that only went to halfway up her thighs. Wanting to look good on her first day of vacation, and also for all of the hot boys she might meet, she had clipped up her hair in two pigtails, curls bouncing and showing off her facial features, as well as letting her use her green and yellow clips. She had also wore a great jumble of bracelets and rings, yellow earrings dangled like a teardrop and a pale yellow necklace with a small pendant shaped like a diamond hung from her neck and bounced against her chest with each step. Faye smiled. She had been looking forward to this vacation ever since her first day of school, and now it was finally summer. This was the summer of her entire life. After it was over, she would be going to college. This was her first summer of freedom.

    Dayton stumbled out of the taxi with a nod to the driver and went to haul his luggage out the the trunk. This was his first time ever traveling anywhere by taxi, and he realized with a sigh that he had forgotten his favorite sunglasses on the seat. He put on the new pair he had bought before he left, white rimmed and big, and started off along the path to the hotel with a friendly wave to the taxi driver, who had already left. He could smell the beach from here and wished he could be out surfing right now. It's not that he was good at surfing, he crashed all of the time, but it was a lot of fun for him still, and he loved the beach. He loved to surf on it, bring dates there, and most of all play volleyball. He wasn't a star at that either, but it was still fun. A lot of his time was spent on beaches. The sun was hot and high in the sky, it must've been about midday, and Dayton was glad that he had cut his hair a little before he came here. The new shaggy cut made his blonde hair look nice, and it kept him cool, too, as did his outfit. He was wearing a pair a plaid brown Bermuda shorts, with some other colors thrown in, all of them subtle as well as a pair of darker brown sandals over his tanned feet. His shirt was plain white, but at least it kept the heat off of his body.

    "Mm," Faye mumbled angrily. She was lying on her beach towel, now in a white and pink polka dotted bikini. Somehow the waves crashing lightly against the shore had lulled her to sleep after boy-scouting the whole day. Now her back had a nice, fresh new bronze tan. Of course, she was angry because someone had hit her, rather roughly, on the back. Straightening out and lifting herself reluctantly onto her elbows, she squinted in the sun to see her attacker. A tall boy was running towards her, and she had to admit, he looked pretty darn hot. A volleyball lay at her side, no doubt what had woken her up. Brightening, Faye lifted the ball as well as her body off of the ground and started walking towards the boy, trying to look as appealing as possible. As she got closer she could make out more of his face than his body, and that looked just as good to her, but somehow familiar. Wait. It couldn't be... Could it?

    "Hey, thanks!" Dayton said as the girl approached him. He had been playing volleyball with some of the other summer breakers on the beach when he had misjudged the ball and sent it flying in the girl's direction. He couldn't help but notice her appearance, and be impressed. Her hair, now out of its clips, fell beautifully on her shoulders, framing her face. Dayton smiled at her. "Sorry, I was just..." Wait a second. It couldn't be. "Faye?" he asked hesitantly. "Are... are you Faye Ackerman?" Her skin was darker, and she had certainly developed. Although he couldn't believe it, she looked even more hot than the first time he met her.

    "Oh my gosh. It is you. Dayton!" Faye cried in joy. The volleyball dropped from her hands, forgotten in the sand. She couldn't believe that he was here. Dayton had been what her friends had called a summer fling two summers ago, when she visited California, but when she came back, she hadn't imagined that she would meet him here. Although Faye hadn't exactly been loyal to him, he was the first love of her life, and she could never forget him. She put her mouth up to his, about to lay a kiss on it, but then remembered what had happened before she left. He had broken up with her, and she couldn't exactly blame him. She lived in New York and he lived in California. They were worlds apart. Instead, Faye hugged him tightly around the waist. "I love you," she said feebly. She was still vying for his affection, after all of this time.

    Dayton hugged her tightly, trying to ignore the words. How had he caused her so much pain? He shouldn't have been so foolish as to involve himself with a girl who lived halfway across the world. But right now, he didn't really care. Faye was here. Dayton couldn't help himself. "I love you too," he said, pulling her arms away from his body to look into her eyes, eyes that were full of longing and were flowing over with tears. Dayton's hands shook. Slowly, he pulled her by her waist closer to him, pressing up against her, his other hands rustling her hair and met his lips to hers. The following kiss was passionate. Her lips were soft and he could taste saltwater from her tears. She smelled like oranges and sand and he couldn't stop what he was doing. He couldn't deny what he had been denying for two years. He was in love with her.

    Faye could barely breathe, but she didn't care. Dayton was with her, and he loved her again. From the way he kissed her now and the way she kissed back, she doubted that either of them had ever stopped loving the other. Her heart beat quickly and she took a big breath as they pulled away, but only for a second. She couldn't stop being with him. He smelled like saltwater and suntan lotion, making her think of the times when he had taught her to surf. Right then, Faye didn't care about the other guys on the beach. The only one she cared about was Dayton, and she realized that was how it had always been, and always should be. She was in love with him.