Mia's head was nestled against Julian's shoulder as he lightly traced circles into her back. The thin sheets of her bed covered their bodies while the standing fan in Mia's room lightly blew back and forth, rustling Mia's hair every time the fan turned her direction. She let out a loud yawn, trying her best not to fall asleep, but the drowsiness of warm summer afternoons always seemed to be her weakness. Thankfully, Julian was in the mood to chat.

"How was your thing with your friend?" Julian asked.

"With Leila?" Mia wondered.

"Couldn't remember her name," Julian murmured, even though Mia had shared it countless times already. She supposed it couldn't be helped. Out of all her past boyfriends, Julian's memory had to be the worst.

"It was good," she said. "I mean, it was weird too. But I think I enjoyed myself."

"Look at you, making friends!" Julian teased. His fingers gently stroked her chin. "Will you hang out with her again?"

"Probably," Mia murmured.

Julian leaned forward and kissed her. As Mia gazed up into his brown eyes, she realized his look had grown more into one of seriousness. She reached up and gently stroked her fingertips against the stubble on his chin.

"What's wrong?" she asked quietly.

"It's nothing," Julian said. "I guess...well, I guess I'm almost a little jealous that not all of your attention is on me anymore."

Mia rolled her eyes. "Don't be so concerned. Of course I want to spend most of my time with you. You're all I think about it," she murmured, leaning forward to kiss him again. Julian smiled at her and moved his arm to draw her closer, but Mia pushed it away. "That being said," she said, sitting up and letting the covers fall from her shoulders, "I have my shift in an hour, so you're going to have to get dressed and leave soon."

Julian let out a long, disgruntled sigh.

"Hey, you've been here twenty-four hours now!" Mia complained as she picked her clothes up off the floor and began dressing herself.

"I know, I know," Julian grumbled.

As Mia fastened her belt back into place and smoothed out the edges of her blouse, she noticed Julian picking up the seashell on the nightstand by her bedside. Her heart skipped for a second, worried he might break it, but he only rolled it over and his palm and set it down.

"You moved it," he said.

"Moved what?"

"The seashell. Didn't it used to be on your dresser instead?" he wondered. "You moved it closer to your bed."

"Oh. I didn't realize," Mia said. She was now standing in front of her mirror, smoothing out her hair with a brush. She reached for one of her hairclips, clipping back the front strands of hair so they were out of her face.

"It's from here, isn't it? I used to collect shells down by the beach when I moved here in middle school," Julian said. "They looked like this."

"Yeah," Mia said.

"So you collected shells too?" Julian wondered.

"I didn't collect that one," Mia said as she applied some makeup to her face. She wasn't sure why she bothered. She often ended up sweating it off during her work shift anyway.

"Where'd you get this, then?"

Mia set her mascara down. "I don't remember. Stop touching my things, will you? Get some pants on, I have to leave soon."

After another long sigh, Julian finally got out of bed. As Mia tidied her things and finished getting ready for her work shift, she walked Julian to the front door of her apartment and gave him a quick peck to the cheek as he headed out.

"I'll text you," she told Julian.

Returning back to her room to grab her employee card, Mia picked up the seashell on her nightstand once again and gently ran her fingers over it, making sure Julian hadn't messed up its appearance. Thankfully, it still looked the same as the day it had been gifted to her.

Mia gently placed the shell back on her nightstand and reached for her phone. She supposed she should text Leila again soon.

...

It had felt like an eternity since Mia had been down to the seashore on the weekend. She had only come once after returning back to Maine, right after she had gotten off her flight. With some time to kill before she met her current roommate, Abby, Mia had decided to wander around the beach. She had met Abby with a sunburn and sand granules glued to her body, but Mia hadn't regretted her decision to go to the seashore that day for anything in the world. It had been calling her as soon as she had seen it from the airplane.

While this beach in particular wasn't the one she and Leila had frequented as children, it was still another popular spot along Kennebunkport that Mia had gone to a few times as a child, usually when family were visiting as it was a more popular tourist location. Today, she and Leila would be meeting up at the shops to wander around and catch up.

Mia had arrived especially early, considering how badly she felt for showing up late last time. However, she seemed to have arrived too early judging by the fact that barely anyone was at the beach, so after parking, she went down to the shore and took a seat in the sand. Mia dug her toes into the warm sand and smiled as she gazed out at the ocean. In the distance, some children played in the waves and a few sailboats bobbed in the wind. Mia brought her knees close to her, wondering if she could stay here like this forever.

The sand shifted behind her. Mia thought nothing of it, figuring some tourists were coming by to set up their towels and umbrellas for a day of sunbathing, but suddenly, a finger lightly tapped her shoulder. Mia spun around, staring up at Leila.

"Oh! Leila! Hi!" she exclaimed, quickly standing up and brushing the sand from her legs.

"I was going to text you, but I saw you sitting down here from the parking lot, so I figured I'd just come down to you," Leila said.

