Lost in the fire

Chapter 3

Four days into their trip and Lisa was happy to find that she hadn't killed Roseanne yet. Even though she would never admit it out loud, she was actually enjoying the trip. The worst part was she wasn't enjoying it in spite of Roseanne, but rather partially (a very, very small part, she reminded herself once again) because of Roseanne. Roseanne was stubborn and arrogant, but the competitiveness between them was kind of fun. She had missed that for the four years after graduating college since she no longer had sports to scratch that itch.

Not to mention, Roseanne made the beautiful views of the beach even better. Her tanned, toned body looked amazing in the skimpy bikinis she wore. Lisa took that moment to sneak a peek at Roseanne, who was laying next to her on the beach, her eyes shut as the sun caused beads of sweat to trickle down her skin in the sexiest way possible.

"I can feel your eyes on me," Roseanne said without even opening her own.

Damnit. How did she do that? "Don't flatter yourself," Lisa said with a laugh. "I wasn't looking at you. I was looking past you at the water trying to decide if I should join Jisoo and Haein. It's hot as balls out here."

Roseanne kept her eyes closed, a small smile now playing on her lips. "First of all, I hate that expression. I realize you enjoy the male species, but even so, who wants to think about sweaty balls? Second of all, the ocean is in front of you. I'm beside you. There is absolutely no need for you to be looking in my direction."

"Fine. It's as hot as tits out here," Lisa said, refusing to acknowledge Roseanne's second point and give her the satisfaction of admitting she was, indeed, checking her out.

Roseanne shook her head and sat up slightly, resting her weight on her elbows as she stared out at the ocean. "It's ridiculously hot. Although, what's making you hotter right now—the sun or the sight of me in this bikini?"

"I don't know why I had the reputation of being the cocky one in high school. You're just as bad as me."

"I'm not cocky. I'm confident. There's a difference." Roseanne was silent for a moment, then put a hand over her eyes and looked over at Lisa. "I'm normally not like this though. I guess you bring out the best in me."

"If this is your best, I'd hate to see your worst."

"I could give you my worst."

Wait. What? Lisa's head immediately went to all the dirty things that statement could mean. She tried to say something back, but her mouth went dry just thinking about it.

Roseanne laughed hard as if she knew exactly what Lisa was thinking. "Get your mind out of the gutter. That was a challenge, not a come on." She nodded her head toward the water. "Race you to the ocean. Loser buys the winner's drinks the rest of the day."

Lisa jumped to her feet and scrambled to catch up with Roseanne, who was already sprinting toward the water. She closed the space between them just in time to have her feet hit the water right before Roseanne's did.

I've still got it, she thought to herself as she threw her hands in the air in victory. "UPenn track! Six time All-American sprinter. Represent."

"What did you end up studying at UPenn?" Roseanne asked, completely ignoring her comments.

Lisa took it as a double win that Roseanne refused to acknowledge the fact that she beat her. "I studied biology. Then I got my master's in occupational therapy. I work with people who have been injured and need to gain back skills that we take for granted, like holding silverware, for example."

"That must be really rewarding," Roseanne said, sounding more sincere than Lisa had heard her over this whole trip so far.

"It is. It's hard though. I've worked with athletes who were used to being the best at their sport and now have trouble eating dinner. I can't even begin to imagine how that must feel." Lisa cleared her throat. She had to change the subject or else she was going to start to cry, which was the last thing she wanted to be doing right now. "What do you do?"