Lucy didn’t join in, not in the warm-up and not in the first game either. Instead, she lingered at the edge of the court, her toes digging into the warm, uneven sand as the game started. Twice, she’d nearly wandered over to say hi to Skye. Once was under the guise of borrowing sunscreen and again to make some comment about the coconut water they were forced to drink. But each time she stopped herself. It felt too obvious, like she was one of those girls desperate for attention.
Instead, she kept her focus on the game.
Amy was teamed up with Alexis and Nova with Cleo. They were all taking it way too seriously. Amy had sand on her knees and kept yelling ‘mine’ even when it clearly wasn’t. Alexis was surprisingly agile. She lunged for a low save that sent her sunglasses flying. Nova and Cleo played with surprising coordination despite barely knowing each other.
“I’ll take it!” Amy shouted, picking up the ball that had hit the net and dropped to the sand. She walked behind the end line and served. The ball barely sailed over the net and veered sharply to the side.
Cleo lunged to save it, but her foot caught awkwardly in the sand. She stumbled, twisting her ankle, and let out a sharp wince as she collapsed onto one knee.
Nova was immediately at her side, looking gravely concerned. But the only one Lucy was concerned about was Skye. She was feeling a little insecure after last night’s ceremony and the fact that Skye hadn’t looked her way even once since.
She watched as Skye shifted under her parasol. Her sunglasses remained stuck on her face, which was a shame since Lucy wanted to see her eyes again. They were green, like a lush meadow. She hadn’t exactly stared into her eyes, but if she did, she was sure she’d see a thin rim of brown around the pupil.
“Alright Red Team, you’re down one, we need a sub!” someone called.
Lucy looked up at a man in khaki shorts waving her over.
Great. Apparently, she was on thered team.
Lucy hesitated, feeling the heat of the sun and a flush of nerves. She’d never played beach volleyball before. She was fairly coordinated, but the thought of embarrassing herself in front of Skye, and in front of millions of viewers, brought a lump to her throat.
Before she could make up her mind, Alexis tossed the ball toward her. “Serve,” she said sharply. Way too sharply, which probably meant that she was still keeping a grudge from yesterday. “Now.”
Lucy caught the ball awkwardly, took a deep breath, and stepped behind the end line. It was now or never. If she could impress Skye yesterday, surely she could impress her now.
She tossed the ball up and swung hard. Unfortunately, her palm slapped against it at a crooked angle, sending the ball veering sharply to the right. It went nowhere near the net. Instead, it rocketed sideways, arcing fast and high across the court before it crashed directly into the side of Skye’s face with a loud, unmistakable thwack.
Gasps erupted from the court.
Lucy froze, her arm still mid-swing. “Oh, fuck,” she breathed. Horror spread outward from her chest like heat. Then, without thinking, she was running.
“I’m so sorry,” she stammered when she reached Skye. “I didn’t mean to.”
Skye was now sitting on the sand as if the hit had taken the wind right out of her. Which it probably had. Lucy was surprised there wasn’t any blood considering how loud the blow had sounded. But she was also grateful. The last thing she wanted was to incapacitate the bachelorette.
“It’s fine,” Skye said, rubbing at her jaw. “I know you didn’t mean to.”
“I really didn’t.” Lucy dropped to a crouch beside her. Her hands hovered close to Skye’s knees, like she wasn’t sure if she should offer help or evaporate into the sand. “I’m so very sorry,” she said again. “I’ve literally never served a volleyball in my life. They make it look so easy, but it’s not. It’sclearlynot. I swear I was aiming for the net and not your face.”
“I believe you,” Skye said. She opened her mouth, wiggled her jaw from side to side, and then smiled. “Nothing’s broken. But it does feel like you’re trying to get back at me for last night.”
“I promise I’m not,” Lucy said, laughing in relief. “This is completely unrelated. Besides, that volleyball should’ve come with a warning. I swear it’s def—”
“Are you alright?” came Marla’s voice from behind, interrupting Lucy.
She turned back to see the executive producer jog over, her headset bouncing. Marla stopped beside them, hands on her wide hips as she glanced down at Skye. “Because that was hard to watch.”
“I’m fine,” Skye said, half-smiling. Though Lucy could tell it was somewhat forced. A hit like that had to hurt. “It was just an accident.”
Marla gave a small nod and then turned toward the rest of the beach where the other contestants were still scattered on the sand. “Alright, ladies,” she called out. “We’re cutting the game here. We’ll do the one-on-one date announcement, and then you girls can head back to the cabana to hydrate and touch up if you need to.”
Lucy straightened and brushed the sand off her knees. She was about to stick out her hand to help Skye up, but the woman was already pushing to her feet.
Great. First she had knocked her down, and now she couldn’t even help her up. The morning was off to a great start.Brilliant, Luce, just brilliant.Whatever chance she’d had at the one-on-one date with Skye had just gone out the window.
Marla nudged her head toward the group. “Why don’t you go join the others.”
Lucy nodded, feeling like a child sent to their room. But she obeyed and quickly jogged over to the others before she did something else to embarrass herself.
