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Cece and Max spent the rest of the day wandering on the boardwalk, licking ice cream cones as they people-watched. They made it back to the beginning of the boardwalk to return the roller skate rentals, and Cece's knees already have started to scab over.

When day turned into night, the fun truly begun.

"So where is this party again?" Cece asks, blindly following Max along the beach. They've been walking for over five minutes, and no college kids or kegs have been in sight yet.

"It's a little ways for here, probably another five minutes away or so."

Cece stops to kick off her socks and shoes, shaking the mounds of sand out of they before catching up with Max. "And you know these people from your college?"

"Oh, yeah. My friend Travis is throwing the party with a couple of his friends, and they usually have lots of drinks to go around. Are you comfortable with this type of thing?" Max glances at her, curious to hear her answer.

"Max, I'm a college student, of course I know how to keep one down."

The sun sets lower on the horizon, turning the sky a pretty pink and orange ombre. The wind pushes Cece's blonde hair into her face, so she tucks it behind her ears as they truck on.

"Do you mind if I take your picture? You look awfully pretty in this lighting."

Cece hesitates but remembers that Max is a trustworthy person. "Okay, I guess."

And so Max pulls out his giant camera, and Cece pretends to act natural when her heart is actually beating extremely fast. After all, he called her pretty.

They hear the music before they see the lights. Once they get closer, Cece spots a bunch of lanterns all over the ground and blankets spread over the sand. A bunch of college students surround a folding table littered with cups and spirits while others are carrying on in clusters nearby. Everyone seems laidback and happy, which makes Cece smile to herself.

"Let's go find Travis," Max says, taking her hand and leading her around clumps of people. Max claps a tall guy with a buzz cut and dark skin on the shoulder and greet him when he recognizes him.

"What's up, brother?" Travis says, laughing as he shoves a red Solo cup in his hand.

"Just thought I'd stop by and say hello. Where's Nikko?"

Nikko? There's no way his Nikko and Cece's Nikko are the same person, right? But now that she thinks about it, both Marci and Nikko, friends she planned on meeting up with this week, also attend the University of California as students.

"Oh, he's right over there." Travis points to a group of people huddled around a campfire.

Cece follows Max's lead as they approach the strangers. Sure enough, she recognizes Nikko's unruly hair and pointed face. "Hey, Nikko!" Cece exclaims, waving wildly at him.

"Cece!" he yells, getting up from his seat on the sand and giving her a hug. "It's nice to see you, too, but what in the world are you doing around here?"

"Wait," Max interjects with a confused expression on his face, "You guys know each other?"

"Hell yeah! We've been friends since grade school," Nikko replies. "So do you guys want anything to drink?"

Max and Cece follow Nikko to the drink table and take the beers he pushes into their hands. "Drink up, mi amigos."

"So how do you know Nikko?" Cece asks, curious as to how they happen to have the same friend.

"He was my freshman roommate at UC," he replies, sipping his drink.

"Oh, cool."

It's been a long while since Cece has had a drink. Last year, she used to party every weekend at Yale, but after her grades started suffering, she had no choice but to trade in the red Solo cups for coffee cups. But, school's out, and she's willing to drink a little lightning in a bottle to get a buzz tonight.

Cece and Max talk with Nikko and his friends all night, discussing plans for the summer and gossiping about people Cece doesn't even know. As the night grows old, the music blasting from a set of speakers becomes louder.

"We should dance!" Cece finally says, looking at Max with glazed eyes. A half an hour ago, she decided to drink some spirits, which explains why she feels jittery and happy.

"Okay!" Max yells back, grinning widely.

Hand and hand, they head to the middle of the mosh pit and dance like crazy people. Nothing gets Cece's heart beating and blood pumping quite like electronic dance music, especially when she's a bit out of her right mind. Together, they jump up and down to the beat, bumping into other people and partying like it's their last day on Earth.

Cece may have even grinded a bit on Max, but that's another story for another day.

Once Cece is sweaty and tired of dancing, she grabs Max's hand and run away from the party to a darker, quieter spot on the beach. "Where are we going?" Max laughs, a bit drunk himself. He follows Cece, stumbling to get solid footing on the sand.

"To lay down," Cece suddenly replies, falling to the ground and landing with a thud on the beach. Max follows suit, propping his head up with his hands.

The sound of waves crashing on the shore echoes in the darkness as stars gleam in the night sky. Cece smiles to herself in the darkness, feeling happier than she had ever felt in a long time. "I really love this," she hears herself saying as her eyes start to droop closed.

"Yeah, me too," Max replies.

Cece is fast asleep by the time Max musters the courage to say what he really feels about her. It's too bad that he only realizes his "I love you" goes unheard and unanswered.

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