Jackson laid the over sized beach towel down on the sand and flattened all the crinkles out to the best of his ability. There was nothing like soaking up some rays on the shore with no one around but your best girl.
"Aw, come on." Cruz begged right as he got settled. "We're at the beach! Let's go in the water!"
"Uh, I'm good." Jackson declined, putting some shades on.
"We didn't come all this way to stay dry." Cruz insisted, nudging him towards the water.
"We're at the beach!" he said, patting the sand beside him. "The beach is the dry sandy stuff here. That over there's the ocean. We agreed to go to the beach. Not the ocean."
"Ugh, you're ridiculous." Cruz rolled her eyes. "Come on. Just one time?"
He looked over at her only to be greeted with the best pair of sad puppy eyes he'd ever seen. His stubbornness wavered.
"Pleeease?" she asked, giving him another affectionate nudge.
He groaned, took his sunglasses off, and rolled forward. "Alright. But just for a little bit. Salt water's not good for my health."
"Whatever, Mr. Mountain Dew and Doritos." she giggled, leading him towards the waves.
She left him behind and jumped right into the next big wave that rolled up, emitting high pitched sounds of excitement all the way. Jackson hesitated, dipping one front tire into the edge of the foamy stuff that collected at the water's edge. Gross. He grimaced.
"This is great!" Cruz shouted from no more than twenty feet away. "It's so refreshing."
Jackson moaned and eased into the water, unprepared for the cold splash against his undercarriage. He shivered, but continued, feeling squeamish as the filthy water crept into every little crack and crevice it could find.
"Yep. So refreshing." he replied, sarcasm dripping from his words. "I'm revitalized already."
Cruz came up next to him and did a donut, sending a huge wave of sand-filled water over him. He shook it off and cast a disapproving look at her. She winked and drove calmly through the water around him.
"Look at me, driving circles around you even out here." she mocked him, pushing for some sort of reaction.
Oh, so that's how it's gonna be, eh? he thought. He drove like he was going to head back to the beach, but the second he was far enough away from Cruz to spin and not hit her, he returned the favor by slinging wet sand and dirty water all over her.
Cruz let out a yip and closed her eyes until he was done. She then shook the crud off and cast him a accusatory glare that also hinted of playfulness.
He grinned at her, and moved towards her in the water. She lowered herself and crept towards him as well. A playful kiss on the beach? She didn't mind that at all.
Jackson was mere feet away from her, preparing for a nice, long, intimate moment, when he felt something tickle the underside of his rear bumper. He jumped and screamed as he saw visions of sharks and water snakes and jellyfish coming to consume him. He struggled to get out of the water fast enough.
Startled, Cruz likewise yelled and jumped back, watching him bolt out of the ocean and back to the safety of the beach, trailing something behind him. She followed him, curious.
"You, uh, you got something there." she said, driving up behind him.
"Get it off get it off get it off get it off!" he panicked, shaking.
Cruz chuckled and pulled a couple strands of greenery out from under him. "Uh oh, looks like we got some scary seaweed hitching a ride back here."
She threw it on the ground where he could see how harmless it was and watched as he instantly regained his composure. He let out a 'hmph' and parked squarely on his towel, settling back into what he'd intended to do all along.
"I'm never gonna forget that noise you just made. You should have seen your face!" Cruz said with a grin, sidling up next to him. "Jackson Storm, defeated! By seaweed…"
He just moaned as the water, along with his dignity, evaporated off of him.