Always and Forever You

"I made you coffee." Lily appeared at the slider holding two paper cups. She was still wearing the tank top she slept in, but now also wore gym shorts. I had been sitting on the balcony since the dream woke me up three hours before.

"Aww thanks babe." I took one of the cups from her hand.

"It's from the little coffee pot in there. It's good enough until we can get the real thing down in the lobby. Lily's eyes gave me the once over. "Wow, you're ready for the beach, I see."

"I woke up early, so I decided to shower and get ready." I couldn't admit to Lily that the sex dream starring her had wrecked my sleepwear. Though it seemed that she might have understood considering the look of her panties earlier. How far did our little telepathic bond go?

"The bed is comfortable. Lily said, "I slept really well."

"I think it was the company." I responded.

Lily grinned. "You might be right Rosa-

belle

, because everything is better when you're around"

Lily sat down in the chair next to me to enjoy the stillness of the early morning. On the beach, 17 stories down, the tiny figures of two men were setting up the chaise lounges for the hotel guests. The beaches would soon be packed with people trying to get prime real estate for the day.

After Lily finished her coffee she got up to go get dressed. My eyes watched her all the way through the room until she rounded the corner into the bathroom. Being with her felt different now.

When she returned, dressed for the beach, I literally felt like my breath was taken away and that wasn't just a silly expression. Her black, one-piece bathing suit was like a 1960's design, with thin spaghetti straps, and it fully covered, yet highlighted her rounded hips and bottom. She finished the look off with black sandals, a white wide-brimmed straw hat, and the expensive sunglasses I bought her for a graduation gift. This retro-conservative look was intended to be the very opposite of the revealing bathing suits everyone was wearing, and yet for that very reason, I was sure it would turn every head on the beach. "God Damn Lily, you look like Jackie fuckin' Kennedy."

Lily blushed. "I am so proud of this purchase, I didn't want to show you until we were down here."

"You're gorgeous," I said.

Lily's eyes rolled. It was not a description she ever heard.

Ever

. "I have a white beach dress to wear over it, along with the hat. It's really pretty."

"I can't wait," I said. "I'll be right back though."

I ran into the bathroom and changed my own bathing suit for the day. I'd save the more revealing bikini for another day in favor of the more sporty green high-waisted two piece. Lily had set the classy bar high, and I wasn't going to slut it up.

We got our second cups of coffee and croissants from the hotel's cafe and were making our way through the lobby toward the exit when we stopped in our tracks. Standing there in front of the revolving door with a big smile on her face, was Devon.

My heart was racing as the intimate images from my dream rushed around in circles through my head. It was unnerving that she was suddenly right there. "Hey girl," Lori and I said in unison, in the same high-pitched tone, all due to nerves on my part.

Devon giggled. "You two say everything at the same time, that's adorable." She reached out and gave us a hug. I felt a little chill when we touched. It was a good chill.

"You dropping someone off?" I asked, though it was obvious. Devon was dressed in her white shirt and black pants. My mind's eye remembered Devon in the dream kneeling in front of me on the bed without those pants. I wondered if that's the way she really looked, and then I felt guilty, like I'd just violated her.

Devon nodded. "I was just leaving when I saw you. How have your first couple of days been?"

"Interesting." We both replied and then shot each other an annoyed look. We didn't want to do a comedy routine.

Devon eyebrows raised. "Well you're going to have to tell me about it," she said. "Looks like you're going to the beach? Lily, I love your hat and cover-up. It's very sexy and elegant."

You should see the rest of it.

I thought, but didn't say it aloud.

You had her last night, today she's mine.

A smile formed on Lily's face. "Aww thank you."

"If you're going to the beach, you should walk down to South End Beach, that is if you want to see some beautiful people," Devon suggested. "It'll be different than what you're used to. New experiences, right?"

"Yes, that's what we want. New experiences." Lily said, and looked my way. "Right, Rosa?"

New experiences had been fucking with my mind since I had an orgasm at the public pool.

"In fact, there's a bon-fire after dark at South End tonight that I plan on going to," Devon said."If you want to meet me there, you have my number. Send me a text, ok?"

I felt the nerves in my stomach take flight. Was Devon turning up after my dream just a coincidence?

