by Lexi Archer
"Ready for a stroll on the beach grandma?" I asked, looking her up and down in that baggy T-shirt and those gym shorts. Sarah rolled her eyes.
"Just get going," she said.
I obliged, pulling out of the driveway and aiming the car towards the lake. Sarah leaned over and turned the music up, and started belting out a fast-paced Promise Forever song at the top of her lungs. I grinned. These guys were going to be popular forever, just like their name!
As we drove along Sarah underwent a remarkable transformation. I heard a rustle beside me and then she was tossing her clothes into the back. My attention was drawn to her removing her shirt and shorts, but then I quickly pushed the thoughts that were starting to run through my imagination firmly out of my mind. Those were crazy thoughts, better left unsaid.
What I was thinking was how crazy Sarah was. Her T-shirt revealed a bright tank top underneath that was even skimpier than my own. It showed off plenty of her gorgeous and amazing tits, God how I wished I could have a pair that looked like that, and it was also short enough on the bottom that it showed off her slim stomach up to her belly button. She lifted her ass up, a perfect ass that never failed to make me jealous when she started disrobing, at least I always told me it was jealousy that drew my eyes, and then her baggy shorts were replaced by a pair of impossibly tight shorts that were low cut on the top and high cut on the bottom showing off everything while not quite revealing anything.
Peeking out from those shorts was a bit of bright green string that was a perfect match to the bright green sparkly bikini top peeking out from her tank top. And from the looks of it that bikini top was every bit as scandalous as the bikini I wore.
"Damn!" I said.
"Damn yourself," Sarah said.
I smiled. This was going to be one hell of a weekend, and why not? Time was running out, and it wouldn't be long before we were all scattered to the wind. It was time to enjoy being young enough to have no responsibilities but old enough to do what we wanted while we still had our friends around to have fun with!
3
Kylie
The lakeshore was actually a stretch of "private" beach that wasn't really private at all during the summer. There were enough kids whose parents owned beachfront houses that there was pretty much an uninterrupted stretch open for partying.
Which I'm sure irritated some of the property owners without teenagers, but I didn't give a fuck because we got a place to party. If anyone did get annoyed they didn't call the cops which was the important thing.
I loved it. I'd grown up on the lake thanks to dad's medical practice, and it meant I was never too far from a party. Sometimes I wondered if that wasn't part of the reason why I'd turned into such a wild child. Then again Sarah hadn't grown up by the lake and she was just as wild, though that could've been my influence and the fact that she was over here all the time with access to those same parties.
People were already out on the beach, and there were a couple of bonfires providing fitful light as the sun sank off in the distance. I stopped to enjoy the sight, knowing it was one I wasn't going to see too many more times. At least not when I was joining my friends at the party on the beach.
I suppose it was conceivable that I'd have kids of my own who might party down here one day, but I tried not to think about that far future.
Yeah, this party was going to be fun, but it was also kind of sad considering it was the end of an era. Still, the end of an era needed to be celebrated properly. I turned to Sarah and grinned.
"Ready for a dare?"
She fixed me with a flat stare and grinned. "Starting the dare game early? I like it."
"I dare you to walk down to the beach in just your bikini."
It was a simple dare, but then again the dare game usually started off simple. We were going to get down to our bathing suits soon enough, so why not start the dare game off with something that was fun and practical?
Plus, I had to admit that there was a part of me that wanted to see the rest of the show that’d started when we pulled away from Sarah's house. A part of me that I didn't want to admit to, that I was afraid to give voice to, but it was still there when I looked deep down.
Sarah shrugged. "Fine, you're on!"
And then she was shimmying out of her clothes. I stared in fascination. Of course she wasn't even out of her shorts before she grinned and looked over to me.
"That means you're going out there in your bikini too!"
"Is that a dare?"
"You bet your ass it is!" Sarah said.
I giggled and started pulling off my own clothes, watching to see if she was watching me. She glanced over and smiled, and warmth ran through me. Damn I was going to miss her when she went off to school.
The first dare had its intended effect. All the attention turned to us as we walked down to the shore in our very nearly string bikinis. Seriously, the only thing covering us were small triangles of fabric held together by the aforementioned string.
In short, we looked absolutely stunning, and I enjoyed feeling all eyes on the beach on us. Lust fueled gazes from guys who were standing around staring slack-jawed, and jealous or outright hostile stares from the ladies, but they could go fuck themselves. If they didn't look as good as us or they were too afraid to wear a swimsuit like this that was their own problem.
I glanced across the crowd and saw a bunch of familiar faces, but then I saw one face in particular down by the bonfire sitting on a log set slightly apart from everybody else that surprised me. I peered closer just to make sure I wasn't seeing things, but sure enough that was Eric Thomas and his friend Jake sitting there.
I knew Eric from a project we had to do a couple of years ago in Chemistry, though to be honest he'd done most of the work while I'd sat around providing "moral support." He was probably the only reason I'd passed that class, though we hadn't spoken since.
