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Tana's toes dug into the sand, the waves crashing against the beach bringing her comfort and the fire some kids had started about twenty yards away bringing her warmth. Dallas sat directly next to her, his hand mere inches from hers but refusing to touch her. She didn't seem to mind the distance. Her focus was entirely on Sunny, who was running through the salty waves, barking at the water.
"Hey, who's dog is that?" one of the beach-goers asked. Tana waved over at the guy.
"Mine," she grinned, her eyes never leaving the German Shepard.
"He's gorgeous," the guy replied. He and another girl made their way over and sat in front of Dallas and Tana. "What's his name?"
"Sunny," said Dallas, his content features now pulling downward in a frown.
"You guys from around here?" the girl asked. She had sandy brown hair, pulled back into a French braid, and her eyes were big and soft: a welcoming brown that Tana couldn't quite describe.
"Nah," Tana replied. "We're from Oklahoma."
"No way? Never been. Hear you guys have some strange weather," the guy replied.
Tana shrugged. "Sometimes, yeah."
"I'm Nathan. This is Elise."
"Nice to meet you," Tana replied kindly. "My name's Tana. This is my boyfriend Dallas."
"Welcome to California."
For a solid hour, the four of them sat right there in the sand, talking. Well, Nathan and Elise did most of the talking. Tana just listened and nodded along, interested in what went on in a typical Californian teen's life.
Eventually, some other people joined the quad and they all chimed in with stories as well. None of them had anything gossipy to say, which was weird to Tana. All she ever heard out of the mouths of anyone she knew was nothing but gossip. Not these people. She guessed she couldn't speak for all Californians, but these people were definitely something unique.
Dallas was quiet, except when Sunny wondered over to join the group, too, and greeted him with kind words.
It was nearing nine when Nathan stood up. "We better move this party back to the house. It'll be getting chilly pretty soon."
Elise allowed Nathan to pull her to her feet before turning to Dallas and Tana, who remained sitting in the sand. "You guys have anywhere to sleep tonight?"
Dallas didn't say a word. Tana simply shrugged. "We figured we'd just sleep in the car again."
"Sleep in your car? Are you serious?"
"That's what we've been doing," Dallas said finally. "Sleeping in the car and shmoozing our way into hotels to sleep for cheap."
"Nah. Not tonight," said Nathan. I know we don't know each other, so it's probably weird for us to invite you somewhere you don't know, but you're more than welcome to stay at our place. We have plenty of room."
