We'd been around the pool for several hours. Lunch had been salad, cold meats, fresh bread, olive oil, tangy cheese. I felt fat, lazy and happy.
The girls' holiday to Kristen's family home in Malta had been planned for several months and we had all agreed not to do anything more vigorous than the occasional trip to the beach. Today the five of us were arranged messily around the pool: Kristen, Amy, Jemima, myself, and Jemima's friend Starlight. Starlight was exotic. We hadn't been expecting another to join our intimate party, but Starlight was a cousin of Jemima and Jemima seemed somewhat in awe of her.
It wasn't hard to see why. Starlight was statuesque, with a slender waist which belied the weight of her splendid breasts. She had very dark hair which fell almost to her waist, high cheekbones and extraordinary silver-grey eyes which were almost hypnotic. At first we were a little shy around her, feeling she was above our giggling girl talk and spilling of dull secrets. "She's like a film star," Kristen whispered to me soon after she joined us.
I felt the same. I felt as clumsy as a carthorse around Starlight, but I couldn't stay away from her at the same time. She was exotic and novel. She told us about her extensive stays in Paris and spoke about men she'd fucked as effortlessly as us talking about books we'd read.
She was the first one of us to go topless and did so without a murmur. I was too shy and balanced my bikini top over my unimpressive bust but I couldn't help taking looks at her from my shaded sunglasses. Her breasts were firm and as smooth as scoops of ice cream, topped with candy-pink nipples.
I looked at her once, then away - and then felt my eyes drawn back. I never looked at my friends naked bodies: I was used to them and to me they were like sisters. Starlight was different and new. I was unfamiliar with the curves of her body and was in awe of her beauty.
Suddenly I realised Starlight was looking back at me. I prickled with heat and shame and looked away.
"It's OK," she whispered, a smile curving at her lips. "I don't mind you admiring me. I like it."
I laughed, discomfited and ashamed. "I'm sure you're very used to it from men."
"And from women," she replied, "I like them both," and she stretched her back, pushing her breasts upwards. It could have been totally innocent, but I didn't think Starlight ever did anything by accident.
She looked over at me. "You should let the sun get to you," she said, and put her hand out. She moved my bikini top down a touch, so that it only just covered my nipples. I stayed very still, like a rabbit when its ears are being held. I didn't dare breathe. Starlight's hand was on my breast, not caressing, but not moving either. She was holding the cloth to me, but in her fingertips, as if she was itching to remove it.
Fine, I thought. I can take a challenge.
"Why not," I said, and defiantly removed the cloth from my chest. I leaned over to get some suntan lotion. My eyes met hers again and she smiled in approval. I felt a tingle between my thighs. As I carefully lotioned my breasts I found myself catching at my nipples, tweaking them. I purposely didn't look in her direction but I knew she was watching. My pussy started to heat up and I suddenly wanted to rub myself.
"Cheeky," called Jemima, and the spell was broken. I felt as if I had jumped into the cold swimming pool in front of us. I felt stupid and overexcited. But as I sat back down Starlight reached for her phone and her fingers briefly met mine, reassuring me. I hadn't been foolish. She had felt it too.
"Have I got all your numbers?" she called. "Apart from Jem, I mean. We ought to have a Whatsapp group."
She tapped our numbers into her phone as we called them out. Then she sent a took a photograph of her perfectly painted toenails, winking deep red, with the aquamarine pool in the background, and sent it to us on the group she set up. We all giggled and responded with emojis and photographs of our own.
My phone buzzed again. Starlight had sent me a private message, not in the WhatsApp group.
"Are you glad you took your top off?" she wrote.