Knock Knock

About a half hour after the soccer ball incident, I found myself sitting on my blanket once more, but this time I was sitting next to Nathalie, the girl who had beamed Brayden in the head. The guys were playing soccer with Nathalie’s friends, but I wanted to just relax and enjoy the sun as much as I could. The radio next to me was playing Starships by Nicki Minaj, and Nathalie hummed along as she sprawled out in the sun, her tank top riding up just high enough to reveal a sliver of her pale midriff. She gave out an annoyed groan as her phone went off, blasting Cake by Rihanna, and I turned away to watch the game, adjusting my large aviators as I did so. Brayden tripped over the soccer ball and I snorted.

“Hey guys, Mike is here. John, wanna help me haul the shit down here?” Nathalie said, standing up and tucking the phone into the pocket of her jean shorts.

“Sure. We’ll be right back guys, we gotta go grab some stuff,” John said. John was Nathalie’s friend. He was a little shorter than me, and he had short brown hair and a thin beard to match. He seemed to be a little awkward around Nathalie, but I wasn’t all that surprised. He wasn’t exactly the most confident guy out there it seemed.

“What are you guys getting?” Zac asked, nosy as ever.

“Our sticks and stuff,” John replied.

“Sticks?” Brayden asked, failing to stop the ball and running after it before it hit a kid.

“Yeah, for beach hockey,” John shrugged. That got my attention.

“Beach hockey?” I asked.

“It’s a tradition. We play every summer. It’s a pain in the balls to get everything down here, but it’s so much fun,” Nathalie said before turning to head down the path to the street.

“I’ll help you guys!” Sean chirped before running off with them. They were around the same age as him, so I think he was glad to have somebody under 20 to hang out with for once.

“So what do you think of her?” Matt asked, sitting down next to me and grabbing a water bottle out of our cooler.

“Who?” I asked.

“Nathalie. She’s kind of cute,” Matt said, twisting the lid off of the bottle.

“Yeah, I guess so. I don’t really know her though,” I said with a shrug.

“Forgot you’re the personality type of guy,” Matt smirked, and I rolled my eyes.

Nathalie, Sean, and John returned a few minutes later with a lanky, knobby nosed kid with reddish brown hair, carting a wagon loaded with hockey sticks, a net, and goalie pads.

“Do you guys have extras?” I asked, standing up and stretching.

“We always bring extra sticks…people always seem to wanna join in,” the new kid said, and I smiled.

“Sweet, count me in,” I said.

“Who’s playing goal?” Matt asked, standing up and inching towards the wagon.

“Me!” Nathalie said defensively, and Matt almost cringed.

“She’s protective of her pads,” the new kid said quietly, and I nodded.

“Wait, you’re going to play in that?” Matt asked, pointing to her tank top and shorts.

“Nope, I’ll be playing in this,” Nathalie said, ripping her tank off to reveal a black and red bikini top. Matt’s jaw dropped and I felt my eyes grow wide, but then she laughed and pulled a black and red jersey out of the wagon as well.

“Oh no, not a Devils fan,” Coots groaned, and her friend nodded in agreement.

“You have no idea. I’m Mike by the way,” the new kid said, offering Sean his hand. Coots shook it before grabbing a stick out of the wagon.

Sand flew everywhere as we all fought for control of the street hockey ball. People had crowded around us, cheering as we checked each other into the sand and tried to score on Nathalie. For somebody who was so short, she was incredibly fast and incredibly good. I was only able to get one ball into the net in the two hours we played. By the end of the game, Nathalie was drenched in sweat and looked like she was about to keel over.

“Help me get this shit off,” she gasped, ripping the helmet off. Her hair, which had been in a ponytail, clung to her head and neck, and Mike rushed forward to help her start taking off her pads. As soon as the pads had been shed she ripped off her shorts and sprinted for the water, screaming as she dove into the cold waves.

“She’s a bit weird,” Mike chuckled as he tossed her jersey into the wagon and ran in after her.

The rest of the day was rather uneventful. We decided that Nathalie and her friends were a cool group, so we made plans to hang out with them at the beach the next day before heading home. I grimaced as I poked at the sunburn I had gotten on my shoulders, and sprawled out on the couch to relax for a little bit before we hit the boardwalk.