A Good Idea

Another requested piece! I hope you enjoy!

***

"This is a good idea."

"Sure it is."

Emily smiled at Jenna across from the plane isle. Her friend had already pulled out her phone and was idly scrolling through social media. "It's a good idea," she repeated.

Jenna looked up, pushing a strand of blonde hair away from her face. Her smile didn't reach her blue eyes as she said, "You're right. I haven't been on holiday for a while." And then she turned back to her phone.

Emily sighed and looked away. She closed her eyes, rubbed her empty ring finger and wondered precisely what the hell she was doing.

"Are you alright?"

She turned to see the man sitting next to her. She'd tried to get a seat right next to Jenna, imaging the two of them sharing stories over little bottles of wine and laughing like they did when they were younger. Things being what they were, she booked too late and in the end Emily found herself across the aisle and one row behind Jenna instead of right next to her; not a disaster, of course, but not exactly the setup for a four-hour gabfest. A side effect of this was that the seat next to her was occupied by a small, relaxed looking man with a bald head and the greyest eyes she'd ever seen. He smiled at her with a benign confidence utterly at odds with his gnomelike appearance.

"I'm fine," she said. "Just- wish I could sit next to my friend."

The man's eyes flickered to Jenna- already lost in her digital world- and then back to her. Was there a spark of pity in his eyes? "I can swap if you want."

"It's okay." It was her turn to give a fake smile. "I'm fine."

He studied her for a moment. His eyes seemed to shift and shiver, and for a moment she thought they'd changed- if not colour but in some strange way depth. Then he shrugged and said, "No worries then. You two enjoy your flight."

***

A strained flight followed, punctuated by the occasional brief conversation with Jenna while a group of lads behind them drank and laughed and talked too loudly, smashed an hour into the trip. Then the landing, with the bustle and fuss to get off the plane; then passport control and waiting for luggage, Jenna cursing as she wrestled with a case with a dodgy wheel. Then a taxi ride with a driver who cheerfully chatted to them in a Spanish accent so thick that Emily felt guilty about not being able to understand a word of what he said. The dodgy Airbnb brought them briefly together as they followed the great British tradition of complaining about the piddly size of the rooms, the ugly walls, the inadequate air conditioning and the creepy man who passed them the keys. Then they changed, swimsuits over their summer clothes before heading to the beach-

She took a moment to check her old friend as the two of them trod on hot sand. Jenna had cut her hair, long dark locks transformed into a short blonde pixie-cut. She'd gotten a tattoo behind her ear- some sort of flower, the inked lines stark against her pale skin. She was dressed in shorts and a t-shirt that were tight against her petite build. She contrasted sharply with Emily- with her long, reddish-brown hair and her modest dress that hid a relatively voluptuous body. She looked nothing like the girl Emily had known in high school; the girl she'd known in college; the girl she hadn't seen in the last five years.

It was fine. Jenna had changed. Emily had changed but at their core they were still the same people. They had a close friendship that had just been... temporarily delayed. She was going to enjoy this holiday with Jenna. She was.

They found a set of chairs and paid the fee. Jenna ordered a beer and after a moment's consideration so did Emily. The two of them lay back, both still wearing their clothes.

What followed was an hour of intense awkwardness- all the worse for being an awkwardness that only Emily seemed to feel. She sat and tried to talk while Jenna ignored her in favour for her book or her phone. Emily sipped her beer and stared at the waves and wondered what the hell made her think that any of this was a good idea.

The beer, at least, gave her an excuse to get away from the painful experience. She rose to head to the bathroom of the nearby bar, passing a crowd that seemed to be entirely made up of fellow British tourists- all of whom seemed to be hotter, younger and a hell of a lot happier than she was. She wondered if she should just make her excuses to Jenna and head back to the hotel-

"Hello again."

The small grey man- that was an unfair name but that was how she thought of him- was sitting at the bar. An empty beer glass lay at his side. "Once again, are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Really."

"You know, it would be a good idea if you sat down and talked to me for a bit about what's bothering you."

She paused. She guessed that it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if she sat and talked to someone else about all of this- maybe a fresh perspective would help? And so she sat down next to the man. "Do you want a drink?" he asked as he waved over the waitress.

"A coke."

