by Simon Archer
The sun was bright and happy in the sky as I flopped backward into the sand and glanced up at all the clouds overhead. The beach grounds extended the entire length of the bay, but the prime real estate hugged the fairgrounds that lay on the coast. It was littered with ice cream stands and little bars where people ordered drinks with tiny umbrellas in them. Just past noon, the sand was decorated in colorful people of all shapes and sizes taking advantage of the sun to splash in the water or idle on towels.
Though I loved the water, I had no intention of swimming today. I wore my usual clothes which naturally caused both Andie and Kara to scoff at me in disappointment. By contrast, Eric wore bright yellow trunks, his smile as bright and beaming as the swimwear.
Kara wore a pretty red one-piece that matched the hue of her hair. It had little black laces that trailed up her spine, and when she caught me admiring the view, she blushed a little and hid behind one of the many little gadgets that she constantly worked on.
Aylin had brought another long black dress similar to the one she’d arrived in a few days ago. She preferred to fly, and the lacy ends trailed down from where she hovered over the water.
Andie was wearing a pretty rainbow-splash bikini that left very little to the imagination. I tried not to stare at her breasts from where she laid down on my left. I was only partially successful, and when she noticed, she simply grinned at me as if entirely pleased with herself.
She pointed at a cloud a little lower on the horizon. “That looks like an eagle.”
I chuckled and glanced at it. It looked like a bird in flight, soaring high in the skies where it lived. “Not a bird? An eagle is pretty specific.”
“I like eagles,” she sighed happily, “and vultures.”
I imagined the awkward long-necked variety from Saturday morning cartoons and lifted a brow at that. “Vultures? That’s an odd choice.”
“There was a whole flock of turkey vultures that lived in a big oak tree by our apartment building.” Andie shrugged. “They looked like massive ravens from a distance. Caused a huge ruckus every time someone passed the tree, but I have a whole collection of black feathers from underneath it.”
“Are they still there?”
“Probably.” She smiled. “You can hear the chicks crying for food each spring. Once, they built a nest in view of my bedroom window, and I watched one grow up from an egg.”
“That actually sounds pretty amazing,” I agreed thoughtfully.
“It was,” Andie confirmed. She pointed at another cloud. This one looked vaguely like a heart. “That one reminds me of you.”
I rolled my eyes, but secretly, I was just a little bit more in love. “You’re such a romantic,” I accused. “You paint, you fight, you're loyal, and you’re a hell of a kisser.”
She laughed, the sound musical to my ears. Her happiness was a warmth even the sun couldn’t compete with.
“It’s true.” She sighed, pretending to be put upon. “I’m quite the catch. Honestly, I should charge you by the hour.”
“I may have a dad who owns an island and dominates half the world’s economy,” I shrugged helplessly, “but I’m broke. Can I take it on credit?”
“I dunno.” Andie sat up on her elbow and looked me up and down with a hungry gaze. “What’s your score?”
I pretended to consider this while I looked over the clouds some more. I found another that looked a little like a dog. I’d always wanted a dog. A big, fluffy, happy dope of a dog.
“Good enough that you’ll take me anyway, I hope,” I quipped back. “I don’t have a backup plan here.”
“I’m sure we can arrange something.” She grinned and kissed me on the nose.
Somewhere off to my right, I heard Eric snicker. “The two of you are adorable.” He grinned. Kara smacked him gently on the shoulder, but both were smiling. “Get a room before I start snapping pictures.”
“Take all the pictures you want,” I said as I tossed a lazy finger at him. “We’re pretty photogenic.”
Andie bobbed her head in agreement. “Hell yeah, we are! Give me that phone, I want a snapshot!”
Andie dove straight for Eric, who playfully wrestled back to resist the theft of his phone. I sat up again and dusted the sand out of my hair while I listened to them giggle like kids half their age.
Andie hooted in victory, phone in hand. She started snapping frantic pictures, and Eric clawed after her with a mock battle cry. She darted out of the way, and then the two took off, chasing each other a bit farther down the beach.
