by Robin Roseau
"Hey, Kat," one of the women said. "And you must be Beth."
"Bethany," I said. Holding hands, Katrina and I stepped forward. I shook hands with Fran and then Jean.
"Thanks for letting us leave the car here," Katrina said. "Is it okay there?"
"Sure," said Jean. "Did you want to borrow the scooters?"
"No, but we wouldn't mind riding bitch if you can take us down to the waterfront."
Fran laughed. "No problem. Did you want privacy after that, or company for a while?"
"Company would be lovely," she replied.
Jean stepped away, and two minutes later, I heard the sound of a scooter. Moments later, she appeared, riding the scooter and parking it on the sidewalk. A couple of minutes later, she showed up with a second scooter and began passing out helmets.
"Ever ridden one of these, Bethany?" Jean asked.
"Yes, but it's been a while."
Jean made sure my helmet fit then gave me a brief safety lecture. I already knew anything, and moments later I found myself sitting on the back, my arms wrapped around her. I looked over and giggled at the sight of Katrina riding behind Fran. The two women nodded, and then we were off.
They knew right where they wanted to go, finding scooter parking near the wharf. We parked, and I hopped off.
"We have to carry the helmets," Fran said. "People steal them."
So I buckled the chin strap and used it as a handle, wrapping my arm through the strap so it could hang off my elbow. Fran almost freaked when she saw what I did, but I was careful, and she studied my method.
"Why the hell haven't we thought of that?" she asked. Katrina laughed, and soon the three of them were emulating me.
Katrina grabbed my hand, and we followed Jean and Fran to a tourist trap store. They turned around inside and said, "Yeah, I know, but they have good sandals."
We picked out my sandals first, then I roamed the little shop and picked out some kitchy tourist things: post cards, a tee-shirt, and a reusable shopping bag with a picture of a sea lion on it. Katrina smiled but didn't give me a hard time, then insisted on paying for everything.
"I've got it," I said quietly. I wasn't comfortable letting her pay for me.
She growled at me. "Give them to me. Now."
Instead I reached for the sandals she was holding.
"Bethany," she said in a very quiet voice. "Did you enjoy your spanking last night?"
"Um. No."
"Do you think you would enjoy a similar spanking in front of all these people?"
My eyes grew wide. "You wouldn't."
"Willing to find out?"
I slipped my things to her, and she bought everything. Then we stepped outside and found a bench where I could trade out my tennis shoes and socks for the sandals.
"Listen to me very carefully. Do not argue with me like that again. I do not like it."
I stared at her. "Katrina-"
She softened. "Honey, I'm serious. There are other things we can argue about. I don't expect you to give up your intellect. But if I tell you I intend to do something for you, you will say 'thank you'. Now, am I clear?"
"Yes, Katrina."
"Good." She caressed my cheek and pulled me into a kiss.
I stiffened. We were in public. She was kissing me in public! Anyone could see us. Absolutely anyone. I didn't kiss her back very well.
When she pulled away, she was livid.
"You told me you were out," she said. "You told me you were okay with that. Did you lie to me?"
"Oh god," I said, "I'm sorry. I wouldn't let you do that back home. You can't imagine the trouble it can cause."
"We're not in North Carolina."
"Please, Katrina," I said. "I'm sorry. It's going to take me time to get used to that."
She studied me. "All right. But I am about to kiss you again, and you better kiss me back."
She did, and I did, wrapping an arm around her neck, and giving her as much as she was giving me. When she pulled away, she was smiling. "That was better. Thank you."
I smiled. "If you surprise me, I'll still respond badly. I'm really sorry. You need to keep reminding me it's okay here."
"All right. I understand, honey."
We stuffed my shoes and purchases into the shopping bag and joined Jean and Fran.
"Problem?" Fran asked.
"Someone isn't accustomed to PDA," Katrina explained. "All better."
"Excellent," said Jean. "Where to?"
"Wharf?" Katrina suggested.
