It wasn’t entirely unusual for people to read at the beach. There was something refreshing about the warm sun and salty air that made reading more relaxing than usual. So it wasn’t like Sombra was judging the woman for reading. It was just that she’d been there for hours now, clearly resisting her friends’ attempts to get her to muck about in the water.

Sombra debated whether she should approach the woman. On the one hand, she was unfairly pretty, but on the other, her firm rebuffs to her friends would probably be extended to a stranger too. As she deliberated, she continued to watch the woman read.

“What’s bothering you?” Amelie asked.

“What makes you think there’s something bothering me?” Sombra shot back, immediately defensive. Amelie did not remove her sunglasses, but Sombra got the distinct feeling she was rolling her eyes.

“You’ve been tapping for the past five minutes,” Amelie pointed out.

“Sorry,” Sombra said, pulling her fingers away from where they had been drumming a beat on the beach chair. “I’m just thinking.”

“What are you thinking about?”

“Nothing important,” Sombra replied, as she continued to watch the woman. Amelie finally pushed her sunglasses up onto her forehead, turning in her own beach chair to shoot Sombra a mildly unimpressed look.

“Is it a girl?”

She felt as though she should have been embarrassed about how predictable that was, but Sombra only grinned, entirely unashamed. “Maybe.”

The sunglasses returned to their position on Amelie’s nose as she leaned back again. She looked rather like a cat, stretching luxuriously under the warmth of the sun. “Go talk to her.”

“She looks kinda mean,” Sombra admitted.

It was almost imperceptible, but after years of their friendship it would have been impossible for Sombra to not notice the corner of Amelie’s lips twitching in an attempt to hide a smile. “I never thought you’d back down from a challenge.”

“You’re very obvious when you’re trying to manipulate me,” Sombra teased, poking Amelie’s cheek with her finger. “But you’re right. I’m going to talk to her.”

She pushed herself off the beach chair, eyes set solely on the woman that sat several feet away. Amelie snorted, but did not comment. She had probably already known that Sombra couldn’t lie in the sun and do nothing the way she could, and Sombra figured she should be proud that she had managed to last this long anyway.

As Sombra made her way to the lone woman, she began to question whether it was a good idea to approach her. She didn’t seem like she wanted any distractions, and she was likely straight nonetheless. Sombra frowned. Whatever. She’d just say hi to her, and if she seemed particularly annoyed, she’d back off. And it wasn’t like she could turn back to Amelie now without seeming like she chickened out.

The woman was, frustratingly, more attractive up close. She sat cross-legged on a towel placed over the sand, her posture perfect, as the light breeze made silky hair sway gently. Her eyes were intense, even when reading, and her features looked like they had been chiselled from stone blessed by the gods. She wore a one piece bathing suit with a skirt, the blue and turquoise complementing her dark skin beautifully. It was rather intimidating how beautiful she was. Before she could hesitate, Sombra glanced at her book and spoke.

“That’s a good book,” Sombra said.

“It is a classic,” the woman agreed, her voice smooth as silk. She glanced at Sombra with a small smile - which, frankly, was more than Sombra had been expecting - before returning to her book. Sombra expected the conversation to end there and almost turned around to complete a walk of shame that Amelie would no doubt find hilarious.

“You have read it before?”

“Oh,” Sombra said, startled. “Yeah, it’s really interesting. Made me question a lot of things I took for granted, which is pretty much what I look for in a book.”

The woman hummed, turning a page. “I have just started it, but I think I’ll like it. The writing style is intriguing and the content seems fascinating.”

“Which part are you reading now?” Sombra asked. She sat down on the sand, biting back a grimace at the thought of all the sand she’d be shaking out of her scuba gear later.

“There may or may not be a great deal of life in the universe at large,” the woman recited from the page. “But there is no shortage of ordered self-assembly, in everything from the transfixing symmetry of snowflakes to the comely rings of Saturn.”

“Oh, that’s the part where it describes the paradox of proteins requiring DNA to exist, but DNA being useless without the existence of proteins, right?” Sombra recalled. It had been a confusing page, that was certain, but also one of Sombra’s favourites.

“Yes,” the woman said, frowning. “An uncomfortable issue to think about, but I suppose cognitive dissonance must always be approached head-on.”

“Aww, does the chaos of the universe make you upset?” Sombra teased. The woman didn’t smile, per se, but Sombra had spent enough time around Amelie to recognise the amusement in someone’s eyes without them smiling.

“One cannot learn that monomers do not form polymers when wet, except in the sole scenario of creating life on Earth, without becoming distressed,” the woman said. “Although I do not think the universe is chaotic.”

