"What are you doing this weekend!" Mallory texts me.
"I'm going to be a couch-potato," I write back, "I broke up with Shannon and even though I know it's the right thing, I'm feeling pretty blue."
Shannon is a firefighter and Mal is a captain for a neighboring firehouse, so I am 100% sure that this is the end of the friendship. I frown with disappointment, sigh, and type my goodbye. "It was so amazing getting to know you and your wife. Thank you for welcoming me into your home, I was looking forward to getting to know you both better."
I'm shocked to see her reply, "Then hang out with us on Saturday! We are taking the boat out, and it sounds like you probably need a distraction."
I hop up from my chair and do a little dance.
"Are you sure? I'll be honest, I expected that you would need to take sides on this one."
"We never spent time socially with Shannon before she started dating you. You're just as much a part of our lives as she is, and a much closer friend of Courtney's. If Shannon has concerns about us remaining friends she can handle that with me directly." Such a captain.
"Okay!" I text back quickly, euphoric to be able to spend the day on the water, rather than in my sweats in front of my TV.
"Excellent. Courtney and I will pick you up from your apartment at 10am sharp."
I am so excited that I dump my whole drawer of bathing suits onto my bed and start to think through which one to wear. Courtney and Mal are so hot it's painful, and I want to do my best to keep up. Mal looks pretty much like you'd expect for a fire captain. Extremely strong, tattoos, androgynous haircut... Courtney is tall, athletic, and has piercing blue eyes. I select a swimsuit that is flattering, but not too flimsy. I want to be able to waterski and play in the water without fear of an incident.
***
It's 9:55am on Saturday and I've braided my hair into two equal braids to attempt to prevent falling victim to my typical horrifically tangled boat hair. I've packed a cooler full of grapes, cheese, peanut butter sandwiches, water, and beer. There's a knock at my door.
I open it and am immediately swept off my feet as Mal grabs me around the waist in a huge hug where she carries me into my apartment and sets me down a few feet away. Courtney follows her in with an empathetic smile on her face, carrying flowers.
"We are sorry to hear about your breakup, Flora." Courtney says, as she walks into my kitchen, fills a jar with water, and casually plops in the flowers. "But we are going to take your mind off of it today!"
I walk over and give her a long hug, finally releasing her with a big sigh.
"Let's go!" Mal shouts, already loaded up with my bag and cooler.
I am feeling so spoiled that I almost don't know what to do with myself. I spin around, check to make sure I'm not forgetting anything, and then grab my keys to lock the door behind us as we head out.
***
After a couple of hours of waterskiing and exploring the lake we find an out of the way spot to anchor the boat so we can re-apply sunscreen and eat lunch. We lay out our assortment of fruits, cheese, and sandwiches. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches never taste as good as they do after a day in the sun. We eat in silence, listening to the water gently lap against the side of the boat.
When we are finished we form a little triangle, applying sunscreen to the person's shoulders in front of us. I giggle at their continued inclusion of me.
"Thank you for bringing me out here today. You have really made me feel like a part of your family and that means more to me than you could know."
Mal gives me a wink and says, "Hey! Any day that I get to drive two beautiful women around the lake is a good day for me."
Courtney says, with a grin, "I've always wondered what it would be like to have a Sister Wife!"
We laugh while Mal throws three life jackets into the water and says, "Let's go float" and jumps in.
Courtney reaches over, takes my hand, and we jump in together.
Holding the life jackets under our arms we float around the boat, alternating between periods of silence and exchanging stories of past relationships.
I learn that Mal fell madly in love with Courtney while she was married to a man, so she doesn't have any female exes to speak of.
Courtney is the only one of the three of us who has always been out, so she shared wild stories from her dating days in college that had us splashing ourselves with water to cool down.
I went last and shared that Shannon had been my first serious girlfriend since coming out, and that I was looking forward to having a season to explore.
Mal splashed me gently and said, "I'm sure there will be no shortage of women willing to explore with you!"
Courtney agreed.
"Y'all are the best!" I say with a shy smile, hoping that they're right. "I just want to find what you two have. A super sexy best friend who wants to build a life together! Is that too much to ask?"
