Chapter 5: Spring Break

No one was up early on Sunday morning. Thomas and Denise were grateful that they were able to get four hours of sleep after getting to sleep at 6:00. When they ambled into the kitchen they found Cindi and Trish waiting for a pot of coffee to finish brewing.

“Nice clothes,” said Cindi with a barely controlled smile.

Trish could not hold her laugh. Denise rolled her eyes.

“Give us a break. What did you expect us to find late last night?”

“I’m not sure, but those t-shirts?”

Denise looked at Thomas, then down at her own shirt. They were both bright neon and emblazoned with the words, “I Love the Beach.”

“Hopefully, our bag will show up today and we won’t have to wear these more than a day,” said Thomas as he found two coffee cups. He refilled Trish and Cindi’s mugs, then filled two for him and Denise before filling the carafe and starting another pot.

“What are we doing today?” asked Trish.

“Matt and I were thinking a day at the beach would be a great way to start spring break,” said Kimmi as she quietly slipped into the kitchen. Trish yelped and jumped. She was not expecting Kimmi to appear directly behind her.

Denise, Trish, and Cindi were all nodding their heads in agreement with Kimmi. Thomas said, “It looks like we have a majority. When you’re ready, go tell the guys.”

Thirty minutes later the four couples regrouped in the kitchen. Everyone was wearing swimsuits and t-shirts with sandals.

Thomas said, “The house has chairs and floats out back. I’m thinking we can throw those in the car and I’ll drop a couple of you off, then go find a convenience store and get ice and drinks.”

“Works for me,” said Charles. “If you want, I’ll ride with you to drop off the stuff and then to go get ice in case parking is a problem.”

“OK, I’ve got a sidekick. Who wants to get the stuff to beach and find a spot?”

Trish said, “Brian and I can ride with you and schlep the the chairs to the beach.”

“We’re all set,” said Thomas. “Everyone ready?”

Denise, Cindi, Matt, and Kimmi left and started to walk to the beach. The others went to the backyard and found chairs and floats and carried everything to the car. Thomas went to the kitchen to find the styrofoam cooler they purchased the night before. He exited and locked the door and found everyone waiting by the car.

Thomas turned onto the road parallel to the beach. A block down the road he pulled into a small inlet that was not meant for parking but was usable for a drop-off zone. Brian and Trish unloaded the chairs and floats, then looked at each other wondering how they would carry it all.

Thomas pulled into traffic while Charles called out, “Good luck!”

They finally found a convenience store. It had sufficient parking so both Thomas and Charles entered. Thomas went looking for drinks and saw a policeman standing near the aisle. He laughed to himself as he wondered if the cop was meant to be a deterrent to teens trying to buy beer? Thomas grabbed sodas and four gallons of water. He met Charles at the check-out. Three bags of ice were already sitting on the counter.

“I’m getting this one,” said Charles as he pulled out his wallet. He gave Thomas a stern look that avoided any resistance.

Thomas popped open the trunk and they dumped some of the ice into the cooler, then the drinks, then the rest of the ice. At the inlet where they dropped off Brian and Trish they didn’t see either, and didn’t see a pile of chairs or floats, so assumed they made it onto the beach. Thomas looped around a few blocks and could not find parking. He returned to the drop-off zone and let Charles out to carry the cooler while he returned the car to the house and walked back to the beach.

When Thomas found everyone he was pleasantly surprised to see they had somehow secured a tent.

“How did you manage this?” he asked.

“A family was leaving,” said Trish. “The dad saw us struggling with all the chairs and called out and asked if we wanted it. He waited for us to get settled, then left to make sure none of the nearby lurkers claimed it first.”

Thomas scanned the beach. It was crowded. He was amused at how the popular beach movies of the 80s showed nothing but hard, tanned bodies. While he saw a fair number of good looking men and women, he also saw a lot of families, and a surprising number of people wearing suits he wouldn’t be caught dead in if he had their physique.

“Anyone want sun screen?” asked Thomas.

There were confused looks of surprise. It was not something most people, certainly not anyone in their teens or early twenties, thought of at the time. Denise realized Thomas’s suggestion was probably due to something he knew from his “old self” and let him apply a liberal coating of cream to her back and shoulders before handing her the bottle to finish with what she could reach.

It was perfect weather for the beach, sunny but not too hot with a slight breeze blowing in off the water. One or more of the group stayed at the tent all afternoon. When Denise and Thomas manned the tent she looked to their right and saw a couple in their forties settle into low-riding chairs with an umbrella that covered them and their cooler. After a few minutes she hit Thomas on the arm and whispered, “Look to your right. Causally.”

Thomas stood and went to the cooler and scanned the crowd. He saw why Denise wanted him to look. The woman had her arm draped leisurely over the man’s thigh. She gently moved it, letting her forearm rub against the man’s crotch. He was clearly excited and doing his best to appear like he was reading his book.

Thomas sat back down and watched with Denise out of the corner of their eyes as the woman continued to tease her husband. After several minutes she dropped all pretense and reached her hand under the man’s shorts and grabbed the bulge in his pants. He looked to her and pulled on her top to look at her tits. It only took another minute before the woman pulled her hand back and licked her fingers.

Before Denise could look away, the woman made eye contact with her and gave her a wave with her still-gooey fingers. Denise blushed and quickly looked away.