Sombra raised an eyebrow. How in the hell could someone read that particular chapter, detailing the randomness of cells doing whatever the hell they wanted, whether that was floating alone in the universe or becoming one of billions working in the eye of a fish, and not conclude that the universe was chaotic? “Oh?”

“I believe the universe has an order,” the woman said smoothly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “As humans, we simply cannot comprehend it at this point in time, but that does not mean it does not exist.”

“If we can’t comprehend it, how do we know it exists?” Sombra pointed out. A small frown grew on the woman’s face, and it was strangely endearing. It didn’t help that she had pretty lips. Sombra reminded herself to make eye contact instead of ogling. “And who created that order? Who enforces it and makes sure that the components of a liver cell go into a liver cell, instead of floating off into space?”

The woman didn’t respond immediately, instead carefully placing an ornate bookmark containing a pressed flower onto the page of the book and closing it. Sombra felt a little giddy - philosophical conundrums were not exactly her forte, but if her questions on the nature of the universe caught the attention of a cute girl, then she had to be doing something right.

“If a component of a liver cell floats off into space,” the woman said slowly, “Then surely its purpose was simply that. Its actions, seemingly random to us, could be argued to be premeditated by the order of the universe.”

“You think even organelles are victims of destiny?” Sombra asked, curious. “Do you think that’s a sign of a god?”

“I personally do not believe in god, although I do not discredit the notion entirely. We cannot know, and will likely never know, so it does little good to dwell on it,” the woman told her. A surprisingly pragmatic approach to religion, although far from Sombra’s personal resentment of any possible existing deities.

“Perhaps order and its existence is god,” Sombra said, and honestly she was kind of just bullshitting now but the woman hummed thoughtfully.

“Perhaps. I have not thought of it that way.” Sharp eyes turned to Sombra, and if they were intense while reading then they were utterly consuming now. “Do you believe in a god?”

“Not particularly,” Sombra said, picking up a nearby pebble and turning it over in her hand. “If a god does exist, I think I’d hate them.”

The woman nodded. “An understandable response.”

With a start, Sombra realised that she had spent a good five minutes discussing life and the universe without even getting the woman’s name. She dropped the pebble, mildly embarrassed. Amelie would never let her forget this if she found out. “So, uh, I didn’t get your name?”

“Satya,” the woman said, and it sounded regal, although that might have been Sombra’s personal bias on everything the woman did. “And you?”

“Sombra,” she offered. She nodded her head towards the coastline, where Satya’s friends were now attempting to survive the waves whilst piggybacking each other. “Are you not going to enjoy the water?”

“It’s not really my thing,” Satya said. “My coworkers coerced me into coming so that I could,” her lip curled in distaste, “Relax.”

Sombra snorted. “Workaholic, huh?” She couldn’t judge her, not when she grew so absorbed in her own work sometimes that Amelie had to pry her off her computer with promises of alcohol and a back rub.

A hint of sheepishness bled into Satya’s smile. “Something like that. Although it has given me an opportunity to catch up with my reading, so perhaps the day was not an entire waste.”

Sombra glanced dubiously at the book in Satya’s hand, then the second lying next to her feet. “A quick splash can’t hurt.”

“The creatures of the ocean can,” Satya replied, smiling. It was a tad breathtaking. Sombra took a moment to remind herself of the process of inhalation before she ended up with what would surely be the world’s gayest cause of death. “I’d prefer to leave with my toes intact.”

“What, scared of a little water?” Sombra asked, mostly joking. But Satya’s lips drew into a thin line as she picked up her book and re-opened it. A new tension was introduced into her shoulders, and Sombra immediately felt guilty. “Hey, no, I wasn’t making fun of you. I’m not saying you have to scuba dive or anything crazy, I just thought you could dip your toes in, you know?”

Satya sighed, closing the book again. “I’m not scared. I just…” she trailed off, frowning.

“Never learnt how to swim?” Sombra guessed. She was enough of a regular at the beach to have met those types, but she hadn’t expected someone who looked as put-together as Satya to be one.

“I was busy as a child with furthering my education, I never had the opportunity to learn and it felt rather redundant as an adu-”

“You don’t have to explain,” Sombra hurriedly said. “It’s normal, most people don’t know how to swim.”

Satya fell into an awkward silence, fiddling with the end of her skirt for a moment before smoothing it down. “I… suppose it couldn’t hurt to... ‘dip my toes in’.”

