The club itself was better than we expected, and we all had a great time. I was still buzzing from all the dancing we did, especially the times Lily and I caught eyes, and the times we brushed up against each other. My ears were ringing but I didn’t care. It had been a great night. I was sad we had to go home tomorrow.
But by the time we got to the end of the jetty, with the metal ladder down into the water looming at us, the mood in the group had changed. Lily was the only one who still seemed keen, already taking her shoes off.
“Nah, you know, on second thought, I’m going to bail,” Vicky said. “I didn’t expect it to be this visible.”
“I didn’t really want to do it anyway. Sorry, guys,” Mathilde said, looking visibly relieved.
We were three pairs, although I shouldn’t have considered me and Lily a pair. Nell had already disappeared with a girl she’d met at the club. The sexuality of the girl Nell had pulled had been hotly debated, and we settled on agreeing not to be so nosey.
“That’s fine. I wouldn’t want you to do something you’re not comfortable with,” Lily affirmed.
“Neither did I. I’m sorry too, Lily,” Bouchra muttered.
“Don’t worry about it.” Lily turned to me and Kaira with that sexy swagger that I was becoming so attracted to. “What about you guys?”
Her confidence wavered for a few seconds as she watched me eyeball the water and then back at her. In the end, the look of hesitance and vulnerability in her eyes was the thing that made me want to join her, naked in the water under the moonlight. She was human, too, and all she cared about was making the most of this moment, even if it meant putting herself out on a limb and asking us all to stretch ourselves and go for it.
“Fuck it. I’m in,” Kaira declared, lifting her shirt up over her head. She looked at Bouchra. “Come on. You’re always saying we never do crazy stuff anymore. This is a moment and we’ve got to seize it.”
Bouchra looked stunned.
“I like your thinking, Kaira,” Lily said, smiling now.
Kaira shrugged out of her shorts, still looking at Bouchra. “Babe. You’ll kick yourself if you don’t.”
“Okay, okay. I didn’t think you would be so keen.” Bouchra began taking off her clothes.
“Yes, team!” Lily said.
“We’ll sit on the jetty a bit further down and keep an eye on your stuff.” Vicky and Mathilde walked away, shaking their heads and laughing at us, hand in hand.
Kaira and Bouchra threw off the rest of their clothes and jumped in, hand in hand, screaming in delight or fear, I couldn’t be certain.
“Fuck me, this is wild!” Bouchra bellowed, once she surfaced.
Lily shrugged out of her clothes and neatly placed them on top of her shoes. She was full on naked. When she stood up straight and squared her shoulders, I didn’t know where to look.
“Are you coming in too?”
I swallowed. “I want to. But it’s so visible.”
“There’s no one around.”
I could barely think with her standing next to me like this.
Lily smirked. “It can’t be any more difficult than hitting on me the other night.”
“Oh no, that was easy, actually.”
“So is this.” Lily jumped right in, making a big splash. She turned around to face me when she resurfaced. “Show us your wild side, Rona!”
“You’ll love it, seriously,” Kaira said, from the water near the jetty, smiling.
I was so happy that Kaira and Bouchra were enjoying themselves. I loved that Lily was daring and inspiring like this. It was one of my new favourite things to learn about her. I could be daring too. I found myself undressing, quickly taking everything off and willing myself not to overthink it. I left my clothes in a messy pile at my feet, but I did fold up my glasses and place them neatly beside it. I could still see without them, things just weren’t quite as sharp.
“Nice boobs, Rona!” Bouchra called up.
I had no idea why I was still standing up here on full display for everyone when in reality it was the last thing I wanted. Anyone could be looking! My friends looking was bad enough. The water seemed so cold though.
