"I miss the ocean," I utter my inner thoughts, lost in my own trance as the afternoon stretches its wings under the blue sky.

I miss home.

"It can't be a perfect summer without some salty water, right?" Malik slides his mobile on the table and graces me his full attention.

"Exactly.” Smiling, I glance up at him. "I mean, Montana is really nice, but I still miss L.A. I want to get tanned at the beach, hearing the sound of the waves, the swimming . . . I miss that.” Nostalgia blankets me.

A long silence takes a reign, Malik's now-calm eyes pitching me some kind of avuncular concern....