After weeks of little more than a courteous nod or awkward hand wave in passing, Max finally managed to learn two new things about the girl from 310.

One—her name was Nina Bai.

Two—she had recently moved from the east coast to California for a new job.

But, despite his best efforts to dig up more dirt, that was as much personal information Max had been able to glean from her. Their interactions were always brief as hell even though they ran into each other quite often. Nina was never impolite and unpleasant to be around. However, she seemed to purposely hold herself at a distance, so Max never pressed her for more.

During July 4th weekend, Max was just coming home from the grocery store when he spotted Nina again. An unwitting smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. Of all things, his pretty dark-haired neighbor was standing—well, teetering was probably more like it—atop a longboard in the middle of their apartment complex's community basketball court. She was fully decked out in elbow pads, knee pads, and a helmet.

She looked ridiculous in a completely adorable way.

Max found himself wanting to approach her, but he stood back. Ever since their run-in in the parking lot, Max sensed the girl wasn't very interested in getting to know him. He knew better than to chase after females who didn't want him around. Still, he couldn't contain his curiosity. He slowed his steps and found his gaze drifting towards her. Her phone was propped up against one of the basketball poles. The screen was too far away for him to see clearly, but it sounded like she was watching some sort of skateboarding tutorial.

Max's blue-green eyes flicked over her position and stance in a critical manner. Her feet were planted too far off-center. This was why she couldn't balance properly. Max tried not to cringe as she squatted down and began using her hands push away from the ground in paddling motions. She scooted forward a few feet before holding her arms out for balance as she glided across the court. Then, she gave a slight wobble and toppled over to the ground. It wasn't a hard fall, but Max grew concerned when she didn't get up right away. With her limbs stretched out around her, she stayed on her back, silent and unmoving.

Grudgingly, Max heard himself call out, "Hey! Are you okay?"

"Huh?" Nina's head suddenly snapped up from the ground. She looked embarrassed. "Oh, hey, Max! Yeah, I'm fine!"

Max walked towards her. "Are you trying to learn how to skateboard?"

She scrunched her nose impishly. "Something like that, I guess. As you probably saw, I still have a ways to go."

Max wanted to kick himself the moment the words tumbled out of his mouth, "I... could help you. If you want. I mean, I've been skateboarding since I was old enough to walk. No pressure, though, if you wanna practice on your own. But I just wanted to put it out there."

Nina studied him with an unblinking stare. His pretty neighbor looked as though she was trying to figure him out. Max felt a slight blush creep up his cheeks. He couldn't remember the last time a girl put him under this kind of scrutiny. She rose to full height suddenly and kicked her longboard towards him. He caught it with his foot.

There was an amused gleam in her honey brown eyes when she challenged, "Show me what you got, skater boy."

A trickle of pleasure coursed through Max. He grinned back at her. It was an unfamiliar feeling.

He couldn't remember the last time he had felt... happy?

Without any hesitation, he hopped onto Nina's longboard like a duck taking to water off. Tricks on longboards were more limited than regular skateboards, but Max was determined to impress this girl. Max coasted around the perimeter of the court a few times to get a feel for the board's grip and the flex on the deck. He did a 180 pivot and a few ghost rides for warm-up. Then, he jumped into an old-school kickflip followed by a quick G-turn along the three-point line. He chose to stop here.

Max stepped off her longboard and carried it back to Nina while shooting her a knowing look. "So... did I manage to impress you?"

Nina laughed softly. The sound of it made Max feel ten feet tall. In teasing tones, she murmured, "Nobody likes a show-off, but you definitely look like you know what you're doing. Please teach me everything you know!"

Max grinned and agreed right away. They spent the rest of the morning on the basketball court. Max found Nina to be a quick learner but a terrible athlete. No matter how many times she tried, her body couldn't seem to keep up with her brain. Max let her hold onto his shoulder as she tried to find her balance. Once she started gaining more confidence, he started jogging beside her, ready to catch her in case she fell.

As they became more comfortable around each other, his Lower Brain started looking for opportunities to touch her, opportunities to hold onto her waist or provide support under her arms, but his Upper Brain knew better. Max kept himself in check to the best of his ability. Not to mention, Nina was so engaged in everything he was trying to show her that they barely spoke about anything other than the task at hand. The hour passed by far too quickly for Max. Skateboarding with Nina made him feel like a kid again, like the first time he landed a trick on his board at the Temecula Skate Park.

As they parted ways later that morning, a feeling of emptiness settled over Max. He felt oddly depressed about the thought of leaving Nina's side. He didn't understand why an almost stranger could make him feel this way. Still, there was something quite calming about Nina's presence. It soothed the restlessness that had been plaguing him for weeks. The girl was quiet but not boring. Straightforward without being bitchy. It was refreshing to meet someone like her after being surrounded by image-obsessed influencers who were always on the offensive to better themselves at his expense.

Max hadn't felt ballsy enough to ask for her number, but he really hoped that they would run into each other again soon.