After the Lockdown

This is my first effort.

Be gentle.

Constructive feedback is always welcome.

If you enjoy, I have many more threads to tease out with these characters.

--

Sitting in the car, waiting for the ferry to arrive, Alex realized how excited she was. She'd been looking forward to this weekend for a long time. Brian's kids were finally back with their mother after a long summer vacation, and Alex was very much in need of some adult time.

She and Brian had only been married for a few years, and while she loved her step kids, she had never wanted to be a mom herself. So after many months of sand castles, Italian ices, and funnel cakes, she couldn't be more ready to have one of her best friends join them for a long weekend of wining, dining, and relaxation. Brian was working hard to show his gratitude to her for being such a good sport all summer. He promised her that she and Stephanie wouldn't have to lift a finger all weekend, and that he would make sure that their glasses were never more than half empty. She knew that when Brian promised to be the butler, chauffer, and chef, that she could just relax and enjoy her best friend.

As she saw the ferry pulling around the Vineyard Haven pier, she felt a wave of emotion wash over her. She loved Stephanie and was quietly overcome by how much she had missed her best friend through the whole lockdown. There was a time when the two had been inseparable. They met when they were both babes in the woods in Manhattan in the late 2000s startup scene. They bonded while struggling to keep their heads above water as the bottom fell out of the economy. They shared small apartments with people they barely knew, they bought each other drinks when the other was maxed on their credit cards, they feasted like queens at Gramercy Tavern when their bonuses hit, and they cut a swath through the overgrown frat boys of Murray Hill like a hot knife through butter—learning a ton about sex, love, and broken hearts along the way.

Through triumphs and tribulations, neither of them once thought of going back home to their parents' quiet lives in leafy suburbs where the degree of a woman's success could be measured by the size of the ring her husband gave her. No, they had officially become New Yorkers, and they promised each other that they would always be so. As the years slowly ticked by, they both kept climbing, but never lost touch. While the responsibilities piled on, they'd still meet every other week like clockwork, clearing their calendars for brunch or drinks to catch up. More often than not, they'd end up over-served and half under the table; laughing like the barely-out-of-school girls they'd been when they first became friends. Once Brian was in the picture, it often became his job to come fetch them, piling them into a cab before they got too rowdy. It was up to him to get them back to he and Alex's place downtown and keep their wine glasses full until they were finally ready to call it a night—or a very early morning. The next day he was always there, spatula in one hand and champagne in the other, ready to make omelets and mimosas to chase the cobwebs away.

What a gorgeous nerd, Alex thought as Stephanie made her way down the gangplank to the ferry terminal.

Steph was pulling a Tumi bag behind her like an errant puppy, its little wheels hissing across the grooved surface, while simultaneously trying to keep the Chanel crossbody purse from sawing her boobs in half as it swung around her lithe torso in the late afternoon breeze. Stephanie was generally oblivious to the men who found her absolutely delicious in her super feminine skirts and silky tops. Today was no exception, as a wedge of weekending man-boys in their popped collar polos trailed behind her, eyes glued to her pert bottom as she wrestled her bags down the ramp.

Alex rarely had any extra fucks to give, much less to a group of finance bros ogling her friend's ass without so much as offering a hand to help her with her luggage. She bullied her way into the loading zone and double-parked her obsidian G63 in front of the terminal, quickly hopping out to great her old friend. Alex pulled Stephanie in for a close hug, laughing her throaty laugh as Steph's heels caught a seam in the sidewalk, making her stumble a little.

"Don't worry, I've got you." Smiling as she gave Steph a shoulder squeeze with her left hand while reaching around to grab the handle of the Tumi bag with her right.

Meanwhile, the forward progress of the Vineyard Vines crew stopped entirely, as the blonde bombshell intercepted the little brunette vixen they had so ardently been tracking off the boat. Blocking the entire pathway from the ferry terminal to the parking lot, Alex gave Steph a full up and down inspection, concluding that her friend had pulled herself together for this weekend getaway—makeup, hair, and nails perfectly done. Nothing at all to indicate that she'd just endured a messy breakup with Drew in the MIDDLE OF A PANDEMIC.

"You know, it's his fucking loss." Alex said speaking just a little too loudly and peering over the rims of her YSL sunglasses. "Just look at these boys moping behind you. Anyone of them would trade their left testicle for a single night with you."