He nodded. "Two cokes. And..." He bent closer to murmur into the waitress's ear. She blinked and then smiled, eyes flashing with amusement before bustling off to fetch their drinks. "So tell me why you look so unhappy," he said.

"I'm kind of here with my friend."

"So far so good..."

"It's just- we sort of haven't spoken for a few years."

"Why would that be?"

The waitress came back with two frosty cokes and Emily took a moment to press the ice-cold glass against her forehead before continuing. "I kind of... abandoned her. She and I were close as sisters, right all the way through middle and high school. Studied together, dated boys together, got into all sorts of trouble together... we ended up in the same college too. Didn't even think how weird it was. And then..."

"And then?" There didn't seem to be anything but sympathy in those deep grey eyes of his. And so she told him about Danny; Danny who was so clever and handsome and funny; Danny who was older, who always seemed to have the right answers, who always seemed to know best. Who didn't like Jenna. Who told Emily that she was bad for her, who told Emily she shouldn't be friends with her anymore.

She knew, in retrospect, that there had been red flags. That he'd been isolating her from her family and her friends. But he was handsome and he always seemed to know best and so she agreed with him and turned her back on Jenna...

Three years of disastrous marriage followed. Then one year spent in a particularly brutal divorce. Her family were understanding. But Jenna had moved to London and gotten on with her life and in all honesty-

"In all honesty I don't know why I called her," she said. "And I certainly didn't think she'd agree to go on this holiday. And now we're here and...

The grey man listened. At some point the waitress had abandoned her post to sit close to the grey man. She was young and pretty and dark haired with a tanned, trim body, and she ignored Emily's story instead to glance around the bar, her hands buried in her lap. "You think she hasn't forgiven you?" the grey man said.

"She says she has. It's more like..."

"You lost what you had. That closeness."

"Yeah. I know I don't deserve it but I kind of wish we could just go back the way things were."

The waitress's hand was making some sort of rhythmic movement- was it some sort of nervous twitch? She did seem nervous, her eyes darting around as though she was worried about something. "Tell you what," said the man. "I think you need to stop worrying so much. If she's here, she's clearly after the same thing you are. No, what you need to do is to do something to take your mind off this pressure."

The waitress noticed Emily was eyeing her and smiled; a shy, uncertain grin as though they were sharing some secret joke. Emily said, "I don't think that I should..."

"Who's your friend?"

Emily turned to see Jenna walking towards them. The waitress jerked as though shocked and rose, blushing, to go back behind the counter. Emily smiled. "We met on the plane. I was just talking about-" She hesitated.

"We were just talking about all the sorts of stuff that you guys could do on this island," the man said. "I mean, when you think about it, this is a great opportunity for you two!"

"Oh really?" Jenna raised one eyebrow.

"I mean, take myself as an example." The waitress was hovering around the group- he mouthed something to her and she smiled and walked towards the women's toilets. He watched her slip inside before saying, "As I was saying, I recently had a bit of a...change in my life."

"Change?"

"I was in the middle of a bad divorce just like your friend here. The sort where you realise that the other person not only doesn't love you but actively hates you. And then the pressure got to me and well... let's just say I got a lucky break of sorts."

"Money?"

"Not quite- but it has opened up a lot of opportunities for me." He glanced in the direction of the women's toilets. "And so I've come here to contemplate what I want to do next. Explore all the possibilities in a safe environment."

"And what have you figured out so far?"

"That you two girls need to bond over some fun times." He laughed. "Which is why I have an idea. It's a good idea and I think you should try it out."

"Go on..."

He leant forward. "What I think you should do is.."

***

Emily walked with Jenna back to the beach. She glanced sideways at her friend, who was staring straight ahead with a bright red blush. They reach their seats and sat down, facing each other.

"What do you think?" Emily asked.

"I think he's a pervert."

"Well yes, but I mean...what about the idea?"

"Well, it's a good idea," said Jenna.

"Obviously."

"So we're going to do it?"

"I guess..."

Emily glanced around at the busy beach. Old women and men, comfortable in their flab and stetch-marks; teens with their coltish bodies, fresh out of childhood; young men and women with their bodies sculped and shaped through gyms and diets, proud of their prime and fearless in their sexuality. Plenty of women. A lot of men. Emily felt her blush bloom bright on her skin. It was a good idea but would she really go ahead a do something so-?