The wharf was different than Pier 39. Instead, it was open to the air, not filled with so many shops, although there was a restaurant halfway down the wharf, and there were a few other shops. We walked all the way to the end, stopping for a while to watch the sea lions.
"I don't know what it is about them. It's not like they're doing anything," I said. "Well, except making a lot of noise."
Jean laughed. "Everyone stops and watches them."
I took some photos, but they weren't very good.
We watched some people fish from the end of the wharf for a few minutes, Katrina standing behind me with her arms around me, the floppy hat she had loaned me tucked under her chin. Fran held Jean in a similar fashion. I clutched at Katrina's arms around me and held her tightly to me.
"What's the plan?" Fran asked eventually.
"We're convincing someone she wants to live here," Katrina responded.
"It's not going to be up to me," I replied. "We're here having a nice day. That's all. I don't care what we do, as long as we have a nice day."
We looked out over the water, and then I saw the surfers. "You said people don't swim here."
"They're in wetsuits," Katrina pointed out. "Did you bring one?"
I laughed. "No."
"People swim in the shallows," Katrina explained, "but it's really quite cold. I don't care for it. If you want to swim, we can swim in my pool later."
"You have a pool?"
She laughed. "I really should give you a proper tour."
"Where are you staying?" Jean asked.
"At Katrina's," I replied.
Jean began laughing. "And you haven't had time to see the pool?"
"She's kept me busy!" I said.
That just got Jean laughing louder. "I can guess how, too."
"You'd be right about that," Katrina said.
"Ah, young love," said Fran, smiling at us. "It's a lovely thing."
"Um. It's not love," I said, looking up at Katrina over my shoulder. "We're. Um."
"Yeah, yeah," Fran said. "Methinks the lady doth protest too much."
Katrina didn't respond, but she tightened her arm around me. I looked over my shoulder at her, but she was looking at the surfers and refused to meet my gaze. A moment later she released me and said, "How about a walk along the boardwalk?"
She gestured with her nose to the amusement park south of the wharf. The wharf was so long, it took us a while to reach the boardwalk. Then I realized just how long it was as it stretched along the beach.
"This place is amazing," I said. The three of them grinned at me.
Katrina bought some cotton candy and had fun feeding it to me. Jean was teasing Fran with hers, refusing to share, which turned into a scuffle. Fran managed to wrest the treat away from her lover and pranced around with it for a moment, taking several big bites before handing it back. "I win."
"Oh grow up, you," Jean said. "You are such a child."
"I'm not the one who was hoarding the cotton candy. You knew I only wanted a little."
I bought more things at the Boardwalk. Katrina let me pay for them myself, and then we got a lot of pictures. Jean and Fran, Jean, Fran and Katrina, me, Katrina and me. Then we got a tourist to take a picture of the four of us.
We got to the rides, and I looked at them. Katrina caught my expression then looked at her friends. "The Haunted Mansion," Fran said.
"Absolutely," agreed Katrina. "But we get the front of the car."
"Of course," Fran said.
"That's tradition."
I groaned. I imagined it would be pretty lame. The three of them began talking about the ride, and then Jean said, "The city council said they got the last of the rats, but I'm not sure I believe them. Two weeks ago, one dropped from the ceiling and scared the crap out of some woman Dotty Mills was dating."
"How is Dotty?" Katrina asked.
"She's doing fine. She spent most of the time name-dropping-"
"-As she does," Fran added.
"But that little thing -- what's her name, Fran?"
"Candy or Brandy or something like that. I didn't pay much attention."
"Right. Brandy. Brandy hung on every word, but you should have heard her shriek when the rat landed on her."
"I almost peed my pants," Fran added. "But then he turned his beady eyes on us. Disgusting things." She smiled at Jean. "Thank you for taking care of the rat."
"It was a girl rat," Jean explained. "I'm the only girl that gets to bite you."
I laughed nervously. I thought they were pulling my leg, but I wasn't sure. "I should tell you about the rats we have back home. Some of them are as big as house cats. With the smaller ones, we can shoot 'em with twenty-twos, but we have to use thirty-eights for the big ones. They make a hell of a noise if you just wing 'em."