"What? Who?" Stephanie asked, spinning in a half circle to see the pileup of half-a-dozen twenty-something men who suddenly, desperately tried to look anywhere but at the two beauties impeding foot traffic.

Laughing again, Alex grabbed Steph's hand, hauled her over to the SUV, and bundled her into the passenger seat. Walking around to the Mercedes' liftgate, standing with her hand casually resting on the handle of the suitcase, Alex languidly gazed at nothing in particular while simultaneously inviting-yet-daring one of the men to come forward and lift it into the back for her. After a beat, a tall man shouldered his way through the gaggle of Wall Street's goofiest and stepped forward.

"Can I help you with that?" he asked, already reaching for the handle, his long mocha fingers brushing against her hand.

"Finally. A gentleman who knows what a woman needs," said Alex, half to him and half to the dispersing group of men who were, again, looking furtively away, cursing themselves for what they perceived to be a missed opportunity.

Alex stepped back to let this tall dark stranger hoist the bag into the back of her SUV, admiring the width of his shoulders and the taper of his waist as he did so. When he turned, she quickly stepped forward and offered her right hand.

"I'm Alex Davies," she said. "Thanks for your help."

"No problem at all, Alex Davies. I'm Laurence Douglas and it is a pleasure to meet you."

"Well, Laurence. I need to get my friend back to the house. Maybe we will see you around the island," said Alex, slowly letting go of Laurence's strong, warm hand.

"Maybe you will," he responded, pulling a card out of his breast pocket and handing it to her. "Come by my restaurant sometime—it's down island in Oak Bluffs. We opened right before the season started and pandemic sort of spoiled our big reveal. We made up for it, though, as the summer got going. We are planning a local's summer theme over the next several weekends while the weather is still good, but the main crowds are gone. I assume you're a local?"

"I can't really call myself a local," Alex demurred, "but we do have a place in Edgartown that we spend as much time at as we can."

"Well, I guess I can make an exception for you," Laurence said, appreciatively gazing her up and down, lingering where her curves pulled tautly against the stretchy fabric of her maxi dress.

"For my husband and our friend, too, I assume?" said Alex archly, her dimples betraying her teasing.

"Yeah," he sighed. "Them, too."

"See you around, Laurence." Alex turned, making sure that she put a little extra sway in her hips as she walked back to the driver's door.

Peeking over her shoulder one last time before getting in, she saw that he was still standing where she'd left him--breathing shallowly through his mouth before unconsciously licking his lips and pulling himself together. Right before closing the door she slid her sunglasses down the bridge of her nose and gave him an obvious wink with her bright blue eyes. She then closed the door, retreating behind the privacy tint of her blacked out Mercedes, and swung into traffic.

"Jesus Christ." Stephanie snickered, "I leave you alone for one summer and you turn right back into being a cock tease."

"Oh, honey," giggled Alex, "I'm not a cock tease. I'm a cock collector. It seems that you've forgotten that you once were, too, before getting involved with that heartbreaking piece of shit—whatever his name was—and going all vanilla on us."

"Too soon, Alex; too soon. I was with that heartbreaking piece of shit for the past three years. If you tried a little, I'd bet that you could even remember that his name is Drew. You know, the guy that you, Brian, and I travelled the world with multiple times over?"

Taking a deep breath, Stephanie continued, her voice cracking the slightest bit, "Please remember that we've only been split up since Fourth of July weekend. I'm not back to normal yet."

Realizing she'd hit a nerve, Alex reached over the center console and rested her hand on Stephanie's, "Fair enough, love. I'm sorry for overstepping. You know that you mean the world to Brian and I, and I can't stand seeing you hurt. This weekend is about getting you back to normal. Speaking of which, Brian has promised us a perfect weekend. Just like the old days."

"Just like the old days," Steph murmured. "Yeah. I could use that."

--

Alex decided to take the long way to the house, driving along Seaview Avenue to Beach Road so that they could cruise down the eastern side of the island with the whole of the Atlantic spilling off to their left side. The late afternoon sun was magical, glimmering atop the incoming rollers, making it look like billions of diamonds were being cast onto the sand with each breaking wave.