"If we're going to go, we'll definitely text you." I said.

Devon bid us goodbye with another hug and told us she really hoped we'd join her.

We chose the new experience, and walked the few blocks down the street to what Devon had described as the town's gay-friendly beach. Fortunately we got there early, because it was filling up. We rented a couple of lounges and an umbrella for Lily and settled in. The beach was dominated largely by guys, but there were enough women so that we didn't feel uncomfortable. Did we feel out of place? I was working that through my head as we passed the bottle of sunscreen back and forth between us. I watched Lily spread the lotion into her arms, thighs, and around her neck. She asked me to rub it onto her back. It was something I'd done a hundred times at the pool back home, but today it felt a little awkward. After, the favor was returned, and each time Lily's hands touched my skin, I felt her lifeforce race through my nervous system.

We brought books and music for entertainment, but everything sat unused in the bags under our chairs. We loved to watch people, and the current inhabitants of this beach fascinated us. One hour, then two, raced by before we knew it. Many of the people were coupled up, some were alone, and others were with larger groups.

"I'm so happy we came here," Lily said quietly because the beach was crowded and there was very little space between setups. "My eyes are open to a world we won't ever see at home. People can be who they are here. At home, everyone conforms to fit in."

"Hon, there are gay people at home too." I couldn't name one at the moment though.

"Of course there are, but can they live the life they want in the open like this?"

"Well, it's Pride month," I pointed out, "This is their time to shine."

"Listen to what you just said though. Why do they only get one month? Look at these two," Lily gestured toward two guys in their mid-forties, laying together side-by-side on a towel, holding hands. "Why do they need a special month and a special beach to do that in public? They should be able to do that anywhere they want."

"Wow. But what's your religion telling you?" I asked.

Lily pondered that for a moment. "It's telling me I'm wrong, of course, and it's doing so in my mother's voice. Those two guys holding hands are sinning, and while God may love them, what they're doing is an abomination in His eyes." She bit her lip, and looked as if she was trying to work something out in her head. Whatever it was, she seemed hesitant to verbalize it. I tried to probe her mind, but I couldn't. Clearly I was a Padawan rather than a Jedi Master.

I accepted defeat on this one. "You don't want to play anymore, do you?"

For a moment she seemed frightened by the question. Confused, I met her eyes to try and soothe whatever had put her off.

"Well, I'm pretty sure now, that I don't want to play that religion game anymore. It wasn't very healthy for me, even before I got sick. And since then, I'm even more turned off by it."

I understood Lily's bitterness, mostly because of her mother. But I also said a million prayers for her recovery. It had to have been a factor

"I've been told...we've been told to pity everyone that didn't believe the way we believed. We had to turn everyone to our way of thinking, and if we weren't able to, we would pray for them and hope they redeemed themselves before it was too late. And in turn, my whole life was repressed." Lily gestured toward the couple holding hands. "I think they would fuckin' pity us."

"Because...?" I asked.

Lily started to speak, then stopped. After a few seconds of silence, she waved it off. "I don't know, nevermind. I just have to figure out life. But once I'm outta that house, I may never set foot in another church again." She stood up and held out her hand. "Would you go swimming with me?"

"Definitely, let's do it." I reached out and let her pull me up to a standing position. I felt eyes watching us as we found a path from our chairs, around the groups of sunbathers, down to the ocean. "I guess they think we're a couple," I said.

Lily giggled. "I'm sure there are some straight people on the beach."

The ocean was so warm it was barely a refuge from the hot sun, but it was full of people, either swimming, or floating and enjoying conversation. I went out about neck deep; and let myself float so that my feet came up and stretched out in front of me. I used my arms to tread water and keep balanced. Being shorter, Lily was over her head and not as strong of a swimmer. She tried to mimic my movement but wasn't nearly as graceful.

"You have those big tits to use as a flotation device." Lily cupped her smaller breasts in disgust, "I got nothing. I'll just drown over here," she complained.

I didn't miss a beat. "But you still have 'dat ass to keep you up."

Lily burst out laughing, turned and thrust her bottom out of the water, and slapped it. "The whole beach could use

this

as a flotation device."

"I'm not sharing it with the whole beach." I felt a little stupid after I said it.

