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“You know, it kind of fits,” Breakfast said, studying Rowan.
“Yeah. Rowan the surfer dude,” Una agreed.
Rowan blushed and looked down. “Hardly,” he said, his enjoyment vanishing. “I would have liked to have tried it, though.”
They followed the road into town, but didn’t have to walk the entire way. One of the surfers leaving the break let them pile into the back of his pickup truck and he took them the rest of the way into town.
“Are you guys going to be okay?” the surfer asked as they got out.
“We’re meeting friends,” Breakfast lied.
“Well, if your friends bail on you, there’s a party,” he said. “I’m Miller.”
“Hey, Miller. I’m Breakfast. This is my lady, Una. Tristan, Caleb, Rowan, Lily. Rowan wants to surf.”
“Yeah? Nice,” Miller said, smiling broadly.
And just like that, Breakfast had made another friend. Miller took them to the party where there were tons of salty chips and guacamole for Lily, enough for her to refuel the rest of them. The coven took turns washing up in the bathroom as discreetly as they could. Not that it mattered. Half the people at the party had spent the day in the ocean and were just as disheveled and windblown as they were.
“Is everyone in this world so generous?” Caleb asked disbelievingly.
“Not everyone,” Breakfast answered. “But I guess that’s surfers for you.”
Tristan looked around. Several cute girls looked back. “I like California,” he decided.
Lily and Rowan shared a knowing grin and then caught themselves. It was easy to forget that they didn’t belong among these carefree people—that they didn’t belong together anymore.
“So I asked my friend, and he said you can all crash here tonight,” Miller told them as he rejoined the group.
“We really appreciate that,” Breakfast said. “I’ve got to hit an ATM at some point, though, and pitch in for the drinks.”
“Don’t worry about it. Just tell me where you all got those necklaces.” Miller couldn’t take his eyes off Lily’s willstones. “What kind of crystals are those?”
“I grow them,” Rowan said. He’s got talent, he added in mindspeak for the coven. He’s drawn to Lily.
That’s probably why he stopped to pick us up, Una added.
“You grow crystals? No way,” Miller said, looking admiringly at Rowan. “You know, we should go surfing in the morning. I’ll take you to our break.”
Rowan looked pained. “I’d love to, but I don’t have a board,” he said.
Miller shrugged. “You can use one of mine. I have extra wetsuits, too. You can’t go in the water up here without one.”
“Miller, do you have a landline?” Lily asked, saving Rowan from having to decline. “I need to check in with my sister back in Massachusetts. Let her know I got in okay. I’ll call collect.”
“No you won’t,” Miller said, shaking his head. He put down his beer and gestured for Lily to follow him. “The guy who owns this place is a trust fund baby. He won’t even notice.”
Miller took Lily into the kitchen. There were a bunch of people attacking a fondue set on the center island, laughing, making a mess. They looked so happy. So free. Lily watched them with a smile, imagining Juliet’s bright laugh chiming out of the mix. Miller got the landline receiver out of a drawer and pulled open a sliding glass door that led to a wraparound patio.
“It’s quieter out here,” he told her, handing her the phone.
“Thanks, Miller. I won’t be long.”
He stayed with one hand on the open door. “So, you and Rowan—” he began leadingly. “Are you two, like, together?”
“Yes,” Lily answered, just to make things easier. It didn’t even feel like a lie, and she had to remind herself that it was.
“Cool,” Miller said, backing off. He stumbled a little, his feet suddenly awkward.
