"Are you going to help or not?" asked a rather irate Juliana.
"Sorry, miles away," replied Cara sheepishly.
Between the two of them, they finally got Juliana's scuba gear on right. The mansion featured an Olympic-sized pool, and Cara, unencumbered by breathing apparatus, back-flipped into it, while Juliana more judiciously entered the water via one of the ladders.
Cara took her friend in hand. Showed her how the dials worked, explained safety procedures, and watched closely as Juliana tried submerging for the first time.
Much of the modern world might be a puzzle to the archaeologist, but she was super smart, and a quick learner. Soon enough Cara was able to strap her own oxygen tank on, and the pair did several underwater laps together.
Surfacing, Juliana removed her mouthpiece and said, "Harpoon-gun, you were going to show me the harpoon-gun."
Cara grinned, "well that was going to be lesson two, but given you are such a star pupil, OK."
She hauled herself out, and then rejoined her friend carrying two guns. Juliana was familiar with a range of weapons, albeit most of them from a prior era, but she got the idea pretty quickly. Soon enough, the women were trying to outdo each other 'spearing' submerged ring targets.
"I think you're ready, angel," beamed Cara.
This time it was Juliana who initiated a kiss, a kiss that unsurprisingly led to diving equipment being discarded, and wetsuits being unzipped and thrown on the floor.
🏛️ 🏛️ 🏛️
From a local, private airstrip, Cara, Juliana, and their equipment had flown to just outside Athens. They had taken a boat to Crete. From there, a helicopter belonging to a man called Lukas - one of Cara's many acquaintances - had deposited them on an island twenty miles from shore. It had been Juliana's first whirlybird trip, and she had constantly muttered about preferring a UBF-2 Seaplane.
Eyes on the blonde archaeologist, Cara's friend had offered to remain with them, claiming the seas in that area could be dangerous. She'd politely turned him down, instead twirling her twin 9mms before securing them in their holsters. "Besides, I know what a cautious gal Juliana is." With less ostentation the other woman strapped a Smith & Wesson Mark II around her waist.
Disappointed to miss out on time with Juliana, but figuring that the pair could look after themselves, Lukas took his leave in a cloud of dust.
"Give me a seaplane," said Juliana, as the copter headed into the distance.
It was getting late. They stowed their kit, set up camp - just above the shore in a limestone cove - and prepared a simple meal. Their adventures could wait until morning.
Well most adventures anyway. They had brought a makeshift portable shower, and Juliana suggested that it would be prudent to conserve both water and the pump's fuel by sharing. Understanding her friend's true intent immediately, Cara peeled off her travel clothes and beckoned Juliana to join her.
If the island had been inhabited, local residents' evenings would have been interrupted by the laughing, then squealing, then moaning, then screaming, of two women who each knew exactly how to give and receive exquisite pleasure.
Not much cleaner than when their ablutions had commenced, Cara and Juliana fell asleep, naked and in each other's arms.
Tomorrow the diving started.
TO BE CONTINUED
Endnotes
Juliana Jones first appeared in my 750 word story from last year,
Juliana Jones and the Rod of Ra
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