The In Betweens

Three Sheets Astern

It was exactly as Asher had expected except for the size of the herd. At once he was faced with the gravity of the situation, physically grown adults standing in waste deep water, singing the newest country summer anthem at the top of their lungs. Most burnt to a purple red. The rest in various stages of inebriated disaray. Empty plastic fireball bottles littered the beach beside crumpled beach towels, Yetis half filled with melting ice and Jack Daniels collecting sand and threatening to be left behind. Children dared not play here, they had noted the waters unusual warmth and felt the abrasion left by a drunkenly thrown football. They had in fact wrestled for themselves a solid acre sized parcel of land that ran in a narrow strip from the dunes to about fifteen feet into the surf. "The land of the lost," Asher dubbed it at first sight. He wondered how many were original members and how many were local opportunists that had joined the party of drunken sun seekers.
Asher guessed at eight belonging to the original party with four local additions. He could easily determine the difference between the long vowels of Appalachia and the local colloquialisms and slow draws of Southern Georgia. The different stages of tan were also easily discernible between locals and visitors. The locals sporting even nut brown tans. The visitors displaying splotchy red and white. The only exception being Danielle . He saw her now, her natural deep tan pailed even the locals . He admired  the high cheek bones,  sparkling eyes,  and ever darkening skin contrasted against the ruffles of the white bikini. He could taste the salt of an unsuspected kiss employed stealthily beneath the ear lobe. Followed by another and hands brushing across a diamond studded belly button on their way to places further south.
    "Asshat!" Asher was snapped back to the present by the shrill reality of April's voice. "Oh... Ashole?! Did you you see someone you thought you recognized? I'm right here." She stood on her tiptoes trying to break Asher's gaze and pull it down to her height. "When did you get in? Coming, I'll introduce you!" April turned to run grabbing unsuccessfully at Asher's hand. She stumbled, briefly regained composure, and then lost it entirely splaying face first in the hot drifting sand. April expelled A dull "phi...t" disturbing the sand in front of where she'd fallen.
Asher quickly reached down to check her and to help her up at the same time. "Up with you, Ape! I I don't think anyone noticed." Asher swiped the sand stuck to the back of her pink arms. "On with your introductions, but I think I know pretty much everyone from the bar." He caught a look from April. It wasn't meant to be caught and said I don't care why you think you're here. I will have you. He acted as If he'd missed the unrepresented look and spoke quickly. "How bout you introduce me to Mark and Sherry. I don't know them that well, and I don't know the locals at all." April caught herself and tried quickly to morph what her eyes had betrayed into her expected sarcastic smirk and eye roll, but there it was unmistakable and badly timed considering that she knew how Danielle felt about him.
Ash tried to shake the look he was certain he'd seen, but only ended up replaying it in his head from every possible angle. Maybe he had read too much into it? It could have just been the way the sun reflected the light off the sand, a thousand things really, but there it was again, that look that said more than just 'stay away from my friend' and more 'just forget about her. She's bad for you in the best ways. The ways I want.' And so he was left a little confused a little more certain than before, and much more conflicted about what had been clear moves towards Danielle's desires.
    April set out in long strides, trying to place a few feet of distance between Asher and herself, "Look who I found lurking in no mans land." April said with a smirk and a forced roll of the eyes. Asher grinned broadly as Dani looked up from her waste deep position in the gentle surf. There were those diamond blue eyes Asher had dreamt about a thousand times. April was forgotten about for the moment, replaced by two tan legs and arms in the hot Georgia sun.
"Assey! You came!" Dani was out of the water in three long strides, holding her Insulted thermos out at shoulder height, half for balance, partly to keep from sharing her adult beverage with the ocean. "You came, you came." The last two words were lost in the t-shirt Asher had draped over his tan shoulders.
She grabbed him, firmly locking two hot brown arms around the small of his back. The top of her forehead struggled to reach Ashers' chin. He loved her height and leaned her weight against him so she could be lifted, and a delicate kiss be stolen from her now exposed forehead. "You came" she relaxed the words into his chest this time. April snapped her head forward regaining composure, the most of which had gone on unnoticed.

                                 O|||||||O

    "We all need some shots! Ash needs a triple to catch up!" April shouted from her new position in the receding surf, "and supper, somebody with some sense left think about what we need to eat. We are just cranking up!" April hip checked one of the local girls. The local girl had apparently met her limit and hit the water backside first, holding her drink aloft as she fell. One of the bar patrons, Lynn, helped her up and out of the surf.
    "Hey Asher gimme a hand?! We've got to retrieve some more fireball and ice, maybe give there fading locals a ride back towards civilization." Lynn motioned toward the local, "she's three sheets starboard, and I didn't come here to babysit". Asher agreed, reluctantly, to help Lynn. He really didn't like the idea of leaving her alone with the drunken Ape, but it definitely wouldn't be the first time his hand was forced in that direction. He decided at that moment to guide her away from the party as soon as he and Lynn returned from their errand.