I toss my lifejacket back into the boat and pull myself up so I can grab a beer. I put on my hat and sunglasses to protect my face from more sun, and so I can watch as Courtney and Mal float further and further from the boat, talking and kissing. Their laughter carries across the water and I can't help but feel a pang of jealously in my chest.
I clear a spot on the back of the boat where I can sunbathe.
I must have dozed off because I am surprised suddenly with cold droplets of water on my legs. "Ah!" I shout. "Where did you two come from?" I laugh as I sit up to find them holding onto the back of the boat, gently flicking water onto me.
"Scoot over!" Courtney says. "There's not really enough room for all three of us to lay out here, but we're going to try make it work!"
We attempt a few different configurations before settling on an arraignment where Courtney and Mal are facing me, and I'm facing them. Their legs on either side of mine. We are each propped up on our elbows so we can continue to look at each other while we talk.
"Now this is a view!" I say.
"Our view isn't bad from here either!" Courtney says, reaching over to tickle the bottom of my feet.
"I'm not ticklish on my feet! So you'll have to try harder than that." I say while offering her my full foot as if daring her to try.
"Are you ticklish anywhere?" Mal asks.
"Maybe... but I'll never tell where."
"Hmm" She hums so quietly that I'm not even sure I hear it.
I think to myself, "Is there sexual tension?" I can feel my face flush at the thought. I am a natural flirt, and am always pushing the boundaries with people, but I'm not great at knowing when people are flirting back. I dismiss the thought and lay myself all the way down so I can hide my face. I lay there for a moment and picture what it would be like to be intimate with the two of them.
I feel goosebumps start to form all over my body as I feel myself getting aroused. I allow myself to imagine kissing Courtney while Mal touches my back. It's a good thing we are already wet, or I'd fear that they could see the pool forming between my legs. I am overtaken by a sudden shiver that shakes my whole body.
"Are you cold?" Courtney asks, gesturing towards the towels as an offer to get one for me if I need it.
I am so embarrassed that I answer with a jumble of nonsensical words "No. Yes. It's just... Nevermind. I'm fine." I slap my hands over my face before finally confessing, "I felt for a moment like you two were flirting with me, and it gave me the chills." I start to say, "But I know that's stupid, you two are just being nice..."
"If we were flirting with you, is that something you'd be interested in?" Mal asks directly.
"Wait what?" I ask, not believing what she's just said.
"We were talking..." Courtney began, and then gestured to Mal, inviting her to finish.
"Courtney and I have been together for a long time, and as I shared with you in the water, she's the only woman I've ever been with. We've always talked about possibly finding someone to play with, but couldn't risk going on the apps because of my position with the fire station. There is absolutely no pressure, but both of us find you extremely attractive and we wanted to introduce the idea to see if you were interested."
I let my mouth fall open with shock. I sat up all the way, threw off my hat and sunglasses, and rolled off the edge of the boat into the water. I screamed to myself under the water before popping up and saying, "Are you kidding? Of course I'm interested."
They laughed and jumped into the water with me.
"So what now?" Courtney asked, as we all tread water.
"I want to take you two on a date!" Mal injected quickly. "Let's go out to dinner tonight, and then we can see what happens after that."
"Okay!" Courtney and I cheerfully agree.
We all climb back into the boat and begin to dry off. "Should we head back now so we have time to shower and get ready?" Mal asks.
We nod in agreement and begin to tidy the boat for the trip back to the docks. I am beside myself with anticipation. All of a sudden all of my flirty impulses feel loaded. I lose myself in thought as I repack my cooler. I am brought back to real world when Courtney places her hand on my lower back. I turn to her and she puts both of her hands on my waist.
"This is going to be fun." She says with a wrinkled nose and a playful grin. Then she kisses me quickly on the very corner of my mouth. I reach my hand up to put my fingertips where she had just kissed me to prolong the tingling that remains.
The boat ride back to the dock feels like it takes forever. I stare at Mal's strong back and shoulders as she steers the boat through the increasingly more crowded lake. I imagine what it will feel like to dig my fingers into her back. I look over at Courtney, who is sitting next to me, and imagine tracing the lines of her face with my fingertips before kissing her deeply and tasting her tongue.