Sara’s eyes widened, and she leaned in with a grin. “Oh, this might be juicy.”
Jennie immediately shushed her, giving me an excited nod. “Go on. Don’t leave us hanging.”
I smirked. “One of the things on the list was to skinny dip in the lake.”
Maura let out a squeal, covering her mouth as her eyes sparkled with excitement. “No way. Tell me you actually did it?”
“Yep. Yesterday, I went out to the beach after sunset, ignored all the No Swimming signs, and went for it. It was cold, exhilarating, and for a moment, it was everything I wanted—until I realized I wasn’t alone.”
The girls gasped in unison, eyes glued to me as I continued.
“I ran into the water, and there was this rush of excitement. I was completely naked and doing something illegal—so unlike me—but it felt amazing.”
Jennie’s eyes went wide, and she threw her hands up. “Oh my god, what happened next?”
“I was swimming, feeling free, when suddenly, this guy comes charging into the water. At first, I thought I was being attacked by a sea monster or something, but then I realized he was rushing in because he thought I was flailing my arms in distress.”
Sara’s mouth dropped open. “Wait—you werenude?”
“One-hundred percent. And you know what? I thought I’d be way more embarrassed, but when he grabbed my waist and hauled me to shore, I was too shocked to care.”
Jennie practically fell out of her chair laughing. “This is amazing. Was he creepy?”
I shook my head. “It gets even better.”
“This is so much better than a Jeff story,” Maura said, chomping on a bite of her sandwich as Sara playfully punched her in the shoulder.
“Turns out, one of the hot older brothers of a student here was the one who saved me. He happened to be visiting and saw me flailing about and was worried about the riptides?—”
“Oh. Those are real.” Sara nodded.
“That’s exactly what he said. Once he pulled me closer to shore, which he did so respectfully, I might add, I got out, and he turned around so I could throw my clothes back on.”
I took a bite of salad and swallowed as the three girls stared at me.
“It wasn’t a big deal.” I shrugged.
Jennie’s jaw dropped. “You’re kidding. This is the biggest deal, Charlie.Whichhot brother?”
I pursed my lips, playing coy. “Just one of the ones you see at pickup. Austin Hart. I helped him with his sister, Evie Cole, yesterday.”
Sara clapped her hands together. “Oh my god, this is better than any soap opera.”
Maura nodded in agreement. “Better than that Darla bullshit we were about to talk about too.”
“We have to get his number,” Jennie screeched and turned around, throwing away her lunch.
I laughed. I’d never had girlfriends like this. This was fun. It was as freeing as my evening yesterday with Hot Brother.
“You guys are funny,” I said, and then obliged and stood, holding my hands out as if I was on display in a window.
“She’s wearing a bright yellow Kindergarten Rules T-shirt paired with her favorite white linen pants...” I announced in my best game show host voice.
Maura was practically in tears from laughing.
“Oh my god, I’d kill for tits like yours.” Jennie gave one of my boobs a playful poke.
I’d always been curvy, something my mom loved to blame on my habit of baking too many pecan pies and sampling them all. Honestly, I think it was genetics. It was one of the reasons I never quite fit in when I was younger—I didn’t have the slim, polished figure that girls in my parents’ circle seemed to have.