She was looking particularly fashionable today. She had on a high-waisted pink skirt and a flowing white blouse. Mia wasn't surprised. Out of the two of them, Leila had always been the better dressed. Mia meanwhile had stuck to a pair of athletic shorts and a worn college tanktop that she had been given for free during her freshman orientation.

"Sorry!" Mia exclaimed. "I know you wanted to meet up by the shops but..." she let her voice drawl off as the sound of the waves drew her in once more. She stared at the shore, utterly entranced by it.

"Let's go dip our toes in," Leila suggested.

"You sure? I know you wanted to shop—"

"Oh, I didn't really care what we did. I was just happy you reached out. I'd be happy to do anything, so...let's go," she said again.

Mia nodded and followed Leila down closer to the water. They threw their sandals in a pile and walked down where the sand was damp and firm. The water was cold as it trailed up the shore and bathed Mia's feet. She shivered slightly, especially as the breeze picked up, but she didn't mind much, not when the salty air and cries of gulls soothed her.

"This feels like when we were kids, huh?" Leila thought as she stared out into the sea.

Mia nodded. "Our fingernails used to get so dirty digging for sand crabs."

Leila giggled. "My mom always made me scrub my hands as soon as I got home. We caught a lot that one summer, remember? They nearly filled that small bucket you brought."

"Right," Mia said. A strange wave of nostalgia hit her as she stood with Leila down in the water. The sun slightly obscured her vision, and as she held her hand out in front of her face, Leila stood before her, looking almost like she was a child again with the way her gaze was directed at the sea. For a moment, everything felt peaceful, just as it had been when they were kids. As another icy wave swirled around Mia's ankles, she was reminded once again of the pain she had been through since that time. She grew quiet and drew her arms close to her body. Mia didn't think she would ever be able to form fond memories of this town again, not when it so strongly reminded her of her mother.

A splash of cold water at her side was enough to disrupt her thoughts. Mia glanced over, finding Leila knelt down in the water, splashing ocean water at Mia's shirt.

"Hey!" Mia exclaimed.

Leila only smiled cheekily and then let out a shriek as Mia kicked water with her foot at Leila. Leila jumped away some, though droplets of ocean water cascaded across her shirt. Mia suddenly felt bad, worried that maybe she'd ruined the nice skirt that Leila had purchased, but Leila only returned the splash with full force. Mia's tanktop had grown damp with water, and seawater dripped down her arms.

"You'll pay for that," Mia said, beginning to chase Leila down the shore.

They ran for a while, that was until Leila tripped in the shoreline and got sand all over her skirt and shirt. She was laughing the entire time Mia helped her up, though Mia couldn't help but feel guilty.

"Sorry about your outfit," Mia said as they moved away from the shoreline and back up to where they had left their sandals on the beach.

"Huh? I can wash it," Leila argued, still trying to brush the sand granules from her outfit. "Do I really seem that prim and proper to you?"

"Oh, uh, I don't know. Your clothes just seem nicer than mine, that's all," Mia said. "I figure you probably don't want to shop anymore with the stains on your clothes though."

Leila frowned. "Probably not, but that's okay. Here, we can take a seat in the sand. I don't mind getting my clothes dirtier than they already are."

Mia nodded and sat down beside Leila. Leila sprawled out her legs and leaned back on her arms, staring forward at the shore. It was strange, Mia thought. They'd barely shared a conversation since they had met up, and yet, Mia felt there was nothing really the either had to say to each other. It was like they already knew.

As they sat there, Mia realized that deep down, Leila still seemed to have the soul of a child. Mia thought she would have matured more with age, but she was still fun and free spirited. Mia wasn't so sure she could quite say the same about herself. Time had done nothing but change her. Mia wrung her fingers together, inwardly admitting to herself that maybe she had missed Leila after all this time. She didn't realize she was staring at Leila until Leila was looking at her confusedly.

"Uh, how was your week?" Mia asked.

Leila launched into her usual spiel about her work before asking the same of Mia. Their conversation was nothing more than surface level, but Mia felt at peace talking with Leila. It was a beautiful day, and Mia had nowhere to be. She let herself get lost in conversation and the sound of the waves until she realized she and Leila had been sitting and talking for an hour and a half.

Leila suddenly glanced at her phone and frowned. "I didn't realize what time it was. I should probably go home and change before I go to my parents' house for dinner. Sorry to cut things short."

"No worries. And we can go shopping next time. I feel bad we didn't get to go today," Mia admitted.

"Don't be. I had fun," Leila said. She stood up, with Mia following in suit behind her.

They lingered in place for a moment, gave some small waves, and shyly said good-bye before heading in separate directions to their cars. As Mia began walking to her car, she turned back slightly, noticing a spring in Leila's step as she treaded through the sand. Mia turned her head back and smiled to herself, not wanting Leila to see her own happiness as well.