Chapter 5

Jake had left for a hike and wouldn’t be back for at least a few hours. Sarah was inside getting ready to soak in the hot tub. Rachel installed her yoga things, fully intending to clear her mind of any unwanted burden. She unrolled her mat and searched her phone music player for a soundscape playlist.

It was a beautiful day. The sun was already high in the sky, her rays occasionally veiled by feathery clouds. The smell of the forest mixed with the chlorine from the bubbling hot tub made her a bit fuzzy-headed, which was not at all unpleasant.

She started with a few stretching poses. For a big girl, she was amazingly supple. Thanks to years of practicing yoga, she could effortlessly put her legs over her head and lock her feet behind her neck.

In fact, that’s how Dan had most loved giving it to her.

Bile welled up in her throat at the memory of Dan even touching her, let alone giving it to her when she was so vulnerable and exposed.

She closed her eyes and concentrated on her breathing. Dan was gone. He had shown his true face and was out of her life for good.

As soon as calm reclaimed her, she started her visualization routine. She imagined good energy flowing into her lungs like a golden particulate stream, a cleansing force purifying her from the inside out. When she exhaled, she envisioned a cloud of soot exiting her body, leaving her lighter and cleaner. With every inhale, flimsy wafts from the tub entered her nostrils and filled her lungs, permeating into her bloodstream, padding her thoughts.

She heard Sarah’s bare feet tiptoe on the deck, but kept her eyes—and mind—shut.

Rachel had consulted her feelings over breakfast—never before had she had a sexual fantasy about another woman, or a couple—and remained very confused. She had actually masturbated and climaxed—hard, dammit—with very explicit and clear imagery guiding her efforts.

She intended to come to terms with what had happened, and yoga was the perfect tool for that.

“Are you sure you don’t want to join me?”

Rachel exhaled with demonstrative slowness. “Didn’t bring my bathing suit.”

A giggle lit up the porch. “Neither did I, silly.”

This opened up Rachel’s eyes. They almost dropped from their sockets.

Sarah stood with a fist on her hip, a towel casually knotted around her waist. Above that, nothing but naked skin. Her luscious blond curls reached down to her nipples, but Rachel couldn’t miss the ripeness of her friend’s breasts. They stood firm and proud, not sagging even a little, even though Sarah was past thirty.

Just above the towel, around the impression of her belly button, her skin rippled in and out of washboard dimples. She had a little scar on her right hip bone—she had fallen off her bike when she was twelve, Rachel knew—and a beauty mark just below the curvature of her left boob.

Sarah giggled again. “What’s the matter, never seen a towel before?

She unhooked her only garment and threw it over Rachel’s head. Rachel caught it, and after a short struggle put it down just in time to see Sarah swing a second leg over the tub rim. A peach-shaped rump and hourglass torso slid in the water before she could see more.

“Oh my gosh, this water is divine!”

She dipped her head backward and swung it back up, her wet hair spraying droplets in a wide, sunlit arc. Some of it rained down on Rachel, who still had the towel in her hands.