With the windows down, the moon roof open, and a dance music channel dialed in on XM, they were soon laughing and reminiscing about the 'old days' having quickly forgotten the momentary awkwardness from the ferry station. Pulling into downtown Edgartown, a classis EDM favorite came on. As if on some predetermined cue they both began belting out the chorus,

"And I don't even know how I survive,

I won't make it to the show without your light,

No I don't even know if I'm alive,

Oh, oh, oh without you now

This is what it feels like."

Glancing to her right, Stephanie saw a Jeep Wrangler full of bathing suit-clad teenagers staring scornfully at she and Alex, aghast at the notion of two thirty-somethings acting so foolishly. Stephanie turned fully towards them, blew them a kiss, and then started singing the next verse directly to them. Embarrassed, the teenagers turned away, conspicuously focusing on the stoplight ahead of them, and zooming away when it turned green to get away from the two obviously insane women in the next lane.

"God, I fucking missed you," Stephanie said, turning back to her friend, shaking her brown hair around her shoulders to loosen the tangles from the windy drive down the coast. "I've been walking around like a zombie since things went south with Drew. I barely left my condo for two months. I haven't been to a restaurant or store in I can't tell you how long. Thanks so much for talking me into coming. This is exactly what I need."

"Two months without shopping? That's insane. What you need is some retail therapy," laughed Alex, swinging into a small parking lot across from a couple of her favorite stores on Dock Street, "Come on. I'm buying."

Dragging Stephanie across the street, they ducked into Alex's favorite boutique. Looking up from her phone, the pretty girl at the counter waved them in as they entered the store.

"Welcome back, Ms. Davies! Did you get the email about our end of season swim sale?"

"I did, thank you. Also, I think I've been telling you for the past two years to call me by my first name," said Alex warmly, no rancor in her voice. "I'd like to introduce you to my best friend Stephanie. She may have been in here with me a couple of times over the past few years, but I don't know if you've ever actually met."

"Hi Stephanie! I'm Sam...short for Samantha," the clerk said turning back toward Alex, "It's been slow today and we have been doing shorter hours since Labor Day. I was just getting ready to put the closed sign on the door and start straightening things up. No rush at all for you two; it will just help me get out of here a little earlier."

"Sounds like somebody has a hot date," chuckled Stephanie as she winked at Alex.

Samantha blushed a deep crimson from her cheeks down to her perky bust, "I, um, well, um-"

"Don't worry, honey. Your secret is safe with us," Alex purred as she squeezed past Samantha and over to the swimsuit section.

"Yeah," laughed Stephanie, "there was a time when even us old ladies went on hot dates."

"Speak for yourself, old lady! I've never stopped going on them!" Alex rejoinder.

Somewhat shocked and a little confused by this declaration from Alex, Sam half-smiled as her eyes nervously darted between her favorite customer and this newcomer. Physically, the two were very different. Alex was tall and fair, with platinum hair that fell in thick waves to the middle of her back like some sort of Nordic fantasy. She was shaped like a pinup model--all dangerous curves that invited leering. She seemingly dressed to encourage it, with hip hugging dresses and skirts, painted on jeans, and plunging necklines showing the soft cleavage that was always on the verge of escaping the confines of whatever low-cut top she happened to be wearing. Sam had heard other women in the store quietly whisper catty things about Alex, commenting on the fact that she wore size ten dresses while they were shopping for size fours. Sam knew it was born of jealousy, however, and that these Vineyard moms were simply resentful that no amount of plastic surgery and crash diets could combine to give them the hourglass figure with which Alex was naturally blessed.

Stephanie, on the other hand, looked like a girl jock. Half-a-head shorter than her blonde friend, Stephanie's dark brown hair, deep brown eyes, and olive complexion, gave her a slightly exotic look. If she were an actress, she could have been cast in roles ranging from Mediterranean, to Arabic, to Hispanic—or maybe just the Italian girl from Brooklyn. Yes, her breasts were big, but she didn't flaunt them in the same way as Alex, keeping her necklines higher and the girls more under wraps than her flashy friend. Although she was shorter, she was more powerfully built. Her waist was narrow, as were her hips, presenting a cute and almost boyish posterior that was taut and firm rather than bubbly. Her calves and thighs were like something out of a ballet studio, rippling with lean muscle under tan skin. Having just met her, Sam couldn't peg her style, but the flowing floral skirt and simple-but-classy top conveyed a moneyed sensibility born of private schools and riding lessons.

