Chapter 6: Daytime Tease

The sun hung high and merciless by mid-morning, turning the sand into a glittering white expanse that reflected heat straight up through our beach chairs. We’d claimed a prime spot near the water’s edge, the big striped umbrella casting a wide circle of shade over our towels and cooler. Sarah had planted herself in the middle, oversized sun hat tilted low, already halfway through her third chapter of some work-related paperback she swore she’d “finally finish on vacation.” Her phone lay silent in the sand beside her; she’d silenced notifications for once, but her eyes kept drifting back to the screen every few minutes anyway.

Kayla stretched out on the far side of the umbrella in a bikini I’d never seen before—smaller, bolder, the kind that made my throat tighten the second she peeled off her cover-up. The fabric was a deep emerald green, the triangles barely covering her breasts and the bottoms cut high on her hips, exposing the smooth lines of her waist and the faint tan lines from yesterday. She glistened with fresh sunscreen, the lotion giving her skin a warm, oiled sheen that caught every ray of light. She caught me looking and offered a tiny, private smile before settling onto her towel.

Sarah yawned, adjusted her hat, and was asleep within twenty minutes, soft breaths turning into the light, rhythmic snores I knew too well. Families wandered past twenty feet away—kids chasing waves, couples hauling coolers, the occasional dog splashing through the surf. The ocean glittered under the glare, waves rolling in with steady, foaming crashes that masked most other sounds. It should have felt safe. Normal. A family day at the beach.

It didn’t.

Kayla waited until Sarah’s hat had slipped slightly over her eyes. Then, under the edge of my towel, her bare foot slid across the warm sand and found my calf. The touch was feather-light at first, toes tracing the muscle in slow, deliberate strokes. I kept my face neutral, sunglasses hiding my eyes, pretending to watch the horizon while my pulse kicked up hard. Her foot moved higher, slipping beneath the loose hem of my board shorts, the sole warm and slightly gritty from sand. She pressed her toes against the inside of my thigh, then higher still, until they brushed the growing bulge at the front of my trunks.

I sucked in a sharp breath through my nose. A dad and two kids walked by carrying boogie boards, laughing about something. Twenty feet. Maybe less. The bright daylight made everything mercilessly visible—if anyone glanced over at the wrong angle they’d see her leg disappearing under my towel. Sarah snored softly beside me, completely unaware, her book open across her stomach.