“Me either. I had to be about six,sevennnn,” Todd teases, holding his hands out and seesawing them back and forth.
Gavin shakes his head and chuckles lightly. “Yeah, man, Carina has us doing all kinds of crazy shit this week.”
He doesn’t seem the least bit excited about it, but then he perks up. “Hey, she told me you brought your girlfriend. Is she coming to build with us today?”
“Nah, she’s not. She’s got a headache. I told her to rest for tonight.”
“Shiiit,” Gavin drags out. “I would love a day to rest. I know everything Carina has planned this week is a mile long.”
“Same here!” James admits, walking beside me.
“When you think about it, how often do we get to do things like this in Hawaii?” Gavin asks joyfully. We all look at him like we don’t give a fuck one way or another. “But I mean, this wedding is about her, right?”
James and Vernon scoff in sync. “Man, it’s about you too.”
“It’s your wedding just as much as it is hers, ” I add.
Todd rolls his eyes. “I can’t stand when men say that. When I get married, I’m coming down the aisle on a full dance routine. I want a fog machine, pigeons. Everything.”
“Pigeons?” Gavin asks in confusion.
We all give Todd a baffled look.
“Y’all need to do your research,” he quips and waves us off.
We start the walk to our destination. Teams are already gathered in their groups, setting up around giant mounds of sand with plastic shovels, buckets, seashells, and parasols stuck in the ground. The resort has signs posted reading, “Sandcastle Showdown”, and there’s even a judging booth in the distance. This feels like a damn kindergarten field day.
Each group gets a roped-off square of sand and a labeled sign with a team number.
We’re team 38.
“Okay, so what kind of castle are we making?” I ask, looking at the small hill of sand.
“Does it have to be a castle?” Todd asks.
“I mean, that’s what the sign says,” James points out.
“Not necessarily. Maybe just something built from sand. I’m thinking Goku from Dragon Balls.”
“Nah, we aren’t doing any of that,” Gavin cuts them off. “We need something masculine.Manly.” He clenches his fist.
“Right. Cause nothing screams masculinity like aggressively shaped sand,” James mutters.
“You boys ready to get your ass beat?” A voice shouts from behind us.
It’s Carina. Her bridesmaids trail behind her, wearing oversized sunglasses and dressed way too nice for a day of playing in sand. They spill onto the beach like it’s a runway, claiming the square next to ours. Jaylah scans the setup and then looks at me. “Where’s Marley? I thought she’d be here helping us smoke you guys.”
“The fact that you sound so confident about beating us ishysterical,” laughs Todd.
I realize Danielle and Jaylah are both looking my way, waiting for an answer.
“Oh, uh, Marley’s not feeling well. She’s taking a nap, so she can be good and ready for tonight.”
“Ah, so wewillsee her again tonight,” Danielle exclaims.
“Yeah, you will.” And I feel myself getting a little excited, too.
“Welcome, everyone, to our fifth annual sandcastle showdown!” A woman with a sun visor shouts excitedly through a megaphone. Her turquoise hat and matching polo shirt bear the resort's logo. There’s a swarm of us here, and she stands tall on a platform, speaking into the megaphone. “My name is Asia, and I just want to go over the rules of the sand castle contest.”
