“We’re oil and water,” she explained finally.“I don’t want to talk about him anymore. Let’s play ball.”
Bea and Charlotte were fully outfitted, andnow adjusted the jets on their air boots. Then Bea glanced at Jenniand asked sarcastically, “Military rules? Civilian rules? Or wimprules?”
“Drop dead,” Jenni muttered.
Zia arched an eyebrow. “She has a right to beafraid of the water. She almost drowned once, remember? So backoff. We’ll play civilian rules, but modified so no one hits theball over the water. If you do, your team loses a point.”
“Why bother playing on the beach if you can’tgo in the water?” Charlotte demanded. Then she added morediplomatically, “You can be on my team, Jenn. If it goes over thewater, I’ll field it. Okay?”
Jenni nodded and said, “Thanks.” Then sheshot Zia a look that told her that she wanted Zia to be on theirteam too.
So Zia announced, “Me, Jenn and Charlotteversus the rest of you. Fifteen-foot height limit for shots. And nomore than fifteen feet offshore either. If it goes higher orfarther, you can use your magnetic retriever without penalty.Otherwise, it’ll cost you one point to use it.”
“What about boot stalls?”
“The first is free. But if it happens morethan once, you’re out of the game. And if one team has threestalls, they forfeit. So”—she gave Charlotte a pretend glare—“Ihope you got yours tuned up.”
“Don’t worry. I’m ready for some seriousaction.”
“Great.” Zia peeled off her beach robe sothat she was dressed like her friends—bikini, air boots, controllergloves, and a lightweight harness-chute that would self-release ifboth boots stalled at an altitude over fifteen feet.
Activating her jets, she slowly elevated to aheight of five feet above the sand. Her friends did likewise, threefacing three, then Charlotte served the first ball—straight up.Merry grinned and zoomed upward for it, and predictably hit it outover the water.
“I hate them,” Jenni complained underher breath to Zia.
“Stay here! I’ll hit it back your way, Ipromise!”
Zia raced for the ball and hit it back towardshore just as it was about to land on the surf. But Bea was rightthere, hitting it even farther out, almost to the limit. Zia knewJenni was probably panicking, certain that one or more of the girlswould have a stall and end up in the water. And so she hit it backtoward shore again, then raced up to Bea and confronted her inmidair, glaring. “That’s enough!”
“Yell at your own teammate,” Bea suggested,and Zia turned in time to see that Charlotte had hit the ball backover the water.
Zia felt a surge of anger, and would havezoomed toward the ball and batted it with all her might, but Jennisurprised her by heading for it herself—right over the water. Ziadidn’t dare interfere, for fear of a collision, so she held herbreath and prayed that her friend would stay strong.
As though reading her mind, Jenni sent her aproud smile, and Zia laughed out loud with relief, then racedtoward the beach to keep Charlotte from doing anything obnoxious.She was almost there when the sputtering sound of a stalled airboot made her whirl around, instantly alert and praying it wasn’tJenni’s.
But of course it was. This was that kind ofweek, apparently.
She didn’t have to see Jenni’s eyes widen toknow that her friend was terrified, so she swooped over to her,grabbing her arm just as she started to fall toward the water.“Gotcha! Just hold my hand and let your good boot do all the work.Once we’re on the beach, we’ll kick their asses. Okay?”
Jenni gulped and nodded, and they headedback, reaching land just as Jenni’s second boot went into a stalland they tumbled to the sand.
Zia was on her feet in an instant, stridingtoward Charlotte. “Okay, riffhead. Now we play by Alluvanrules.”
“Huh? What does that mean?”
“Just you and me. A battle to thedeath—warrior versus warrior. No other rules.”
“To the death?” Charlotte laughed nervously.“I assume you mean sudden death? First one to score a point?”
“Either way, I win. Let’s go.”
They jetted up—but to ten feet thistime. Then Zia served a ball straight out over the water. Charlottefielded it perfectly, and the tempo quickened, with shot after shotbeing fired with precision. Adrenaline fueled Zia’s moves, makingher feel invincible, as though she could play this way forever.
Charlotte on the other hand was visiblyrunning out of wind, a situation she confirmed when she used hermagnet to help field one particular unreachable shot.
“You said no rules,” she reminded Ziabreathlessly. “So magnets are legal.”
“No problem. I can play all day at this pace.Can you?”
Charlotte groaned, then served the ballagain, and Zia fielded it, jamming it back so hard it glanced offCharlotte’s forehead. To her credit, Charlotte still managed toswat it with her paddle with enough force that it traveled therequisite minimum of ten feet.
Zia pretended she was about to ram it backtoward Charlotte, knowing that the girl would recoil, and when shedid, Zia sent it backward, over her own shoulder and flying twentyfeet out to sea.
Charlotte just stared after it, chagrined.“You win. Call it back.”
Zia activated her magnet and retrieved theball. Then she floated back to shore and joined the rest of thegirls, where they had spread out on towels and were sipping icedjuice.
“Yay, Zee!” the twins cheered.
Bea was clapping her hands too. “Youslaughtered her.”
“That was the best match ever,” Jenniagreed.
Charlotte landed and walked up to Jenni.“Sorry I was such a bitch. I couldn’t resist. But if ZeeZee hadn’tsaved you, I would have. You know that, right?”
Jenni nodded. “I know. Consider itbygone.”
Satisfied, Zia pulled off her boots and begantoweling off. She was dying for an iced juice, but wasn’t about tolet her friends know how depleted she was. Better to let thembelieve the victory had been easy for her.
“Hey, Zee, look who’s coming. Your newboyfriend.”
“Huh?” She looked up, squinting into the sun,then groaning in confusion at the sight of Rem Stone coming towardthem in shorts and a sleeveless shirt with a duffel bag slung overhis shoulder. He looked tanned and refreshed, as if he didn’t havea care in the world.
By contrast, she knew she looked sweaty anddroopy, so she quickly sifted her fingers
