“Oh yeah?” I chimed over my shoulder. “Talk about finding a needle in a haystack. I mean, what do they expect? It’s the fucking ocean; there’s going to be sharks in it. Besides, what do they think hunting this one shark is going to do? Make Golden Coast a safer place?” I scoffed, annoyed by the stupid idea.
“Not with the Angel of Death still running around.” Despite being roommates and lifelong best friends, Cherri had no idea the infamous killer she mentioned was, in fact, me.
She rolled to my side, gripping my arm for stability. “You ready?”
“Let’s boogie.” Together, we swayed our legs and skated down the street in the direction of the beach. In the back of my mind, I secretly hoped that by going to the beach, we’d somehow run into Reef, though that was probably just wishful thinking.
“Man,it’s such a stellar day today, isn't it?” Cherri shouted, standing on the sandy beach in her golden sunflower colored bikini, a matching silky hair scarf tied across her head and a cute pair of vibrant, red heart sunglasses shielding her eyes from the beaming sun. “I’m so glad I let you convince me to come out today.” She placed her hands on her hips, breathing in the salty air. “I don’t know how you could ever want to leave this behind. Life in Golden Coast is so peaceful.”
I looked down at my hands, brushing the sand off my palms as my mood saddened.Not all of us had a good life here. I scrunched my nose, moving the white rimmed, cat eye sunglasses further up my face.
“Hey, foxy mamas.” A random man approached us, obviously drunk and feeling himself. “Woah, gnarly.” He pointed to the bite mark on my stomach, fully on display, as my red bikini barely covered me. “You two ladies want to join us in a game of chicken?” He pointed to a group of young adults just a few feet away, drinking and laughing, enjoying the summer afternoon.“We could use two more people.” He smiled, bags hanging from his eyes as if he hadn’t slept in days.
I looked up at Cherri, wondering what she thought. She glanced down at me, sighing. “What the hell.” She threw her arms up. “Let’s do this.”
“Right on!” The guy clapped his hands, elated. “Hey, they’re in!” he yelled back to his friends, who all clamored in excitement. “Come on.” He held his hand out to me as I hesitated before accepting it. “You two are on my team. Let’s kick some ass.”
We all slowly waded into the water, the salt lightly stinging my wound as we gathered around. Cherri climbed onto the shoulders of the guy’s friend. “You better not drop me, or I’ll kick your ass.” He laughed, nodding as he helped her up. “Come on, Delilah, let’s take them down!” she cheered, her competitiveness on full display.
I laughed as the guy helped me onto his shoulders. “Try not to get too comfortable,” he teased. The statement was slightly off putting, but I tried to brush it off, focused on just having a good time. “Alright! Losers buy the winning team a round of shots at the bar! Now, you guys ready?” The other two women nodded, cheering as they readied themselves. “Let’s go!”
We all waded through the water, wrestling the other team, laughing as the men splashed one another. Cherri shouted playful threats to the ginger woman in front of her, wrestling her. She yanked her arms back, knocking the woman into the water. “Yes! One down, one to go! Get her, Delilah!” she shouted, high fiving her partner between her legs. My hands grappled with the brunette woman in front of me, my thighs tight around the man’s neck as we all laughed and playfully fought one another. My side ached, the rough movements pulling my still-healing wound. “Take her down, Delilah!” Cherri shouted, shaking her fists in the air.
“Hey, what’s that?” I shouted, pointing to the water behind her.
“Oh no, I’m not falling for that!” The woman laughed, leaning closer.Shit, I need to be smarter.
“Oh my God, is that a shark?” I shouted, faking my concern.
“What?” The man between her thighs whipped around, the woman losing her balance as the two fell into the water.
“Yes!” Cherri cheered, hooting and hollering her excitement. “We win!” She pointed to the losing team as they splashed the water with a pissed off attitude. “You fuckers are buyingusa round of shots.” She stuck her tongue out and danced around, still perched perfectly on the man’s shoulders.
“Good game, Delilah,” the man shouted to me as I held his hands for stability. He helped me down into the water, refusing to let go as I tried to swim towards Cherri. “Hey, what do you say we wade a little further out and celebrate?”
I couldn’t help but burst out laughing. “Oh, you’re serious?” I asked, noticing his upset face. “No, I think I’ll pass, but thanks for the offer.” I snickered, attempting to swim away.
“Not so fast.” He yanked me back, trying to grab onto my body. “I think you just need a little bit of convincing.” He tried to lean forward and kiss me, his breath heavily soaked in alcohol.
My hand pushed his face back, my feet kicking his gut as I lunged away from him in the water. “I said no!” Water splashed nearby, as if someone was swimming around us. I looked around, annoyed by the drunk and horny man, noticing Cherri stepping back on the sandy beach. “I’m going to head back and join my friend,” I said, swimming away, my cheerful mood ruined by his advances.
“Your loss, bitch,” he spat, remaining in the water, only slightly offended by my refusal.What a prick.
I swam away, quickly reaching the beach, and stomped towards Cherri. “Everything okay?” she asked, glancing over mydripping shoulders at the man as he drifted further off in the water.
I picked up my towel and began wrapping it around my body as I looked over back to where he was. “Yeah, just another drunk beach dweller trying to get laid.”
“Ew. Those are the worst,” she drawled, crossing her arms as we stared at the man. “What is it about the beach that makes people so…”
“Horny?” I smiled.
“Yes!” we giggled.
“I guess it’s just magical.” Our eyes returned to the drunk man when Cherri dropped her arms. “Oh shit.” Her face sank as we both noticed something big moving swiftly in the water. “Is that—”
The dark fin pierced the surface, confirming her question. “A shark,” I stated. The two of us stood there, frozen with fear and shock, watching as the shark aimed directly for the man, who was completely unaware of what hunted him.
“Hey!” Cherri screamed, waving her arms in an attempt to catch his attention. “Hey! Shark! Shark!”