Jean laughed then said, "I do love your accent, Bethany. You're okay."
We made our way to the ride. Katrina bought tickets for us, and after a short wait, we climbed aboard our car. I sat quietly, looking around, and then the ride started.
I could hear Fran and Jean talking quietly. "Was it here?"
"No. This is where the bat flew through your hair the first time we came here."
"Oh god, that was terrible. It got stuck."
I was pretty sure they were giving me shit, but then I heard a squeak of some sort and something fluttered past us, right behind me.
"Oh shit," I said, clutching at Katrina and looking around for the bat. But it was so dark I couldn't see it.
"They're just little bats," Katrina said. "They're all over California. They eat the insects. If you leave them alone, they'll leave you alone."
"That's what they say about possums," I replied. "But those things are mean."
Twice more the bat passed behind me, once just brushing my hair with its wings, and I shrieked.
"Shhh," said Katrina. "The good part is coming up."
I thought the ride was kitchy, but the bat certainly added a level of heart-pounding action to the ride.
"I think it's around this corner," Jean said. "Keep an eye out, Fran. Sometimes their eyes shine."
I was pretty sure they were full of shit, but they had been right about the bat.
"Here?" Fran asked Jean quietly.
"Yeah. Oh hell, there's one," Jean said.
Then there was a thump on the turtledeck of the ride immediately behind me. Fran squeaked, and then there was something in my hair.
I screamed, batting at my hair. "Get it off me! Get it off me!"
"I got it!" Jean said. She leaned forward and swept her hand through my hair, slapping the rat away, and I found myself clutching at Katrina, hiding against her.
"It's gone," Jean said. "It was a little one."
"Didn't feel so little," I muttered. "Shouldn't they trap those or something?"
"They're sea rats. Can't get rid of them," Katrina explained. "They don't usually carry disease, but I'll check you for fleas later."
"Fleas?" I squeaked. I began batting at my hair, hoping to shake anything loose that had dislodged from the rat. I was still doing it by the time we exited the tunnel back into the light.
Then all three of them burst out laughing. I continued to shake out my hair, but Katrina grabbed my hands.
"I have to get rid of the fleas," I said.
"Come on," she said. The attendant let us out, and she pulled me clear of the ride, Jean and Fran following behind us, both of them laughing at me.
"Sandy acted a lot like that," Fran said.
"I thought her name was Mandy," Jean said. "Yeah. She did."
"Come on, Katrina," I said. "Are there any fleas?"
"Probably not," Katrina replied. "I don't think Fran has fleas."
I stared at her, blinking three times. "What?"
Fran stepped up behind me. "Did the rat feel like this?" And then she was playing with my hair.
"And when I slapped it away, was it like this?" Jean asked, slapping Fran's hands away from my hair.
I pulled away from Katrina and turned to face them. "And the bat?"
Jean made a squeaking sound.
"You- you- you b-" and then Katrina's fingers were over my mouth.
"I don't want you to use that word," she said quietly to me. I turned to her and nodded, and she released me. Then I turned back to her friends.
"You brats!" I glanced at Katrina.
"That word is okay," she said. "And accurate."
The two women were chortling, and Jean said, "You got a gullible one here, Kat."
"Are you going to let them treat me like this? You're the only one who gets to tease me!"
"Oh, I don't know," Katrina said. "I liked the way you clutched at me. And that ride is pretty dull without a little extra excitement."
"You knew they were going to do that!"
She didn't respond, but she grinned.
"You're all brats!" I declared. In response, they chuckled at me.
So I looked around and settled my eyes on one of the roller coaster. "What's that called?"
"Undertow," Jean said. "Fran won't ride on it with me."
"Wimp," I said immediately. "You all owe me."
"No way," said Fran. "You can't make me." She grinned.
"Chicken."
"Yep." She made chicken noises at me. "I'm not afraid to admit it."