Sombra was onto her feet before Satya could finish her sentence. “Great!” she exclaimed, holding her hand out to help a startled Satya up off the towel. “It’s so nice to feel the water on your feet, and I promise no little buggers will attack your toes with me to protect you.”

Satya giggled. A hand came up to cover her mouth, but it was still singularly the most disorienting sight Sombra’s eyes had ever been blessed with. She stared, slightly stunned for a moment at how cute the woman was.

“I appreciate having my own personal sea creature bodyguard,” Satya said, taking Sombra’s proffered hand as she stood.

“Right,” Sombra said, still mildly dazed. Once she was standing, Satya let go of Sombra’s hand, and the latter woman felt a deep, profound regret that the contact had not lasted longer. “I mean, the water isn’t that dangerous when it’s shallow, so the most you’ll have to deal with is some seaweed, but I don’t mind fighting some water plants for you.”

“Truly a modern knight,” Satya conceded.

“I am nothing but gracious when it comes to cute girls,” Sombra agreed. Satya raised her eyebrows, and Sombra almost considered turning around and walking away before she could respond out of sheer humiliation. But then the other woman smiled.

“I feel honoured.”

Well then. Perhaps Satya wasn’t straight. Or maybe she was, and just assumed that Sombra was also straight and objectively complimenting her appearance. Or she knew that Sombra wasn’t straight and was politely ignoring her attempts to pick her up. God, there were too many variables to consider.

“Come on,” Sombra said, instead of dwelling on Satya’s words until she drove herself mad. “We can sit over there.” She pointed to a rock that was a little above the water, tall enough to ensure they weren’t submerged by oncoming waves. Satya smoothed down the skirt of her bathing suit and followed.

“What are the flippers for?” Satya asked.

“I scuba-dive sometimes,” Sombra told her, preening a little when Satya looked impressed. “I’m not a professional but it’s been a hobby of mine for years. Not to brag but I’m pretty good at it.”

“That sounds dangerous,” Satya said, eyebrows raised.

“I live for danger,” Sombra replied, bumping her hip against Satya’s. The woman huffed a laugh. They passed Amelie, and Sombra sent her a mocking salute that had the woman shaking her head fondly. Stepping over abandoned spades and avoiding the sprinting children, they made their way towards the rock and settled on its edge. Satya was ridiculously elegant, and looked like a model even when she was doing something as simple as sitting. For a moment, Sombra wondered if she should start searching for posture lessons online.

“I will admit that it is nice to be in the sun,” Satya said, closing her eyes as she tilted her head upwards to bask in the sun’s rays. “Perhaps I should visit the beach more often. It’s beautiful.”

While Satya’s eyes were closed, Sombra took the opportunity to look at her. Her skin was smooth apart from a few bumps across her nose. With the sun creating golden highlights on her face, she looked like a god descending from her perch in heaven to mingle with her creations. If god looked anything like Satya, Sombra was willing to give religion a second chance.

“Well, the view is lovely,” Sombra murmured. Satya opened her eyes to glance at her and, feeling like she was an eight year old caught shoplifting all over again, Sombra quickly averted her gaze. The woman didn’t say anything for a moment and Sombra hoped that she thought she had been talking about the golden glow beginning to creep into the skyline as the sun set.

“Are you flirting with me?” Satya asked suddenly.

“Uh-”

“I’m not attacking you,” she clarified quickly. “I just cannot tell.”

Sombra bit her lip. She hated being indecisive but she wasn’t sure if the possibility of Satya’s number was worth the risk of disgusting her. She turned her gaze to the water, frowning as she distractedly watched two young boys splash each other with water.

“Maybe?” she said finally. “I mean, only if you want me to be.”

Satya hummed. “I do.”

“...Pardon?”

“I do want you to be flirting with me,” Satya clarified. She seemed mildly embarrassed and when Sombra looked at her, she focused her gaze on her skirt, fiddling with a thread that had come loose. “You’re very pretty, and clever, and…” she trailed off.

“Oh,” Sombra said, still staring at the woman. What had she ever done in her life to deserve someone like Satya being receptive to her advances? “Um, can I… get your number then?”

Satya nodded, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. The wind blew it into her face again, and Sombra reached out hesitantly to tuck it back once more. Satya smiled. “I’ll give it to you when we go back. Can we stay here for now?”

“Of course,” Sombra said. She placed her hand over Satya’s, and was rewarded with a warm smile for her troubles. Leaning back, she closed her eyes and let the sun bleed red behind her closed lids, the summer heat incomparable to the warmth of reciprocated feelings and the feeling of Satya’s hand beneath hers.