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“Well, kiddo, I think we’ve done it,” Vi said, leaning back from the sand castle between her and Isha. They’d used all of Isha’s fancy tools—a collection of shaped buckets and shovels—and used damp sand to ensure everything stuck together just right. The castle stood half as tall as Isha with no less than six turrets, a moat stretching around it in a perfect circle. “Our best castle yet, hands down. What do you think, Ish?”
With hands on her hips and eyes narrowed, Isha studied the castle. She patted down a small lump on the left side. Then she grinned and nodded.
Isha reached to pat Jinx’s leg, and Vi called, “Get your nerdy little head out of that math book and come judge our castle.
Jinx, resting on a beach towel behind the castle, flipped her off before closing the book.When she spoke, it was addressed to Isha, “All done, little bird?”
Isha gestured to their masterpiece of a castle.
“I’ve never seen anything like this!” Jinx announced in the overly-dramatic way that Isha loved. “It looks marvelous! But as we know, all castles must be thoroughly inspected before being scored. Shall we begin?”
Vi whistled and Isha clapped.
Jinx leaned forward to study their creation, but before a single word of assessment could leave her lips, the castle crumpled.
The sand was reduced to nothing more than cushioning for a stray volleyball. The ball rolled a little further, bulldozing the last remaining turret, before stopping against Jinx’s knee. A path of destruction lay in its wake.
“Shoot, we forgot to make it volleyball proof,” Vi lamented, carefully watching Jinx and Isha’s faces, unsure who would react worse.
“I am so sorry!”
Vi’s gaze swiveled in the direction of the low, distinctly-feminine voice, lilted with accent.
The woman approaching them looked like she’d walked right out of an ancient myth, a beautiful sea creature that drew sailors to their deaths. Sunlight traced the sharp lines of her skin in gold, creating shadows under the dips of her curves. Ocean water dripped from the ends of her midnight-blue hair, the folds of her swimsuit, the tips of her fingers.
Vi hopped up, smoothly placing herself between the newcomer and a murderous Jinx. She dug her bare toes under the ball and kicked it up to her hands. “Hey, sand castles are meant to be destroyed. I’m sure it wasn’t intentional.”
“It wasn’t! My friend has terrible aim; that’s him, hiding behind his girlfriend,” she pointed toward the water before studying what was left of the castle. “Still, you must have worked hard on it.”
Isha was glaring daggers, closed fists buried in the sand. Jinx scowled right alongside her, “Brilliant deduction, Detective Castlecrusher. What would we ever do without you?”
Eyes as blue as the sea wide at the vitriol in Jinx’s voice. “Kiramman, actually. Detective Caitlyn Kiramman.”
“You’re a detective?” Vi asked, tossing the ball and catching it easily. “I bet ya meet all sorts of interesting people in a job like that.”
“I suppose.”
Vi smirked. “Bet you’ve never met someone like me, though.”
Now that Caitlyn’s attention was on her, Vi took a few steps to the side, leading her away from Jinx and Isha.
“I don’t believe I know enough about you to say either way. Though…” Caitlyn looked her over. “You look like you bench more than anyone I’ve met before.”
“Aw, thanks, cupcake.”
“ Cupcake ?”
“Ya know, because you’re so sweet.” Vi winked, tossing the volleyball from one hand to the other.
Caitlyn’s lips twitched, footsteps still matching Vi’s, drifting further and further from Jinx. She was still glaring, even as she helped Isha begin to rebuild.
Caitlyn reached for the ball, but Vi pulled it back at the last moment. “Are you going to give that back?”
“Depends,” Vi smirked. “Do I get something in return?”
“Depends. What would you like?”
With this sea goddess come to life? Everything.
“How about your number?”
When Caitlyn smiled, it was as bright as the sun. “I’ll give you my number, if you give me the ball and your name.”
“It’s Vi.” Vi tossed Caitlyn the ball, and she snatched it easily from the air. “But you can call me yours.”
Caitlyn hummed. “That might be a bit much for a stranger, but I’ll definitely be calling you for dinner.”
“I guess we gotta start somewhere.”
When Vi returned to Isha and Jinx, the former was heavily invested in rebuilding her castle. The latter scooped a handful of sand and threw it at Vi’s legs. “Finally remembered we exist? Thought we might have to call an Uber home.”
Vi plopped onto the sand, reaching for one of Isha’s specially-shaped buckets. Jinx’s castle-building had nothing on hers. “You’re welcome for saving you from another aggravated assault charge.”
Jinx snorted. “Yeah, it was so charitable of you to go flirt with a hot woman for an hour.”
“What can I say? I’m a good samaritan.” She nudged Isha. “Now, fill me in on the building plans, we’ve got a better-than-ever-before castle to build.”