As she gets off the freeway and starts to climb the curves of Kanan Dume, she rolls the windows down and lets the clear, dry air rush across her body, tangling her hair and raising goose bumps on her arms. The radio’s signal gets lost in the shadows of the canyon and the hush of the wind. From the top of the hill she can see the dark, distant gleam of the ocean.

At the beach, she pays an attendant ten dollars to park, pleased to recognize Cass’s Volvo already there as she cruises toward a spot. The day is bright but windy, and even chillier than it was in the Valley, so the sand is mostly empty. Lulu kicks off her Uggs and carries them with her to where Cass is sitting, her hair flame bright against the pale sand and the ocean’s darkness.

“Hey,” Lulu says, when she’s close enough to be heard.

Cass doesn’t say anything, but she scoots over, leaving Lulu room to join her on her beach towel. It’s faded now, but clearly used to be a bright Barbie pink. It doesn’t look like Cass’s style at all, which Lulu loves. Cass is maybe the only person she knows who doesn’t care if she matches all the time.

Lulu drops down to sit at Cass’s side. They’re close enough that it’s awkward to look at each other while they talk, so instead she stares straight ahead at the restless ocean.

“What’s up,” Cass asks.

“Um,” Lulu says. “You know. Just took a final. Tomorrow I take another one.”

“How was it?”

“I didn’t bomb, I don’t think.”

“Didn’t bomb mine either.”

“Nice.”

There’s a pause before Cass asks, “How’s Owen doing?”

“Fine, probably,” Lulu says. “I don’t know, actually. I haven’t really seen him since you dropped us off the other morning.”

“Oh.”

“We don’t usually hang out that much anymore. That night was kind of an exception.”

“You guys seemed pretty chill, though.”

“We were together for a year,” Lulu says. “We’ve only been broken up for a few months. It’s weird, but it’s almost— It’s actually easier for us to pretend we’re still together, kind of, you know? Like, we know how to be nice to each other, and how to be close. It’s the being distant thing we haven’t figured out yet.”

“Yeah,” Cass says. “That makes a lot of sense, actually.” She’s been leaning back, but now she tilts her body forward and wraps her arms around her knees.

“Can I ask about you and Ryan?” As soon as she’s said it, Lulu understands just how much she doesn’t want to hear the answer.

“We’re,” Cass says, and then stops. “He’s my best friend.”

“Just a friend?”

“Nothing just about it.”