Lily didn't comment, and just tried to stay above water.

"Do you think we should go away to school instead?" Lily asked once she got the hang of floating peacefully.

The complications of such a decision were too numerous to list. "I thought you wanted to stay close to home."

"I wanted to stay close to you," Lily responded. "There'd be shit to sort out, but maybe we'd be happier if we went to school in a city. You used to live in New York, isn't there a part of you that would like to go back?"

"If you wanted to, I'd definitely consider it. But you never lived in the city. It would be a big adjustment," I cautioned

Lily floated closer, and I felt the little shifts in the water brush up against me as she came to within inches. "I just don't wanna hold you back."

I held up my hands, palms out, just above the water. "You never hold me back. You only hold me up."

Lily was clearly touched by the comment. She placed her hands flat against mine and interlocked our fingers. We were surrounded by people, yet it felt like we were totally alone at sea. My outstretched legs rested up against Lily's hips for support. She kicked her feet gently to stay above water. It was so peaceful, and Lily closed her eyes to enjoy the safety of our makeshift natural float.

I found it hard to keep my eyes off of her; it was another perfect moment that froze time around us. I watched as drops of water collected in Lily's hair, while others formed little beads, and rolled in slow motion down the length of her neck. The nerve endings in my legs where they rested against Lily's skin, fluttered in delight. I never wanted this week to end.

At some point my eyes must have closed too, and we floated in silence for the longest time, but Lily's voice snapped my attention back. "Oh wow, Rosa, look!" When my eyes opened, Lily nodded her head toward the shoreline. Standing knee deep in the ocean by herself was a Spanish girl in a black and white bikini, with thick hair past her shoulders, and carrying quite a large baby bump in her belly.

"Damn, she's ready to pop soon." I said.

"Look at her though, she's fucking exquisite," Lily replied. "I bet this is the most beautiful she's ever been in her life."

She was a pretty girl, no doubt, but I never really considered pregnancy as enhancing a woman's beauty. Stretch marks, leg pains, and hemorrhoids are what I always read about. I responded with a combination of a nod and shrug.

"Oh my God, you don't see it." Lily sounded a little annoyed. She was completely enthralled by the mother-to-be standing twenty yards away.

"Ok, so then tell me what you see," I said, and shifted my legs to grip tighter at her hips.

Lily looked a little confused by the question. "Make me understand," I clarified.

"She's the perfect height for a girl. She's about your height," Lily began. "Look at her skin, it's the hormones and all the miraculous things going on inside of her to create a new life. It's making her skin glow."

I really couldn't disagree so far. "And her hair too." I added.

"Yes!" Lily squeezed my hands. "You see that hair? That's pregnant girl hair, thick and alive. She gets props for not cutting it. Some pregnant girls cut their hair short because they're uncomfortable and it's so much easier. She loves her hair and knows that it's yet another reason that all eyes gravitate to her."

"What else?" I prodded. Lily's fascination with this girl was intriguing.

"Look at her legs, how strong they are. Her thighs are a little thick, but not out-of-shape thick like mine. No, they're runner's legs like yours, nice and muscular enough to support her baby with no trouble."

I totally disagreed with Lily's self put-down, but let it pass. I didn't want to distract her. "Keep going..."

"She probably already had great boobs, but look how fucking amazing they are now as they're transforming themselves to also feed her baby; that beautiful baby that's growing inside her and filling her belly. Jesus, look how her body looks in that bikini. Her husband must be in complete lust with her all the time."

"I read some women are too uncomfortable for sex late in pregnancy," I pointed out. "Also, some men get too wigged out to have sex with them. They're worried about hurting the baby."

"Not her, Rosa. She's having a great pregnancy; look how she's smiling, and how white and beautiful her teeth are. That's how I know she still feels desired, more so than ever. She wants to have sex all the time, and her husband is so fucking turned on by his wife, the mother of his baby. He begs her for it. He touches her body every chance he gets, and he tells her she's the most beautiful and perfect girl he's ever seen. I bet he's always kissing her sexy belly every chance he gets..." Lily's voice trailed off as we watched the girl wade farther into the water until she was deep enough that her breasts floated on top of the surface. The pregnant girl waved back toward a group of three other girls, all around her age, that had just entered the water. The three were laughing together and started swimming to catch up to her.

