Free Foreshadow by Brea Essex

existing fear of being on the pier. We stood there for quite some time, wrapped in each other’s arms, staring out at the ocean.
    Andrei leaned back. “Want some coffee? I know the manager. I bet I could get us a discount.” He winked at me.
    “Sure. Coffee sounds great.”
    We walked arm in arm to the coffee shop, where Andrei made us lattés and we sat by one of the windows overlooking the beach.
    He told me he had come by the shop earlier and stored some towels for us in the back room. After we finished our coffee, he grabbed them, and we headed down to the beach. It wasn’t too crowded, which amazed me on such a nice day. We found a good spot to lay our towels out without too much difficulty. I sat on one of the towels and took off my shoes. Andrei, however, remained standing. He grinned down at me, his eyes dancing with barely suppressed mirth. He wrapped one of his sun-bronzed hands around my paler wrist and hauled me to my feet. I stumbled, and he caught me against his chest. “Let’s get in the water,” he murmured against my hair.
    I pulled back a little. “I don’t think so.”
    He laughed at me. “Why not? Why did we come to the beach if we weren’t going in the water?”
    “I’m afraid of deep water,” I confessed, a little embarrassed.
    “You sure are afraid of a lot of things, my sweet Rae.”
    “I guess I am.”
    “Well, we’re going to change that.” He swept me up in his arms and carried me toward the surf. I cried out in surprise and locked my arms around his neck so I wouldn’t fall. I kicked my legs and struggled against him, fearing he would dump me in the water while I still had all my clothes on. I didn’t relish the idea of spending the whole day soaked.
    Andrei ran into the surf, still holding me in his arms. He faked as though he intended to drop me. I shrieked and tightened my grip around his neck. He spun me around a few times. “Please don’t drop me! I still have all my clothes on, and I don’t swim that well!” I cried.
    He let me protest for a while longer, then carried me out of the water and back to our towels. He watched as I removed my jewelry, my blouse, and my shorts. I folded the clothing precisely and placed it on top of my jewelry. I faced him.
    “Ready for the water?” he asked.
    I took a deep breath and nodded. “I suppose.”
    “Although,” he responded with a lopsided grin, “I could just stay here all day and look at the view.” He looked at me appreciatively.
    It took me a second to realize his meaning. When it dawned on me, I slapped him on the arm. “Stop it!” I commanded, ignoring his laugh. “Now, since you’re so insistent upon going in the water, let’s go. But I’m not going in too deep, and if any kelp brushes up against me, I’m getting out. Kelp grosses me out.”
    He gave me a strange look. “Kelp grosses you out? But you’re vegetarian. Don’t you eat kelp?”
    “No, I don’t. I don’t like the taste. Besides, it’s all slimy to begin with.”
    He shook his head and smiled at me. “You certainly are one strange girl, Rae.” He held out his hand to me. “Shall we?”
    I took his proffered hand, and we walked toward the ocean. Halfway there, he stopped and scooped me up again. He didn’t put me down until he had waded into the sea. The water only came up to my knees.
    Later, as we lay out on our towels to dry off, our perfect afternoon was interrupted. I had my eyes closed, lying next to Andrei when I became aware of a presence next to me. A shadow fell across my face, and I cracked one eye open. I sighed at the sight of Bianca, who I liked to refer to as my nemesis. She considered herself the queen of the school and treated the rest of us as though we were her royal subjects. She acted a million times worse than Tanis. If I ever hated anyone, it would be Bianca. Just like Logan lived to annoy me, she lived to torture me and make my life miserable.
    I sat up and stared at Bianca, with her perfectly highlighted blonde