Moonglass

excused himself to the keg, taking my cup with him. Tyler walked over casually and sat down next to me in the sand. I looked over and raised my eyebrows.
    “Yeah?” I said. “I bet if I somehow got those keys, I wouldn’t be able to find anyone brave enough to use them with me.” He took a drink from his cup. I leaned into him, just slightly, and smiled. The champagne had made me bold. “In fact, isn’t it dangerous for you to be here, sitting next to me?” I lowered my voice to a near-whisper. “I mean, my dad’s your boss …” A slow smile crossed his face, and he put his chin down. “There are some things in life you can’t miss, and this bonfire is one of them.” I looked at him, puzzled. It didn’t seem like that big a deal.
    “You’ll see. We’re only just getting started.”
    James returned with a red cup full of champagne for me, and Ashley fell giggling on the other side of me. “This is the best night! Except, do you know what? Nobody knows how to say the name of this. She held up an empty champagne bottle, its yellow labell obscured by sand. I wiped it away with my thumb, and she pointed. “See, it’s French. You say it ‘vuvclee-ko.’ And you sound very sophisticated that way.” We both laughed, tapped our cups, and drank. I knew champagne wasn’t exactly supposed to be chugged, but I could tolerate the taste of it better than beer, and it did seem “festive,” as Ashley had put it earlier, so I finished off the refill James had gotten me in a few gulps, and told myself that was it for the night.
    Tyler had gotten up and was making his way around the bonfire, shaking hands and nodding with some guys, slapping others on the back. Fire crackled, and I leaned back on my hands, face to the sky, where I was surprised at how many stars I could see. It felt good to move out of reach of the heat. My cheeks still burned a bit, but I figured it was from the last few swigs of champagne. I tipped my head back to level and spun a little. Ashley put her head on my shoulder.
    “Anna?”
    “Yeah?”
    “I think I’m drunk.”
    “Me too.” She hiccupped, and we both laughed. I watched Tyler across the fire, talking with a blond kid who had to be a rookie. Tyler stood with one hand in his pocket, the other holding his red cup. Everything about him looked easy and relaxed. Confident. Like he knew I was on the other side of the fire watching his every move, and he didn’t care in the least. He glanced over, right at me for a split second, and I looked away, gathering my courage.

CHAPTER 8
    James stood up and cleared his throat, over and over, until everyone realized they were supposed to look at him. I looked over at Tyler, who was grinning at this. James was wearing a straw cowboy hat and no shirt now. In the light of the fire he could pass for a twenty-year-old, but I figured he had to be at least thirty. He swept his arms out again, in a gesture meant to get everyone’s attention.
    “Ladies and Gentlemen, I apologize for interrupting all of the pre-hook-up groundwork that’s being laid right now, but we’ve come to a very important point in the evening, an honored crystal Cove lifeguard tradition.”
    Four of the youngest-looking guards groaned and looked at each other.
    James nodded. “Yep, it’s the CCAD. For you rooks, that’s the crystal Cove Ab—as in ‘Ab Rock’—Dive.” He pointed to the cliff at the end of the cove, the one I had run to on my first morning.
    “Aw, shit,” the youngest rookie muttered to the guy sitting next to him. The other guards, Tyler included, clapped their hands and hooted.
    “Yep, guys. It’s swim, dive, and be naked, for tomorrow you are rookies no more.” None of them moved. They just sat there, waiting for further instruction.
    “But first,” James said, looking at me for a moment, “I’m going to fill you in on a little history you may not know about, tell you all how this tradition started.” He took a step closer to the fire, and everyone leaned in, smiling and trying to figure out what was gonna come out of his mouth next. He had that effect on people. James put his hands together. “Okay. It all started a long time ago—twenty years or something, I don’t know. There was only one rookie that year, and he was a crazy-ass kid. I mean, this kid kicked everyone’s butt swimming, towed a boat out of the surf line his second day in a tower, and pulled crazy tail.” Everyone laughed.
    “Sounds like you, James!” a voice from