Two of the girls were also Spanish, one looked a lot like her, but upon closer look, I realized she was younger than the pregnant one. She was probably closer to my and Lily's age. "I think the girl with the longer hair is her sister," I offered. "She's like the non-knocked up version of her." Lily didn't comment. She only watched.

The third newcomer was a white girl with shoulder length blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail. She had an athletic build with small breasts, and was the only one of the four in a one-piece suit. We watched the four girls as they talked, laughed, and played together in the water.

Then it happened, and both of our mouths fell open. The blonde came up behind the pregnant girl, moved the raven-colored mane of hair off her neck, and placed her mouth against it while at the same time wrapping her arms around her belly under the water. It was unmistakably

very

sensuous. "No fucking way," Lily said in disbelief.

"So ya think the husband knows?" I wondered, half joking.

"Maybe there's no husband at all," Lily said, "Maybe it's from a sperm donor, and it's only ever been just the two of them."

"No way, you think that's her story?"

Lily's eyes hadn't diverted away from what now appeared to be a loving couple, both women, awaiting the birth of their child. "I hope that's her story." There seemed to be an odd sense of

need

in Lily's voice when she said it.

________________

"Oh wow, babe, this is some really delicious guacamole." I piled another mound on a tortilla chip and stuffed it into my mouth.

Lily cocked her head a bit across the table. "Well you would know, wouldn't you?"

I shot her a nasty glare. "Look bitch, I'm Puerto Rican, not Mexican. It's not the same ya know."

"Well where I come from, you brown girls all the same." Lily said in a mocked hillbilly accent.

It caught me off guard, and when I laughed I spit some partially chewed guac onto the table.

Lily raised her margarita glass in a toast, "HA! Gotcha. That's five for me." It was a little game we played since we were kids; try to make the other laugh and either spit out food for five points, or if it came out of the nose, that was worth ten points. Once, I made Lily laugh so hard, she farted. That was a twenty point bonus.

This Mexican restaurant was about four blocks down the street from our hotel, on the beach block. From our vantage point on the large outdoor patio, we had a direct view of the ocean across the street. We had made a pact from our balcony the day before; we wouldn't be out of the ocean's view for longer than 30 minutes the whole week we were here.

We were a little apprehensive about staying in the same neighborhood as the night before, because we didn't want to run into Rafael and Alex, but after a long day at South End Beach, we opted for the convenience of walking distance to the hotel. The night before was fun, until it wasn't, so we vowed no more attempted hookups with guys on this trip, no matter how hot they were. My mind was too cluttered for it anyway. There was too much weird shit happening up there. I could feel Lily going through something similar as well, but for the first time in our friendship, I didn't want to talk it out.

"So, what do we do about Devon?" Lily asked.

Devon, part of the reason I felt fucked up in the head. Twice the chauffeur had broken into my dreams. Then, right after, she showed up at the hotel and invited us to the bonfire on the beach...

a gay beach.

Was she like some kind of powerful witch, or I was just infatuated with her? This was something I couldn't have fathomed a few days ago.

"Do you want to go with her tonight?" I asked.

"Ahhh, yeah I do," Lily said without a hint of uncertainty.

Was Lily into Devon? Did she have the same dream about our new redhead acquaintance's head down between her legs? What made those panties so wet in her sleep? Maybe Devon was a witch after all.

"I want to go too," I agreed with total honesty. Like Lily, I had been fascinated watching a whole beach full of same-sex couples getting to be themselves. I'd done my best not to stare at anyone for too long, we both did. I hoped we came off as casual. We probably blended in as a couple. It was a fun day, and I wanted to go back.

"But why do you think Devon wants to go with us?" I wondered aloud. " I mean we only spent a car ride with her, and now she wants to hang out?"

"What the fuck, Rosa-

belle,

have you

met

us? We're like the two most fun people in this whole town, obviously."

While we were finishing our dinner, I texted Devon to let her know we wanted to go to the bonfire. She responded within seconds, saying how excited she was that we were coming. She would meet us at the entrance to South End Beach at nine o'clock.