But Jenna was looking at her and she was biting her lip and suddenly they were both twelve and Jenna had confessed to kissing Tom Darling, and she was giggling, a fit of giggles, shocked about how her friend could be so...

Naughty.

And then Jenna stood up. Slipped off her shirt and eased down her shorts until she was standing in her blue-and-white striped bikini. And then she waited.

Emily rose to her own feet, taking a long, deep breath. They were actually going to- I mean, she agreed, but- she couldn't possibly do something like this.

But somehow it looked like she was going to. She cleared her throat and pulled down the straps of her dress. She was wearing a much more modest swimsuit; a faded red one-piece. She pushed the dress into her bag, taking an opportunity to look around and see that yes, the beach was as full of people- as full of men- as it was a few seconds ago.

The two of them stared into each other's eyes again and both of them were giggling again and then-

Jenna reached back behind her and took off her bikini top.

She was a small girl but her boobs- paler than the rest of her- were perky, jutting out from her chest like a pair of knives. Her nipples were small and already erect, no doubt through that same mixture of arousal and fear that had its grip on Emily's brain. She nodded to herself as though she'd just forgotten something and then she pushed down the bikini bottoms, revealing a dark patch of curly black hair. She hadn't shaved or trimmed. Well, why would she? This had hardly been in their itinerary.

And then Jenna was standing naked- naked!- in the middle of the beach and she was staring at Emily and oh shit it was her turn. And her hands were moving up grab the straps on her oner and then they were pushing down. Jenna was smiling and strangely that made it better as her boobs- her big, heavy boobs with their big, puffy nipples- came into view. A heartbeat later the fabric was sliding down to her groin and then she was lifting her feet, pushing it down and placing the one-piece as primly as she could onto the beach-sofa.

There was a moment where the two of them stood there naked in the middle of the crowded beach. Feeling silly and naughty and stupid and shockingly horny. Emily felt the breeze pass across her skin and between her legs.

And then Jenna said, "Let's go for a swim."

Her muscles moved as though she was hypnotised, following her friend's pale ass as they walked across the hot sand. Emily saw every jiggle, every bounce, as she walked- so slowly- towards the water; saw the way the twin moons of Jenna's butt flexed as they walked, sand underfoot and sun overhead-

They made it halfway there before someone whistled.

And then Jenna was looking around and everyone, everyone was looking; old men and young men and men just a hair away from being boys. Openly staring as they grinned or subtly with one eye on their girlfriends and wives. There were dozens of men on that beach; dozens of men and all of them staring at them. At her.

She turned to see Jenna looking over her shoulder at her. Her pale little body was flushed red but she was smiling as she said, "Come on. Five minutes in and then we run like hell." And then she hurried into the water.

Emily followed her, the two of them jiggling and then she was laughing- half hysteria and half something else- as she reached the waterline. Some strange impulse made her jump and the shock of the cold as she splashed right into a wave make her shriek.

They swam in silence, two naked sirens in the middle of a crowded beach. She turned and saw a group of boys- they couldn't have been more than eighteen- staring at both of them and she eyed at their slim, toned bodies, aware that the water almost certainly hid a half-dozen hard erections. A little distance away an older man was trying desperately not to stare in a way that would tip off his wife and was failing horribly.

She plunged underneath, closing her eyes and letting the shock of the salty waves wash over her. A second later she shot out, long hair flicking back. Jenna watched with laughter in her eyes before swimming towards her in long, languid strokes.

Emily hugged her, feeling her big boobs smooshing against her friend's smaller, pointy tits. There was a breathless whimper from the direction of the teenagers and they both laughed.

"Okay," said Jenna. "This was a good idea."

"Are you kidding?" said Emily. "This was a terrible idea!"

"But you're glad you're doing it, right?"

Emily looked around to the assembled ranks of men, all of them staring at her big tits, and laughed. "Yeah, but only because I'm too frightened to think straight!"

"Your friend has some weird ideas. Good ideas, but weird."

"He's not- fine. Look, we should probably go back before we get thrown out of the beach or someone steals our clothes, right?"

