“Bryna!” Stacia yelled into the phone. “Oh my God! You’re calling me! From Barcelona!”

“Actually, I’m in L.A.”

“What? I didn’t know you were back.”

“Yeah. I actually got back into town this morning,” she said. “Do you think we could meet up? I want to talk.”

“Oh. Oh, yeah. Sure. Um…I’m at the beach in Santa Monica actually with some friends from high school. You’re welcome to join us if you want. Of course, if you’d rather me leave and come to you, I would totally understand that.”

“No, Santa Monica is fine. I haven’t driven in a couple of months, and I’m dying to use a stick shift again.”

Stacia laughed. “I would say I get that, but stick shifts and I do not get along.”

“You’re missing all the best cars then.” Just the thought of taking one of her dad’s cars out on the road made her skin tingle with excitement.

“I’ll let someone else drive me around in them.”

Bryna shook her head. “Typical. Anyway, I’ll be there soon.”

Even though she hadn’t spoken to Stacia in months, it had been so easy to fall back into their normal banter. Bryna wasn’t entirely sure what she was going to say to Stacia about Pace, but she couldn’t keep putting it off. She wanted her friend back, and they needed to work out their differences. They couldn’t do that through a wall of silence.

She threw on a bathing suit and then walked out to her dad’s garage. Her hands skimmed over the row of beautiful cars, yet her eyes were drawn to the cherry-red Porsche 911 GT3 convertible. It handled like a dream and her father would kill her if he knew how fast she took it out of the house. But it wasn’t supposed to be locked up. It needed to be set free.

The drive to Santa Monica wasn’t long enough for her taste. She might need to drive up and down the Pacific Coast Highway to release some more of her pent-up energy.

The valets were salivating at the chance to drive the thing. She tossed the keys to the guy who would have the pleasure.

“Don’t hurt my baby,” she said.

He nodded, awestruck, and she walked out to the beach. Finding Stacia took a bit of time, but eventually, she located her friend’s enormous hot-pink umbrella that gave Stacia’s position away on the beach.

Bryna stripped out of her tank top and stuffed it into her oversized Dolce bag. One of the guys sitting next to Stacia nudged his buddy next to him when he saw Bryna. They were both ogling every inch of her Spanish sun–kissed skin.

Stacia didn’t seem to notice as she sprang to her feet and rushed toward Bryna. “You’re here!” She pulled Bryna into a big hug. Stacia dusted sand off of her and motioned for them to walk down the beach. “I’ll be right back,” she called to her friends.

Once they were a sufficient distance away, Bryna spoke up, “I saw Pace earlier.”

“Yeah?” Stacia said uncertainly. “He didn’t tell me you were back.”

Bryna shrugged. “I didn’t exactly tell him. I went to see the new baby.”

“Really? Pace told me that Celia had her baby. Little Zoe? Is she adorable?”

“She is actually.”

“I know neither of you were thrilled she was having another kid.”

“We weren’t, but it’s hard to hate a baby. She didn’t do anything, you know?” Bryna laughed. “It’s not her fault my family is fucked up.”

“So, did you come back for the baby? Trihn said you were supposed to be in Barcelona all summer.”

Bryna wasn’t sure she was ready to talk about what had happened with Hugh. The baby had been an excuse, but the reason she’d left was Hugh. She had a lot to think about before she would be prepared to tell her friends about her adventures.

“Change of plans,” Bryna said.

Stacia grabbed her arm and stopped her in her tracks. “Bryna, I’m so sorry! I shouldn’t have blindsided you about my relationship with Pace. He warned me that you wouldn’t like it, but I had no idea it would be this big of a deal!”

Bryna waved her hand. “I know. It’s okay.”

“It is?” Stacia asked in confusion.

“Yeah. I guess it is.”

“Why? You make me nervous.”

“I don’t like Pace. I don’t think he’s a good person or has good intentions. I’ve known him for too long not to know the tricks he likes to play. The last thing I would want to happen is for you to fall into one of them, but he does seem to legitimately care about you, I guess.” Bryna smiled at her friend. “I’ve had an…eye-opening summer, to say the least, but I’m not suddenly a different person. I don’t have to like Pace. You do. I have it on good authority that you would dump his ass if he treated you poorly.”

Stacia laughed. “Trihn?”

“Yeah. Plus, I don’t think he’s worth losing a friend over.”

Stacia threw her arms around Bryna, and they hugged on the beach. “Seriously, what happened to you this summer? Trihn told me about Eric and then Barcelona…”

“I feel like I put a lot of effort into what is supposed to be an effortless exterior. I don’t want to do that anymore.” She shrugged. “I don’t know if it makes sense, especially since the head bitch isn’t vacating her throne. I want to try to live for a new me.”

Bryna hadn’t realized how true the statement was until it left her mouth. It took so much time to maintain this personality that people associated with her. Her friends, Eric, Hugh—they all saw a different side of her. At this point, she didn’t know which one was the real Bryna. It had been a soul-searching summer, and she was ready to move on.

“Well, I love the new you. Let’s get back to my friends. We have so much to catch up on.”

Bryna bit on her lip. She had one more thing to do before she could completely start fresh again. One more burned bridge.

“I’d love to.” She longingly looked out at the beach. “But I have someone I need to visit.”

THIS WAS GOING TO BE a whole hell of a lot harder than talking to Stacia.

Gates.

She hadn’t stopped thinking about him since he had kicked her out of his premiere during her senior year. He was her first real boyfriend, her best friend, and one of her biggest mistakes. She hadn’t spoken with him since that night nearly a year and a half ago when she did what she thought was irreparable damage to their relationship.

He had told her he loved her, and she had told him to fuck off. It didn’t exactly leave her in an inspiring place to get back into his life.

Things weren’t perfect between them. They never had been, but in a way, they were the only ones in each other’s lives who really got each other. She had taken advantage of him. He had gotten swept away by her. They were horribly wrong for each other. Too similar in most ways. Both had egos larger than the Pacific Ocean. But as much as she’d wanted it to seem like she didn’t care that she didn’t talk to him anymore…she cared.

Bryna didn’t even know where to begin initiating this contact. Some part of her wanted to show up at his place and force him to talk to her. But that was the part of her that allowed herself to imagine his rejection. The other part of her knew that calling would be the right choice…even if he didn’t answer…even if he didn’t want to see her.

She got back into the Porsche, replaced the convertible top, took a deep breath, and dialed his number.

She waited an interminable amount of time before the line clicked over.

“Well, that’s a name I haven’t seen in a while.”

“Hey, Gates,” she said. It was surreal to hear his voice.

“What can I do you for, Bri?” he asked.

She could tell that he was going to be difficult, and she didn’t blame him.

“The tabloids say you’re in L.A.”