“What a pair of doofuses.” I chuckled. I stood and spotted Kara not too far away, her focus buried in some device that she kept molding in her hands using her abilities.
I walked over and nudged her gently on the shoulder. “You’re not supposed to be working. This is play time, remember?”
Kara gave me a quick glance, her expression dry. “This is what I do for play, Nick.”
“You need some help learning what play actually means,” I pointed out as I nudged her a bit more insistently. When she glared up at me, I gestured toward a nearby volleyball net. It had been strung up by some teenagers earlier and abandoned in favor of the snow cone stand. “C’mon, Kara. Let’s play a game or three. Aylin’s never experienced volleyball before.”
A squeal further down the beach told me that Eric had won back his phone. Andie was tossed into the sand with a petulant jut of her lower lip, and he reached down to help her up with an apologetic glance. A moment later, Eric flew through the air and landed flat on his back on the sand.
“Behold!” Andie cried as she put one foot on his chest and flexed her arms. “I am the queen of the entire beach.” Then she began a slow three count while holding up her fingers.
Kara’s tone was not nearly so enthusiastic, but she wore a smile, nonetheless. “I appreciate the offer, but there are five of us, Nick.”
“Good. Eric can referee.”
She laughed at that and glanced toward the two dorks still wrestling for dominance. Eric had escaped and was now chasing Andie back toward us. “What if he wants to play?”
“Too bad,” I chuckled, and shook my head. “I want to play a game with my girls. He’ll just have to wait his turn.”
Kara lifted a brow at that and stood up. She brushed the sand away and tossed the device onto one of our towels.
“Your girls, huh?” The hand on her hip told me pretty clear how she felt about this particular development.
“Yup!” I grinned in answer, utterly shameless about it. “Mine, all mine.”
“I think you’re a bit unclear on the details, Nick.” She looked me up and down, her lips quirked with quiet amusement. The sun overhead reflected her hair in a vibrant shade of bright ruby, and I gawked a little when she tossed her locks with a shake of her head. The view was stunning. She noted the way I stared, and then her little smile grew heated.
“Oh?” I asked with a grin.
She slowly closed the distance between us until her curves rested against my side. Like moths to the moon, I felt myself tumbling into her pale blue eyes. She took my hand and pulled us both towards the volleyball net.
“You’re cute when you’re being possessive,” she whispered, “but I didn’t sign a contract just yet.”
Before I could respond to that, she gestured Andie and Eric to come along, and then pulled Aylin’s attention with a whistle.
“How about a friendly game?” Kara asked as she gestured to the volleyball in the sand. It was lying abandoned underneath the net. “Eric, can you referee?”
“Powered volleyball?” Andie bounced on her heels like an excited puppy. “Hell yes!”
“Yeah, I’ll ref!” Eric said as he snatched the ball and tossed it playfully up into the air. “No funny business!” He gave us all a stern look.
“Aylin, would you like to be my team?” Kara asked, and when the princess nodded, she grabbed Aylin’s wrist and took her over to one side of the court. “Nick, you and Andie get first serve.”
&nb
sp; “Aye, aye, Ms. Johnson.” I saluted her while standing straight at attention.
Aylin bit her lip, folding her hands anxiously in front of her. When Kara and Andie gestured for her to speak her mind, she sighed, and said, “I do not understand, Kara Johnson. What is... volleyball?”
Kara gently led Aylin to her side and explained the rules. Aylin’s eyes were wide and tentative. First, she was worried that she’d break the ball, then she worried that she couldn’t throw properly. She was so used to flying at all times, she claimed it was a struggle to even stay grounded.
“Well, then, it’s a powered match,” Andie announced. She smiled in reassurance to Aylin, who still looked worried. “It’s just a friendly game, sweetie. It’ll be fun, you’ll see.”
“I shall try,” Aylin said though she clearly still had her doubts.
Kara met that little slice of bravery with a gentle clap on Aylin’s back. “Alright. You and Andie can use your abilities, but since I don’t feel like inventing something to cheat at volleyball, Nick is staying a mere mortal for this one.”
