Their rented Airbnb accomodation's ad had boasted that they were right on a pristine beach which was, technically, true but the beach belonged to this large resort and they were not allowed on it. There were even guards there to ensure nobody snuck onto that beach. So much for that. At least, the home was clean and bug free. And the six of them all had individual rooms which were small and only had a bed and a place to put a suitcase but offered at least some privacy. They did have to share two bathrooms and that, for six women, was not ideal. Then again, they had a kitchen for meals and the AC worked well. It wasn't all bad, except for the beach that was off limits. They'd been really disappointed when they'd all arrived four days prior. They had spent the first day sitting on the terrace and taking turns soaking in a hot tub that could only sit four at a time. Fortunately, they had been able to turn down the heat to it and actually feel refreshed when they sat in it.
The next two days, they had gone to beaches recommended by the owner as part of the documentation he had left for them. The beaches were nice but quite crowded as they were public beaches used by mostly locals. They'd certainly attracted the attention of many local men. The other girls enjoyed the attention but Trish did not enjoy it at all. She suspected that a few of the girls had actually engaged in more than kissing with the locals, having disappeared for a while. Trish just wasn't into that.
Trish had also spent her time worrying that if someone didn't stay with their stuff, it would disappear. Good thing she had brought her reading tablet and it was filled with good books. She managed to relax a bit and that was the best part of this vacation.
Katie popped into her room "Hey Trish, what are you looking at?"
Trish was looking out the window of her small room at the beach they had no access to. All these people enjoying themselves and the beautiful water. She sighed "I'm looking at the off limits beach. Katie, remind me why I'm here?"
"Come on Trish, we're here to cheer you up, remember? We're here to have fun! Besides, Aleya found us a semi private beach with great white sand that we can go to! Much better than the public beaches! Pack your day bag, we're leaving in 20 minutes!"
Trish had planned this big wedding for last September and, while everyone was waiting at the church, her fiance sent a text to his parents stating that he wasn't ready to settle down and that he and his best man had decided to go to Australia for a few years. And it wasn't like they were fresh out of college or anything, they were both in their late forties! She had been devastated.
The group of five young ladies she worked with at a big construction company had insisted on all going on a Mexican beach vacation to cheer her up and make her forget all about her former fiance. Trish had originally declined and told them she didn't want to go away. But, after much pleading and even some half hearted threats that they would kidnap her and force her to come, had finally agreed provided it didn't happen until January and now, here they were. Up until the day before their departure, they'd had to insist it would be good for her and pretty much twisted her arm into actually coming.
"Maybe this old gal can just sit here in the hot tub today and you young ones can go."
"Don't give me that crap about being old and decrepid!"
"But I am old!"
Trish was indeed the oldest of the group. The others were all in their twenties, she was basically old enough to be their mom though she didn't tell them that nor act in that manner. She acted more like a big sister to them.
"Yeah, yeah, you might be older than us but you're so young at heart! I know it, and you know it. You love hanging around us! We make you feel all kinds of fun! Come on! Get that bag ready!"
"All right, all right."
Katie was right, they were a fun bunch to hang out with. They'd gone out at least once a month all together and always had a good time. These young ladies never made her feel like she was too old. And yes, she did like hanging out with them but this trip had really made the age gap more obvious to her and she planned on distancing herself bit by bit when they got back home.
Trish quickly put her day bag together, put on sun screen, and then put on her tankini, a brightly coloured top with a black mini skort. She looked at herself in the mirror. She sure could stand to lose weight and no matter how much coverage the tankini was supposed to provide, there was no hiding her larger hips and bosom. The girls had suggested she adjust the tops of her tankinis to make her breasts the center of attention but she didn't want that attention anyway so she left the tops as they were.
She put on her swimsuit cover, grabbed her bag and hat and went to the living room. The others were just getting there too and Aleya led them out to a waiting cab. Thankfully, it was a van so they didn't have to sit on top of each other. There was also enough room for their bags plus a big bag of beach towels and a cooler with snacks and drinks. They all got into the van and the driver took them to the place Aleya showed him on her phone. He seemed to hesitate and to ask if Aleya was sure and once she insisted, he started driving.
It took an hour but when they got to the beach, Trish could see that it was worth it. The sand was as white as could be, the beach wasn't all crowded and there were even some shade huts still free of patrons so they made their way to a pair that were available. Walking through the sand was a different experience. This sand was super soft and almost felt like that kinetic sand that was all the rage recently. This was almost too good to be true. How was it that this magnificent beach wasn't full to the brim? And why had their driver hurried to leave once they were out of his cab? Trish decided to focus on the positive and put her bag on a chair.
A man appeared at the huts and insisted on cleaning the chairs before they got on them so Trish picked up and held her bag while he did so. He then reached for their towels and spread them onto the chairs and ensured they were secure. He was eyeing the younger girls with obvious appreciation and got given a generous tip by Aleya who was obviously enjoying his appreciation. He offered to get them all drinks which both surprised and delighted the six of them. He told the ladies that the first drinks were free and told them the price for subsequent drinks. He took all the requests and disappeared.
Trish asked "Should we really trust him? I mean, this isn't a resort so is it safe to take their drinks?"
Aleya responded "From what I understand, this beach is actually part of a resort and when the resort isn't full, they let others use this smaller beach while their guests use the beach on the other side of that rock outcrop there. So it is safe."
Aleya pointed to the far right of the beach where there was a small hill and an outcrop of rock that went about thirty feet into the water. That outcrop was quite a ways away. They could see that there were people on the other side and a path that linked the two beaches. Trish looked to the left and it was several hundred yards away that she could see that the beach seemed to end at a canal which held a marina and some boats. If this was the smaller beach, the other one must be quite long.
The view out to the ocean was amazing. This was truly a gorgeous beach. Trish was grateful to Aleya for finding it. She set up with her tablet on her chair and started reading. Aleya, Katie and Selina all took off their covers and ran to the water. Summer and Monica followed Trish's lead and took out their reading tablets also and got comfortable.
The man came back a few minutes later with their drinks and got another generous tip. He came back a few times with offers of more drinks and food. All of them opted to purchase food the man offered through a short menu. Although Trish didn't speak Spanish, she could understand the words on the menu based on previous trips to all inclusive resorts. The food the man brought back after they'd chosen was absolutely delicious.
They all spent the afternoon alternating between the water and sitting in the shade. They had had a lot of fun playing in the sand and making various shapes. This was their best day yet and they all agreed that they would come back the next two days before they went back home. The shadows were getting long when they heard a bit of a commotion at the right end of the beach. All of a sudden, the waiter came to them and urged them to pick up their things and go towards the left of the beach. Aleya asked "Why don't we just go back to the entrance and get a cab?"
They looked towards the way they had used to access the beach only to see men with machine guns arriving. Looking to the right again, they could see men with guns there too and they were headed their way. Once more, the waiter urged them to quickly make their way towards the marina. They all grabbed their things, stuffed them into their bags and started hurrying towards the marina, leaving only the cooler behind. After getting about half way to the marina, they started outright running. Trish wasn't as fast as the others. She fell behind some but was still managing to put distance between her and the men with guns. They seemed to be more interested in verbally fighting each other than worrying about the group of women following a waiter towards the marina. At least, there were no gun shots - yet.
Trish could see that ahead of her, one by one, her friends were getting helped onto what looked like a small cargo boat. They were entering through a side door. Trish pushed herself to close the gap and make it to the boat. She could hear gun shots behind her and her fear helped push her forward. By the time she got to the edge of the pier, everyone else was already on board. The waiter was inside, waving at her to hurry and get across the plank and into the boat.