“Not us. No. But they’re no fan of pirates, so I’m certain they’d be more than happy to take a chunk out of Hook and his minions.”
“If they don’t like pirates, why were the pirates here earlier?”
Peter shrugs as Curly splashes him again. “No idea.”
“Fine, well turn around!” I motion at both of them. “No peeking.”
“The mermaids don’t care if we look,” Curly protests.
“Do I look like a frickin’ mermaid?”
“Take off your clothes, and I can tell you for certain,” Peter returns.
“Shut up and turn around!”
“Fine.” They both spin away from me and begin a race to the opposite shore.
Once they’re far enough away, I pull off my sweatshirt then peel off my jeans. The hems are crusted with dirt, and I figure I mayas well try to wash them in the ocean while I’m here. Once I’m in my bra and panties, I walk to where the water meets the sand and dip my toe in. It’s not particularly warm, but it’s not freezing either. It’s like when the city pool first opens in the spring, the water bearable if not entirely enjoyable.
I make up my mind and stomp out through the water until I can bend my knees and float a little. “How am I going to get this clean?” I ask my clothes, which don’t bother to answer, so I swish them around in the water and rub the fabrics against each other in the hopes it’s actually doing something. Once I’ve done that for a while, I scamper back up to the beach and lay them out on the sand, then hurry back into the water.
“Be brave,” I tell myself and glance over my shoulder. Curly and Peter are wrestling on the opposite shore, their yells louder than the sound of the surf crashing on the other side of the stone wall that keeps this inlet relatively serene. Once I’m in deep enough, I strip off my panties and bra and give them the same half-assed washing, then throw them as hard as I can onto the beach. They land askance on my jeans, but that’s good enough for me. Hopefully they’ll be somewhat dry when I get back to them. If not, it’ll be a wet slog back to the cave.
I sink below the water, my eyes shut tight, and run my fingers through my hair, freeing the strands and letting them float around me. Then I surface and smooth it all back from my face.
“I think you already smell better.” A twin swims past me so fast I yelp.
“Don’t be an ass, Foy.” Coy splashes toward me from the shore, and I spin quickly when I see he is utterly, completely naked. Nothing left to my imagination whatsoever.
“You okay?” Coy slides through the water until he’s in front of me, his bottom half now thankfully obscured by the dark water.
“Yeah, it’s just that … It’s just I saw …”
His brows lower as he scans the beach behind me. “What? What did you see? A pirate?”
I burst out laughing, and his gaze snaps back to me.
“Not a pirate. No.”
He lets out a sigh of relief. “Good.”
“Never mind. Doesn’t matter what I saw.”Even if it was giant.
“Okay. Hey, want to race to the other side?” He cups some water in his hand and runs it through his hair, slicking it back.
“I’m not much of a swimmer. You’d beat me easy.”
“What if I do it with one hand behind my back?” He dutifully places his right hand behind him. “How about that?”
I look at the opposite shore and try to gauge the distance. I’m not a strong swimmer, but I can definitely make it that far.
I move past him, pretending to think about his offer. “Hmmmm. I don’t know.” I keep going, getting farther from where he’s treading water. “I’m not much of a racer, to be honest.”
“Come on, it’ll be fun.”
“Well, I guess if you really want to …” Now I’m a decent head start away.
“Yeah.” He bobs up and down in the water, the moon glinting off his wet hair. “Let’s do it.”