That was news to me. “Wait, I am?”
“Yup.” She wagged her finger at me like I was tempted to cheat, anyway. “No powers, bucko.”
“You say that like I can’t keep up.” I laughed, happy for the challenge. I’d long learned to conserve my abilities and hadn’t intended to use them for this. “I hope you’re ready, though. I’m gonna kick your cute ass, regardless.”
Kara’s blush was very apparent, but she laughed all the same. She tossed her brilliant red hair behind her and gave me an arrogant scoff. “Not before I kick yours, Nick! We’ll have to work on your attitude.”
The first serve was Andie’s. Holding the ball steady, she spun her fist around like a helicopter blade to tease us, winding up a ridiculous shot with her rubbery arm. “You’re gonna have to go long, Aylin!”
Aylin nodded with an edge to her expression, apparently taking the game far too seriously. I wondered what games were like on her homeworld. Did they even have games? What did pretty purple glowing alien people do for fun? They could fly. Maybe their sports involved it?
I was so distracted with this line of thought I completely missed Andie finally serve the ball.
“Andie, please,” Kara cried as the ball went flying over the net and down the beach a pretty distance.
“Do not worry! I shall get it.” Aylin took off in a blur of purple and caught the ball instead of throwing it back.
“That’s a catch,” Eric called through cupped hands. He gestured at Andie again. “Toss it back to her, she’s on serve again!”
Aylin did so with a grimace, but Kara’s smile was warm when Aylin joined her again. “It’s alright, you’ll get the hang of it.”
“I am sorry to let you down, Kara Johnson.”
“Just Kara, remember? And seriously, don’t worry about it.”
“Gonna go long again!” Andie grinned from ear to ear. “Be ready!”
She threw the ball a bit faster this time, and again, Aylin chased it in flight. Instead of catching the ball, she knocked it back with a perfect bump. It went my way, and as I moved toward it, I couldn’t resist taunting Kara.
“You ready to lose yet?” I asked as I hit it bumped back over the net towards Kara with a grin.
“Not on your life, Nick!”
It was like we were five again. Though Kara did love her dolls, she loved her roleplay too, and often we ended up wrestling around in the woods behind our houses with all the innocence of children. Life was an endless competition between us. If she received something fancy from her parents, I wanted something too. If she won a game between us, I had to win the next one to retain my honor as a boy. It never really occurred to me that Kara was a bit more aggressive than the other girls I’d meet later in life. She was just as competitive as I was, and it brought a smile to know that her edge hadn’t died in her over the years.
Kara had to dive for the ball, but she bumped it back over the net all the same. It veered toward Andie, who didn’t even bother to move and merely stretched her fists out to catch the ball and bounce it toward Aylin pretty aggressively.
“That’s not even fair,” Kara scoffed. “You don’t even have to move!”
Andie beamed from ear to ear. “I am pretty amazing, aren’t I?”
“It’s allowed,” Eric reminded us all, from his position left of the net. “Powers are okay, remember?”
Aylin just barely managed to bump Andie’s ball back over the net, and she hovered an inch over the ground with a nervous expression. Again, Andie didn’t move and instead stretched her fists out to toss the ball. It headed toward Kara, who dove again to catch it and send it flying back my way. I didn’t even have to stop it, Andie stretched her limbs out around me and cackled like a maniac.
There was a lot of grumbling about Andie cheating and carrying me through the match, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t enthralled. I didn’t hide the hungry glances I cast back at her curvy body and the long blonde hair that flew this way and that as she worked her magic. Andie drank in all the attention and began to show off, twisting and contorting her body far more than necessary just to keep the ball going. Eventually, I stopped trying to play at all and just watched Andie work with my arms crossed.
“This is amazing.” I laughed. “You’re a goddess.”
“Wait ‘til you see what else I can stretch,” Andie shouted and bumped the ball back yet again with a stretch and twist of her arms. “I’ve still got some surprises left.”
Kara and Aylin didn’t appreciate the bluster and kept throwing the ball back more and more aggressively, but Andie hardly noticed them getting more difficult. The match went on for about ten minutes before Eric laughed and called a time out.
