A blast of sand hit my cheek. I turned to find Cion standing there nonchalantly. He raised his hands to say he had no idea where that sand had come from.

I drove one end of my board into the sand and dropped behind it. I scooped up handfuls of sand and launched them his direction. Instead of running away or returning fire, he raced toward me. Just when I thought he’d collide with my board, he did a front flip, landing behind me. He drained a fistful of sand from his palm into my hair.

With the board at my back and Cion in front of me, there was only one move I could make. I lunged forward toward his knees, tackling him.

He retaliated by flipping me over and pinning me in the sand.

“Ha,” he said. “Got you.”

His eyes were as dark as a desert night and just as unnavigable. Strands of hair fell around his face. He whisked them back with a flip of his head. “You shouldn’t have left your back exposed.”

My chest heaved from exertion and the adrenaline still coursing through me. “I know.”

His eyes studied my face for a moment longer before he eased off me. I sat up quickly. I couldn’t bring myself to look at him. Around us, most of the boys had ceased their sand fight and returned to the dune.

The warmth of the sand spread through my body, and the longer I sat there next to Cion, the worse it burned. I stood up and grabbed my board. I refused to acknowledge that the heat didn’t go away once I left the sand behind. It flurried in my chest and tugged at my heart. I shoved it back down.

“Race you to the top,” I called over my shoulder as I sprinted upward. I didn’t wait to see if he would follow.

He still made it to the top before I did. I could have sworn he turned to make sure I was looking before he smiled, threw his board onto the sand, and hopped on. He surfed down the hill, his board spitting out sand behind it. He snapped his board back and forth to take him different directions. As he neared the bottom of the hill, he crouched lower, speeding up. He let his speed pull him up the next dune. He did a backward flip at the top. He landed and drifted down the rest of the hill with a grin on his face.

I rolled my eyes. If he could show off, then so could I. I tossed my board into the sand. I was now the only one at the top of the hill. At the bottom, everyone turned their faces toward me. Cion’s grin had thinned to a smirk. He motioned for me to go ahead, then he crossed his arms over his chest, waiting.

Waiting to see me fall, but I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction. At least I hoped I wouldn’t. I wet my lips with what little moisture I had and leapt onto the board.