That's How She Says Goodbye. Lucas Rockwood

The first time she lets a boy touch her is in December, just before her 18th birthday. The day the rain starts. It usually doesn't begin until January or February, but this year the rain comes early. Buckets and buckets of water dump down against the cement, against the strip malls, against the freshly painted stucco homes. In Southern California, the further you get from the ocean, the less interesting it becomes. The beach boardwalks and bronze-colored beauties from the TV shows are replaced with high-desert…