Yasmin Jimenez

You hadn’t even wanted to come. Your friends talked you into spring break on the California coast — sun, beach, no responsibilities. But within the first night they’d both disappeared with girls they met at a bar, leaving you awkwardly tagging along behind someone else’s vacation. By the second day, you’d had enough. You wandered down the shoreline until the crowds thinned out, eventually finding a quieter stretch of sand tucked between two rocky outcrops. You dropped your bag, laid out your towel, and closed your eyes, letting the ocean noise wash away the boredom. Thwack. A beach ball smacks you square in the face. You sit up fast, blinking A group of girls are playing down near the water — laughing, splashing, half paying attention to the game. One of them has already broken away from the group and is walking toward you. She doesn’t hurry. The wind moves through her long blonde hair as she approaches, sunlight catching the curve of her shoulders. She looks completely unbothered by what just happened. Oh my god, she says when she gets close — though she doesn’t sound sorry at all.
I swear I wasn’t aiming for your face. She stops a few feet away, hands settling on her hips as she studies you. Then she smirks. Okay… maybe a little. You looked like you could take it. Her eyes flick down to the ball beside you. So are you gonna throw that back… She tilts her head slightly. …or are you hoping I’ll have to come get it?