The beach at night was breathtaking; the beach during the day somehow even more so.

Although the shore was crowding with families packing chairs, towels, and umbrellas, nothing could deter from the beauty of the ocean. The sand was more white in the sunlight and the water itself a sweet blue with tints of green in rolling waves. With a clear sky, the sea once again mirrored it in color. There wasn’t a hint of clouds so the sun cast warm rays over the shore. In the sunlight, the rippling ocean almost had endless colors among the white bubbles. As if someone dumped a bottle of glitter, the water sparkled and carried me out up to my waist.

I took my first crash under the waves, jumping out afterwards with the shivers. There were others like me, merely enjoying the ocean, allowing themselves to be rocked back and forth on inner tubes and boogie boards. My parents probably packed some too. I already knew where they were since I gave Mom my phone, which she scowled about since I was supposed to keep it on me. How was I meant to do that in the water? Hmm?

Our parents weren’t alone though, Beau was with them. The tripod was set up, pointed towards the sea. A chair was stationed behind it, he peered through the lens. Didn’t seem he was enjoying the pictures though because he was scowling. Then again, when wasn’t he?

A group of girls walked by. Two glanced back, giggling at Beau who didn’t pay them any mind. Even here he was considered a heart throb, what a load of shit.

Two umbrellas were set up. Aunt Zoey and Mom were on towels under one while two chairs were under the other. Uncle David was slathering sun block on since, like his son, he was also a vampire. I was shocked Beau hadn’t burst into flames yet, and by shocked I meant mildly disappointed. Wouldn’t have minded watching him scurry into the sea in hopes to put himself out, or merely turn to ash on the beach.

“Did you already jump in?” Dad laughed.

“Obviously, what’s the point of coming to the ocean if you don’t jump in?” I cast a glance to Beau. He was too focused on his camera to care.

“Do we have any inner tubes or something?” I dug through a big bag by Mom’s side. She was about to answer me when I discovered one, tugging out a bright green inner tube and blowing air into it.

“Beau, are you not getting in?” Aunt Zoey asked, peering over Mom. He shook his head.

“Why? You scared?” I taunted.

He had the camera off the tripod, messing with some functions. “I’m busy.”

Then he was gone, heading down the shoreline to take more pictures.

Dad patted me on the back. “I’ll get in with ya. Let me get the other raft.”

Dad joined me in the ocean with our inner tubes then Uncle David, Aunt Zoey and Mom tagged along eventually. There was some loud squealing when Dad started swinging Mom around in the water. Uncle David kept dunking me. Aunt Zoey was finding seashells and driftwood that she thought would look cool for some art projects. The folks didn’t have as much energy as me though, so it seemed. All inevitably returned to their beach towels; where Beau had returned as well.

I didn’t want to sit around on the beach, I wanted to have fun! I was about to angrily stomp over and drag Beau’s sorry ass into the ocean whether he liked it or not when I was suddenly hit in the side. I cursed in surprise, glaring at the volleyball that dropped at my feet.

“Sorry about that!” someone called. A girl came running over with dark brown eyes and ochre skin, likely around my age. She smiled apologetically. Behind her there was a volleyball net with two guys and another girl waiting.

“Not a problem.” I picked up the volleyball to hand to her. “Are you looking for more players though?”

“Sure!” The girl chirped then glanced back. “Ah, we’d be uneven, but that’s fine.”

“What if I brought someone else?” I suggested, doing my best to hold back an evil grin. She made no mention of said evil grin, only nodded.

“Cool, the more the merrier! Ah, my name’s Jill, by the way.”

“Devin.”

“Come on over with your friend once you grab them.” Jill jogged back to play, explaining the situation to her friends while I ran over to Beau. He nearly fell out of his chair in surprise when I slapped my hands on the arm of it.

“Let’s play volleyball,” I said, grinning down at his clearly disinterested face.

“No.”

“There’s a group of kids our age playing over there!” I pointed in their direction. “It’ll be uneven if only I join.”

“Drag some other unwilling participant. I’m not interested.”

“Beau,” came Aunt Zoey’s low sigh. “Why don’t you go play a match? You may make some friends to spend time with while you’re here.”

He snorted. “Why would I want that?”

“It’s ok, Aunt Zoey, I understand.” I shrugged, already walking away but sensing Beau’s watchful eyes linger on my back. His unwavering attention had me standing proudly, chin in the air. “He’s too scared he’ll get his ass whooped in a match against me.”

There it was; the spark of competition that even the cold hearted Beau could not deny. He was stomping past me in under two seconds, muttering under his breath, “I’ll fucking run you into the dirt.”

The triumphant grin consumed my features. “Technically, it’s sand, and no you won’t.”

Jill spotted the two of us heading over, putting a quick pause to the match. Her friends faced us, all giving the typical welcoming smile that many are either really good at or really bad. In my case, I was really good and in Beau’s, well, he didn’t give a welcoming smile, only crossed his arms. The not so friendly look didn’t deter interest though because, sure enough, Jill’s friends were staring at him.

Yes, friends, plural.

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