Realizing that she'd been staring at the two for a beat too long, she cleared her throat nervously and asked Stephanie what she might like to see. Stephanie rounded the corner to the rear of the store to join Alex, saying that she had missed the entire beach season while hunkered down in Madison Square Park and that she was desperately in need of some new swim things in order to enjoy the weekend.

Over the course of the next half and hour or so minutes, Alex and Stephanie picked through a big selection of swimsuits and wraps—sporty bikinis, low-cut one pieces, barely-there two pieces, crochet lace wraps, silky sarongs, and sheer beach cover-ups—until there were two big piles sitting on the chaise next to the changing rooms.

Sam returned with two glasses of champagne after she had tidied up the front of the store. The shop always kept wine on hand for their best customers, and she knew that bubbles were Alex's favorite.

"Here you go, ladies," she said, handing over the flutes. Pulling back the curtains of the side-by-side changing rooms she continued, "I've already closed everything but the cash register up front, so I will be nearby if you need different sizes, colors, or anything like that, okay?"

Sam stayed close as Alex and Stephanie tossed swimsuit after swimsuit over the curtain rod of the changing rooms, declaring "This one, but in black." or "Can you find this in a size down?"

Scurrying between the racks and the changing rooms, Sam felt a glistening of sweat forming across her brow. The stupid A/C isn't working right again, she thought as she hustled back to the refrigerator to retrieve more of the champagne that Alex and Stephanie were sipping.

Just as she rounded the corner to the changing area, the curtain to Stephanie's changing room drew aside and she stepped out wearing a starkly revealing one piece that cut a deep V through her cleavage to well under her navel, stopping at the very top of her pubic bone and betraying the tiniest shadow of stubble where the tip of the V ended.

"Is it just me, or is it hot in here?" Stephanie asked, prowling around the changing area, hoping to find a draft of cooler air.

"Oh, mama it IS hot!" replied Alex, pulling back her own curtain to step into the larger room, fanning her neck with one hand while cocking the opposite hip vampishly.

Sam did a double take as she realized that Alex was wearing a totally sheer swim cover up—and nothing else. Her proud, baby pink nipples strained against the gauzy fabric of the barely-there cover up as her freshly waxed and panty-less pussy peeked out from under the short hem; labia jutting out slightly past her vulva as if pouting for attention.

"Um, more champagne?" Sam asked lamely.

Embarrassed, she tried shifting her eyes from Alex's most intimate parts only to look up at Stephanie as she was trying to situate one of her breasts in the plunging neckline of her swimsuit. As Stephanie was tucking herself back in, Samantha caught a very clear view of her wine-colored nipple standing out like a pencil eraser, surrounded by a large, dark areola.

"Thanks, Sam, but I'm driving," declared Alex, waving off the bottle.

"Well I'm not, so I will happily have another," said Stephanie.

Holding her glass out, Stephanie locked eyes with Sam whom she had noticed staring. As Sam began to pour, Stephanie thrust her shoulders back to shake her dark mane free of the perspiration on her neck, making her breasts loom larger in Samantha's vision. Flustered, Samantha overfilled the glass, champagne foaming over the top and running across Stephanie's fingertips. Instinctively, Stephanie pulled the glass to her lips and slurped the foam from the edge. Samantha felt herself blushing again as Stephanie's tongue licked the bubbles from the edge of the glass in an unintentional mimic of fellatio.

Time slowed as Stephanie gazed over the rim of the champagne glass toward Samantha. Slowly licking the champagne from her lips, Steph became aware that the young woman standing before her was really quite lovely. Was she an innocent, Stephanie wondered? Maybe. However, it was unlike Alex to leave fruit un-plucked for too long, and apparently her best friend did have a habit of dropping in often. Still, this young store clerk's naiveté wasn't at all manufactured, and unless she was an Oscar-winning actress, those blushing cheeks were the real deal. In a split-second decision, Stephanie decided to reclaim a bit of her old self and push a few boundaries to see if she still had it.

Looking back into Stephanie's eyes, Samantha muttered something about needing to grab a towel to clean Stephanie's hand. Stephanie gave a sideways smile and took a step toward Sam. Transferring the glass from her dripping hand to her dry one, she languorously extended her champagne-soaked fingers to within a couple of inches of Samantha's face, "I think we already have everything we need to clean things up."