"That's not going to happen." Jenna looked around her. "Actually I can totally see that happening. Let's get back to the beach."

***

"And that's when I kicked him."

Emily covered her mouth. "I can't seriously believe you'd do that!"

They were sitting in a bar, a pair of sticky drinks in front of them. Well, several sticky drinks.

They'd run up the beach- bounce bounce bounce- and dressed at double-speed. They'd almost certainly broke some sort of indecency laws but by the way the cabana boy was smiling at them Emily was pretty sure they were in the clear.

Jenna smiled, having just finished up a story about a date gone horribly- if amusingly- wrong a few years ago. It was one story of many about a life that her old friend had lived since-

-she wasn't going to think about that. Emily had a strange sensation that she was on the cusp of- she wasn't sure what. But it was the antithesis of the dark, ugly years that had come before.

"-I mean, that's how I ended up getting off Tinder. Never again."

"I wish I had been there," said Emily. "I wanted to have seen it all. I wanted to...."

She caught Jenna's expression and looked away. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Jenna's response was just a hair too fast. "I get it that..."

"Right."

The two of them glanced away as Emily cursed herself.

"Hi."

It was the grey man again. He always had a knack for showing up when he was needed- maybe he was her own weird little genie? Genies, of course, weren't usually in the company of a pair of pretty blonde girls- hopefully at least out of high school- and so close in appearance they must have been sisters. That was...actually, she was beginning to get a weird feeling this was par for the course with her new friend. They were tall enough that his head was smooshed between their boobs as they laughed and moulded themselves against him. "How are you two?" he asked. "And how was your swim?"

Emily and Jenna both laughed. "It was fun!" Jenna said.

"It was terrifying!" Emily said.

"Just terrifying?" Emily's face must have given something away because he joined in their laughter. Two- now three friends laughing over being naughty. He leant forward. "What are you up to now then?"

Jenna shrugged. "Just- catching up over drinks. Nothing very exciting."

There was a gleam in the grey man's eye as he said, "Mind if I...suggest another good idea?"

Emily and Jenna exchanged looks. They grey man said, "For what it's worth, I think you'll enjoy this one just as much as the other." He must have taken their bemused expressions as permission because he lent forward, untangling himself from the clutches of those two blonde girls to speak into their ears. "I think it would be a good idea if..."

A moment later he left, girls in tow, leaving the two friends staring at each other.

"He can't just tell us to-" Jenna started.

"He did."

"We don't have to do it."

"Right."

"It was just an idea."

"A good idea..."

The two friends eyed each other up. And Jenna bit her lip again, eyes burning with mischief. And that set Emily giggling which got Jenna giggling, and well...

"But where," Emily asked, "are we going to find..."

Jenna laughed and looked around the bar. "All around us."

***

Lots of men that night; lots of lads on the pull. Big and hearty and muscular types with tattoos and shaved heads and loud shirts already several shots in. Laughing and flirting it up with beachgoers and partygoers and hen nights and girls that had snuck away from their parents, ancient mating rituals carried out to thumping party beats. Lads on the pull.

In the end they settled on a pair of tanned men with French accents. A little less in the way of tattoos and crude language, a little more in the way of clever jokes and fashion sense. They introduced themselves and it was soon clear that everyone was on the same page in terms of what they wanted out of the night. The rest was just a matter of decorum; drinks bought, flirty innuendos exchanged, names swapped (she didn't really hear him over the noise- he was maybe Francis? Frank? F-something) and some light dancing and grinding. An hour after they'd first sat down they were leading the men back to their Airbnb.

F-something was the shorter one but had a smile she liked; Jenna's one was taller and more muscular and just a touch more on the rough side. F-something had blondish hair that Emily enjoyed running her hands through as they kissed on the way, lips twisting around each other while he cupped her ass through her dress.

They walked through the door into the main lounge room. F-something must have expected a little more foreplay; wine and talking before the main event, perhaps. But Jenna was already pulling her lad into the bedroom, waggling her ass at him like an animal in heat. She hadn't even left the room before Emily pounced. She didn't feel like dragging things out, not the least because she'd never had a one-night stand before and part of her was scared and guilty as shit and if she put it off she might back out and F-something was taking off his shirt and goddamn.