“This game is really boring,” Mia said after Kitty won the first game. She rested her cheek on her arm, a strand of hair flopping into her face.
“We should get one of those thousand-piece puzzles,” Kitty said.
“Pass,” Mia said.
“No offense, Kitty, but that doesn’t exactly sound more fun than this,” I said.
“Let’s go looking for turtles,” Mia said, and so we grabbed a flashlight and set off for the beach.
Mia bumped into me as she and Kitty raced down the walkway. It was a moonless night, growing darker around us with each step. I could hear the girls laughing as they walked side by side ahead of me. Instead of passing through the main gate to the beach, they turned left and raced past the shuffleboard court in the direction of the pool, and I found them standing beside the pool when I finally caught up to them. I looked from one girl to the other, confused. “You know turtles aren’t going to be in the pool, right?”
Kitty giggled, and I caught the hint of a smile on Mia’s face. And that was when I realized I was in trouble.
Mia held the flashlight beneath her chin. “Before we go turtle hunting, why don’t you check off an item from the list?”
“I don’t...” And then I looked at the pool, realizing the whole turtle scheme had been a trick. “You want me to go skinny-dipping right now?”
Mia and Kitty grinned.
I crossed my arms over my chest. “It’s against the rules to swim after dark.”
“Says the chick who snuck onto a yacht to go drinking,” Mia said.
“That’s not exactly—”
“Please, Aunt Jo?” Kitty pleaded. “It’s the easiest item on the list! You said you’d do the easy ones first.”
True. Itwasthe easiest one, even easier than decluttering. When I’d come up with this item, I’d imagined skinny-dipping in the Caribbean or even the hot tub on theSerendipity.At no time had it crossed my mind to take a dip in the condo pool. What if Belva or Old Gary caught me?
“I don’t have a towel. We can do another night.” I turned to leave, but Mia cleared her throat.
“I thought you’d say something like that.” Mia held out a phone,myphone, and dangled it in front of me. I patted the back of my shorts in disbelief. She must have snatched it from my pocket when she’d bumped into me on the walk here.
“Give that back,” I said, giving her my best adult-in-control voice.
Mia held her thumbs poised for action over my phone. “What do you think we should text Hot Guy from the Bar, Kitty?”
Oh, no they didn’t.I cursed myself for not having a passcode on my phone and made a mental note to murder Nina as soon as I arrived at work the next day. I lunged forward, trying to swipe my phone from Mia’s hands, but she held it out of reach.
Kitty looked at me guiltily. “C’mon, Aunt Jo, it’ll be quick.”
I glared at them, weighing my options. The last thing I needed was Mia texting Hot Guy from the Bar, and him thinking I was some sort of stalker. Not that I cared what he thought of me, of course, I just didn’t want him thinking he’d been kissed by a weirdo. And besides, if I did this now, I’d never have to do it again.
“Fine. But only for a second. And you promise I’ll get my phone back after?”
Mia held my phone over her heart. “Promise.”
I sighed, resigned to my fate. “Turn around and keep an eye out.”
The girls obeyed, turning their backs to the pool. I scanned the balconies of the nearby condos and spotted no one. Stripping quickly, I peeled off my shirt and bra, then shimmied out of my shorts andunderwear. A warm breeze blew in from the ocean, raising goose bumps on my skin. I raced down the steps into the glowing pool.
“I’m in the water. Can I get out now?”
“It doesn’t count if you don’t do a full lap there and back,” Mia called.
“Says who?”
Mia put her hands on her hips. “Seriously, Jo. Where’s your sense of adventure?”
