“But go there later. Like mid-afternoon.” Ellie hesitated.
“What?” A smile was playing around the edges of Becca’s mouth, like she knew there was more from Ellie.
“We should… leave our options open when we’re there.”
“In case there’s a plausible girlfriend sort of situation,” Becca teased.
Ellie felt herself blush. “Maybe…”
“I’d like that. But I didn’t see too many of them yesterday. Lots of women I found attractive, but girlfriend material? No.”
“We could… relax the criteria. A little.”
Becca looked at Ellie intently. “We could. A little. The full spring break experience. You think that would get your whole jealousy-arousal thing going?”
Ellie nodded. “Absolutely not taking advantage of a drunk eighteen-year-old. No way.”
“Of course.”
“But someone we both like… plausible girlfriend could stretch to plausible when we were seniors. I could get with that.”
Becca nodded slowly. “I could too. Let’s see what happens.” She stood and nodded towards the pool. “Before we worry about any of that though, what do you say to a night-time swim?” She held out her hand to help Ellie stand then, once she was upright, leaned forward to whisper. “No swimwear allowed…”
***
Monday through Wednesday were great even without the distraction of playing at being students.
They went to the oyster place they’d heard about and it was as good as the reviews promised. They found a bookshop where Ellie lost an hour simply browsing and Becca lost patience. They ran on the beach in the mornings, they swam in the afternoons, they chilled by the pool in the evenings, and the rhythm of it was so good that Ellie caught herself thinking she could do this forever.
Becca was lighter than she'd been in months. The ranch weekend had unlocked something in her, maybe a confidence inwhat they’d been doing, and the Florida sun combined with the distance from work and the absence of any obligation beyond where to eat next had amplified it. She was wonderfully relaxed as, Ellie realised, was she.
They had great sex, powered by the sun and the privacy. The pool became their after-dark kingdom: naked swims, slow kisses against the tiles, the underwater lights turning their bodies turquoise. One evening Ellie sat on the pool's edge while Becca went down on her in the shallows, the water reassuring cool around Ellie's ankles, her hands rough against the paving, and afterwards they floated together looking at the stars and saying nothing because nothing needed to be said.
No narration. No fantasy. No dynamic. Just them.
Ellie found it reassuring… all they needed was them. This dynamic they’d discovered, their kink, it was extra. A wonderful, deeply pleasurable extra, yes, but an extra nonetheless.
***
Kelly checked in on Tuesday, a voice note on the group chat that was mostly her complaining about a fence post and then, almost as an afterthought, asking how Florida was.
Becca replied with a photo of the two of them on the beach, tanned and smiling, and Kelly's response was:Ugh you look amazing. Colt says hi. Tell me more when you're back.
Ellie added:We went to PCB on Saturday. Becca kissed a nursing student from Alabama. It was messy.
Kelly's reply was a voice note of her laughing so hard she couldn't speak for fifteen seconds, followed by:Sloppy spring break kisses are a rite of passage. Did it go further?
Becca:It did not. She tasted like margaritas and sunscreen. At least that’s apparently what I said. I had some memory loss.
Kelly:The dream. Colt wants to know if the nursing student was cute?
Becca:Tell Colt she was very cute but not as adorable as him. Though Ellie remembers better.
Ellie:I can confirm she was cute.
***
On the Wednesday night, before bed, Becca stood by the pool and looked at the water, lit from beneath, the surface perfectly still.
