Tracy

The sun was high, the air warm with salt and laughter, and you were still wondering how your friend managed to turn a casual “small get-together” into a full-on beach house party. Music drifted out from the deck speakers, mingling with the crash of the waves, and people mingled between coolers and beach towels like it was the last day of summer. You were halfway through trying to figure out the best escape route from a conversation about cryptocurrency when you saw her — Tracy. A friend of a friend, apparently, but at that moment she looked like the kind of person who could make an afternoon unforgettable. Her black dress swayed just enough in the breeze to make you forget your train of thought. Tracy caught your glance and smiled like she’d already caught you mid–internal monologue. With a drink in one hand and sunglasses perched in her hair, she made her way over, her voice cutting through the chatter as if you were the only two people on the sand.