“Got what?”
“Heart eyes, dude.” Diego this time. “You gonna be able to focus for the comp, or is your little local witch gonna distract you?”
“Hell, with how RipTide’s setup is coming apart at the seams, there might not be a comp. Oh, mine.” Tanner paddled over the crest of the wave and was gone before I could respond.
They’d had to move the tents off the north shore last night. With no geotechnical report to go off and another tent collapsing, insurance had made the call. Derek had been ripping out his hair, while I’d sat in the back of the meeting with my smile bolted on, thinking about the messages I’d sent her that morning.
el_tiburón
have those pics you wanted
beachbruja
i didn’t ask for pics
I sent her the selfie I’d taken in the surprisingly flattering lightof the motel bathroom, showing off my back muscles and the scratches she’d left all over them.
el_tiburón
your canvas is ready
I’d greatly enjoyed watching the three dots pop up and disappear multiple times before Tanner had called me out to the waves.
Diego was still looking at me. Could dolphin shifters read minds?
“Thought you’d be happy to have a chance at winning this one,” I shot back.
He shrugged. “You’ve been different since we came to Crescent Cove.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know…happy?”
“Nothing like a comeback to cheer a guy up.”
He shrugged again, but then a visible shiver ran up his spine.
“You good, man?” I asked.
“I know we’ve got that witch’s magic in the waves, but…something doesn’t feel right.” He cocked his head at me. “You feel it, right?”
I had. When I’d first swum into this cove, it was charged, the old magic beneath it permeating every drop of the ocean. Now, floating in the lineup waiting on a set, there was a new feeling, like static. Low, easy to ignore at first, but it was getting louder—a noise I’d never heard in the deep before. At first, I’d passed it off as all the competition traffic and maybe a shipping lane moving too close. It might have been Selena’s mother’s magic, but…
No, the ocean wasn’t the only thing that had changed. Crescent Cove had pulled me in with Selena, the taste of her blood, the power sleeping in it. Now her power was turned up to eleven, but it was different than that first night. Like it wasn’t slotting into place properly.
“It’s like something is out of alignment with this whole damn place.”
Diego nodded. But another set came up, and he took it beforeI was even moving. Fuck, I was distracted. I waited through one, then two more, before taking the wave, ignoring the static licking at the edge of my board.
We camein from the waves on the north shore, and I saw three sets of cones with bright red flags marking the turtle nests again. Just beyond, near the boardwalk where there was the most foot traffic, was a new regulation beach volleyball net.
A small chalk sign had been erected, covered in handwriting I now associated with smoothies and ornery seagulls.
Sign up for Crescent Cove’s annual Beach Volleyball Tournament! All proceeds go to preserving the local turtle population. $500 grand prize.
A QR code had been slapped on below.
Sneaky little witch.For the turtles,my ass.Okay, so this was still supporting the turtles, but I had her number now.