I'd never given him much thought before tonight, except during the infamous prom incident with Sarah, but it really was a shame we didn't hang out more even though it was probably too late now since everyone was going off to their new lives.
Eric was cute enough, for a shy sort of dorky guy. His friend Jake might’ve been cute too, except he always wore a perpetual scowl. Neither one of them was built or anything, I don't think they'd ever done a sport or seen the inside of the school gym, but as I watched them I realized I might need to revise that opinion in Eric's case at least.
He'd ditched his usual baggy clothes and wore something tight fitting that showed off a surprisingly toned body even if he wasn't exactly ripped.
Interesting. I knew someone else who might find that a little interesting.
I nudged Sarah. "Look who made it Sarah, and you're single too!"
Her gaze followed mine and as soon as it landed on Eric she elbowed.
"Shut up Kylie!"
I fixed her with my best innocent stare. "What? I figured now that you're single, and considering the prom thing…"
Her face colored as she looked at Eric, but I noticed that her gaze was lingering. Sure, she usually dated the sports type, she was always going on about it and it was clearly part of her image, but it's not like the sports hero could be a part of her image anymore considering we'd all graduated and there were no more sports heroes.
I figured she might be able to finally admit she thought he was kind of cute, but it looked like she was still in denial.
I smiled. Well, if she was going to be in denial then maybe I could help things along. The dare game was usually an excuse to have a bit of fun at each other's expense, but there were other uses for it that I never mentioned to Sarah. Like getting her to go along with something she didn't even realize she wanted.
“Admit it. You like the attention,” I said.
Sarah blushed again, but she was standing stock still and refusing to move closer to the bonfire.
"Just shut up about Eric," she said.
At that moment Jake looked over at us and nudged Eric. Eric followed his fri
end's gaze and stared, slack-jawed. Seeing Sarah wearing that bikini had to be the culmination of every fantasy he'd probably had since he hit puberty and decided he was in love with my best friend. A crush that hadn't exactly manifested except for the time he finally got up the balls to ask her out to prom. Three times. When she already had a boyfriend.
A boyfriend he didn't know about, to be fair, but that hadn’t stopped a shitstorm from landing on him.
Even then, though, I could tell she enjoyed the attention even if she acted outwardly annoyed by it. I watched Sarah to see how she reacted now, and I noticed her blush was running over her entire body. It was easy enough to see in that scandalous bikini.
I got an idea. An evil idea she wouldn't care for, but that was the whole point of the dare game. Besides, the way she was acting tonight was confirmation that she enjoyed attention from Eric Thomas. Even if she didn't want the world to know.
I saw it as my duty in life to make sure Sarah tried new things that were good for her. Even if she didn't want to admit that she wanted to try something. And right now what she needed to try out was Eric Thomas while they were both single and both still living in the same town. Time was slipping away. Tick tock.
It seemed like the perfect time for the matchmaker to make a match.
"I thought of my second dare," I said.
Sarah looked at me, suddenly on guard. Suddenly hesitant. Suddenly very wary. "What?"
"It's easy enough," I said. "For your second dare you need to go over and get up close and personal with Eric Thomas the way he wants you to. The way you refuse to admit you want to."
Sarah stared daggers at me, then sighed. I could tell it was an act. I knew the signs. The heavy breathing, the way her nipples were starting to strain out from under her bikini top, not that I noticed that particular sign or looked for it regularly thank you very much.
Yeah, she was definitely liking the idea of this dare. What can I say? I knew my friend, and my friend enjoyed attention, even if it was attention from Eric Thomas who was "just cute" and not one of the muscular jock types she usually went for.
"Fine, you're on." Sarah said.
I grinned as she walked over, and I noticed she was putting some extra sway into her step as she made her way across the beach. I saw a couple of guys who thought they might have a chance with her considering her recent single status move in for the attack, but she brushed them of.
I also had the distinct pleasure of watching their expressions turn to astonishment as they realized Sarah was brushing them aside so she could head for Eric Thomas of all people. They were probably wondering how he even got an invite out here, though technically the entire senior class was invited to these things. It's just that Eric and his friend never took up that offer.
By the time Sarah made it over to Eric everybody was staring, and none of them looked more surprised by her approach than Eric himself. I grinned and leaned against a tree to watch.
This was going to be fun.
4
Sarah
I could kill Kylie for doing this to me. Sure Eric was cute enough, especially wearing something that showed off the goods, but I had an image to maintain. Even if I was only maintaining that image for the few weeks that were left before I headed off to college.
Still, as I walked over to where Eric sat, along with his friend whose name I couldn't quite remember and who always had a look on his face like he was perpetually constipated and trying to squeeze something out, I had to admit I was also a little excited.
It was an excitement I’d never admit to, although I had a feeling Kylie suspected. Sometimes I felt like I she could read my mind, and her annoying habit of coming up with dares that seemed to match up perfectly with my secret desires I didn't want to admit to the world had me thinking there was more to those dares than simple coincidence.
And I was trapped by this dare. Eric watched me. On most guys that sort of look would be a little too intense, but he had the right blend of cuteness and innocence, plus the fact that he never looked at any other girl like that which was a stark contrast from your average run-of-the-mill creeper, that made it somehow different.