He gestured towards Andie. “Alright, alright, Queen Volleyball over here has an unfair advantage.”
“That’s what I said,” Kara snorted, though she chuckled in good nature. “You stretchy babe. You knew this would happen.”
“Thank you, thank you.” Andie laughed and bowed low. The ball fell at her feet. “I’ll take any donations to fund my throne. It will be installed right here on this spot at my earliest convenience.”
“Yeah, I’ll get right on that.” I laughed, clapping a little.
Aylin laughed too, and I was glad to know the tension had finally eased a little. “I greatly enjoyed that match. Perhaps next time I will best you, Andrea Baker.”
“It’s just Andie. And you’re on, missy.”
Eric wanted his fill, and round two was between Andie, Kara, Eric, and Aylin. Kara demanded Andie be on her side, and true enough, Andie once again dominated the match.
“How about this! My supersonic super powerful volleyball blast!” Eric cried when he finally got to serve the ball. He held it high, and as he did, sparks began to leap from its surface. Then he leapt high into the air and blasted it through the air with a bolt of electricity that left the smell of ozone sizzling in the air.
“You’re about as subtle as a freight train, buddy,” Andie said as the ball slammed into the sand at her feet with so much force it turned the sand into glass. “But if you think that will work a second time, you’re wrong.” She glanced at Kara and held out her hands. “Glove me, sweetcheeks.”
“On it!” Kara cried, and a split second later, Andie’s hands were clad in what looked like skintight black leather.
“Let’s try this again, Eric!” Andie clapped her hands together and grinned maniacally.
“Oh, you’re on!” Eric’s face twisted in determination as he grabbed the ball and sent power coursing through it. Lightning began to arc off it as he charged it with electricity. “Can you handle the heat? Because here it comes!”
“Bring it, Sparkles!” Andie replied before curling her fingers toward herself.
“Oh, it’ll get brought!” Eric cried as he flung it in the air and smashed it toward her like a sparking comet. “Ka-Chow!”
Andie took a quick step back, made a
fist, and then smashed the ball as hard as she could, causing an explosion of sparks a moment before the ball shot back over the net.
“I’ll get it,” Aylin called, and as she went for the ball, I realized she had no idea what was going to happen when she touched it.
“Wait, Aylin! No—” Eric called, and as he turned toward her, I dove toward the alien princess, tackling her out of the way a split second before she’d have hit the ball.
It was a good thing too because a second later the ball smashed into the ground and melted the sand around it into slag for three feet in every direction.
I lay there on top of Aylin as she stared open-mouthed at the smoking crater before turning her eyes to me.
“Y-you saved me,” she squeaked and swallowed hard. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” I replied as I tried to ignore how good her body felt underneath mine, “but it wasn’t a big deal.”
“I think it is.” Aylin stared at me carefully as I helped her to her feet. “I shall do my best to make it up to you.”
“Holy shit, Sparkles,” Andie said as she scampered over to us. “I didn’t know you had it in you.”
“I, well, er... thanks?” he said as he flushed red. “I guess I overdid it.”
“Nonsense,” Aylin said as she glanced at him. “It is I who was unprepared.” She nodded once. “Next time I will be a much better teammate. This I vow.”
“Well, that is gonna have to wait,” Kara said as she came over and clapped them both on the shoulder. “Because I think we should call it for now and have some snacks.”
“Yay, snacks!” Andie said, and when she looked to me, I smirked.
“Snacks do sound good.”
Kara and I sat on towels and watched the tides roll in again while Andie and Eric took Aylin over to the snow cone stand to pick out sugary treats for all of us.
“The beach was a good choice,” Kara said as she sat down beside me with a happy little sigh and smiled at me. “It’s peaceful here.”
I rested my arms on my knees and nodded to her. “I’ve always liked it here, to be honest.”
“Isn’t this where you landed?” she asked, though, with her brilliant mind, it was no doubt just for confirmation. “When you escaped your father’s island?”