Katrina leaned over to me. "Are you really upset?"
"No," I replied. "It was pretty funny."
"Good girl," she said. "Be gracious."
"What else is there?" I asked Jean and Fran.
"Skee ball!" Jean and Fran said after glancing at each other. "Loser buys lunch." As a unit, they turned, leading the way along the boardwalk to the arcade.
I was impressed. They had every electronic game known to man. The two of them led the way past all the shiny electronic games until we arrived at the rows of Skee Ball games. Katrina bought tokens for us. "Four games," Jean declared. "Most tickets wins. Well, more importantly, least tickets pays for lunch."
Katrina whispered in my ear, "Are you any good at this?"
"I don't suck," I said, "but those two look like sharks."
"We're playing teams," Katrina declared. Then she whispered to me, "but you and I have a private wager. If you lose to me, then you will let me kiss you, however I want, in the middle of the boardwalk."
"And if I beat you?" I asked her.
"Then you get to pick where I get to kiss you," she said with a grin.
I nodded.
Jean and Fran spent most of the time alternating between cackling and offering trash talk. I had four good games, but I wasn't in their league.
And Katrina sucked.
We didn't have to count tickets to determine the score, but Fran insisted anyway. "We need to know what we won."
"You won lunch," I said.
"Yeah, but we can turn the tickets in for really cool stuff."
"Like plastic scorpions," Katrina said with a laugh.
"That's about the best she gets," Jean admitted. "Kat, you're amazing at everything you do, but you suck at Scee ball."
We gave our tickets to Fran, who seemed pleased to add them to her stack, and then she disappeared, returning a few minutes later with a small toy sea lion. She handed it to me. "Memento," she said.
"Fran," I said. "Thank you." I snuzzled the toy and added it to my bag. Then I turned to Katrina. "Any good at air hockey?"
"I hold my own," she said.
I dragged her to one of the air hockey teams. By some unspoken agreement
, Jean and Fran picked sides, and Fran began cheering me on even before the game started.
It was a fierce game. Katrina beat me, but it was close. She immediately said, "Two out of three. If I win, I get to grope your ass any time I want today."
I laughed. "Fine. If I win, I get to grope yours."
She returned my laughter. And then I got serious. I won the next two games.
"You suckered me!"
"Your fine ass was the incentive I needed," I told her.
We picked up our things, and then Fran dragged me to a Pac-Man game in the corner. I laughed when I saw it.
"This is just for fun," she said, feeding the machine some tokens and starting up a game of doubles. She was a Pac Man expert, beating me handily, but I had fun and cheered her on as she ran from the ghosts and ate up the dots.
"Reservations in ninety minutes," Jean said. "We'll have to head back to the scooters in about forty-five. More rides?"
They all turned to me. "Your choice," Katrina said. "What do you want to do?"
"Can we walk on the beach? Is it safe to go barefoot?"
"Yes, and yes," said Jean immediately. "Excellent plan."
So we stepped out to the beach. I took my sandals off and stuffed them in my bag. The sand was hot, so I scurried down to where the sand was wet. The water was cold, but it felt good. Carrying their own sandals, the other three joined me, and I opened the bag for them to deposit their footwear. Then Katrina took the bag from me and slung it over her own shoulder.
"I won Skee ball," I told her.
"Yes, you did."
"We won Skee ball," Jean said. "Didn't you notice?"
"We had a second wager." I looked at Katrina. "I choose right here."
She didn't wait but pulled me into a kiss that left my knees weak. It went on and on.
But I got a real good grope of her ass, which amused Jean and Fran to no end.
When finally Katrina broke the kiss, she held me steady while I caught my breath. "You may do that again, any time you want today, but you should warn me."
She smiled. "Are you sure?"
"Yes. As long as you give me a few seconds warning."
She adjusted the hat on my head and took my hand, and the four of us set off down the beach.
We walked slowly, taking our time returning to the wharf. I made a point of stepping through the water, but after the third wave rode over our feet, Katrina tugged me further from the waves.