With Eric that stare was reserved for me and me alone. It was a mix of worship and lust that told the world he thought I was the most gorgeous thing in that world, and I did enjoy the attention. A lot.
Still, I had my image to maintain. I didn't want to spend the evening with him. There were several interesting prospects for going off to a quiet part of the beach later, and now Kylie had all but shot that down because they were all going to see me going straight for Eric and think they didn't have a chance or that I'd gone crazy.
Damn Kylie.
I stood in front of his log, the heat from the bonfire warming my backside, my hands on my hips and my hips cocked to the side. I might be annoyed that Kylie sent me over here, but I wasn't going to ruin the show. No, if Eric was going to stare at me in that disconcerting way that never failed to make me feel warm despite the fact that he wasn't exactly my type then I was going to give him one hell of a show.
I wanted to give him something that would fuel his fantasies through college and make him compare every woman he met to me.
His buddy stared up at me, his mouth wide open as though he couldn't believe I was actually standing in front of them. Actually, part of it might be my bikini. I'd practically came just trying the thing on at the store! Thinking about all these guys checking me out had been that hot, and now that we were here and these two were looking at me like I was the most beautiful girl in the world?
Fuck that was good!
"Is this seat taken?" I asked, looking pointedly at Eric's friend who was still sitting there looking dumbfounded.
"No, it isn't," Eric said, catching the hint.
Only his buddy wasn't catching the hint. And he didn't catch the hint until Eric elbowed him. Buddy let out a surprised yelp, but then he seemed to finally get the hint as Eric glared at him. He stood and brushed himself off.
"Right," he said. "I was just leaving to see if Jessica got here yet…"
I cocked an eyebrow. Jessica? That could only be referring to Jessica Randall, and if he thought he had a chance with her considering she'd been with Dave for like the last seven years and they were all but engaged then he had another thing coming. That wasn't my problem though.
I looked at Eric and smiled my sweetest and most seductive smile.
No, my problem right now was Eric, and that dare. And the not inconsequential problem of how excited I was getting at the prospect of fulfilling that dare. What was going on here?
I needed to get myself under control. I needed to remember that this was just a dare. That's all it was. I didn't care how he looked at me. He didn't have a chance.
"So are you going to take a seat?" he asked.
I blinked. I was surprised he’d be so forward. I was used to the Eric who came up to ask me to prom and looked like he was on the verge of puking the entire time. This was a new guy who was quietly confident, and there was an edge to his voice. In short, it was fascinating and it had my attention precisely because it was so different from business as usual with him.
I'd noticed him staring at me before, of course. Glancing across the room in classes we shared over the years. I figured it was just a crush, and so I'd been playing a game of teasing him over those years. Maybe that was part of the reason why I was so excited to actually be here talking with him now.
We'd never shared more than a few words up until that fateful day when he'd asked me to prom. Then the second fateful day when he asked me again. And the third, when I'd finally made it clear I had a boyfriend and there wasn't a chance I’d go to prom with him.
Still, in the back of my mind the entire time I was thinking it would be interesting to have him as my prom date, and that it was almost a pity I did have a boyfriend. Those were crazy thoughts, but there was something about how singular he was in his adoration that caught my attention. That turned me on just a little
.
I always liked showing off for guys, after all. I always got a charge out of knowing they were watching me.
I shook myself and, following his unspoken command, took a seat next to him before I realized I was even responding to a subtle unspoken command. I glanced over to Kylie who was leaning against a tree and grinning at me in the fitful light from the bonfire.
This was about a dare. Nothing more. Nothing less. A dare, I might add, that was going to completely ruin the image I'd carefully constructed for myself over the past four years because I was talking to king dork. Even if he was a cute king dork.
"So what brings you out here finally?" I asked. "I don't remember ever seeing you at one of these parties."
Eric shrugged, and for a change he stared into the fire instead of at me. I found myself feeling just a little annoyed. I was used to being the center of his attention, and I didn't like that attention not being on me. Particularly when the whole damn point of me coming over here was to get his attention.
"I've just been doing a lot of thinking lately," he said.
I waited for him to continue, but it didn't seem like any more was forthcoming. So I decided to prompt him just a little.
"What have you been thinking about?" I asked.
He smiled, a confident smile that was so unlike anything I'd seen from him before. It made me wonder who this guy was and what he'd done with the nice safe quiet dork who'd worshiped me from afar for so many years.
Another thrill ran through me. There was something about that look that told me he was looking at me. Looking at the person. And it seemed like he was sizing me up in a way he never had before. A way that made me feel weirdly self-conscious, which wasn't something I was used to.
"I've been thinking that maybe the way I've been approaching life has been wrong all these years," he said. "Take these parties for example. We could've come to any of them over the years, but I always avoided them because I felt like we weren't wanted, and yet I walk on the beach and someone offers me a beer. You come over and sit down next to me. It's not what I was expecting, but I never bothered to try so what could I expect?"
