Offshore

Chapter Six

Grace met Lisa and Briana at the beach the next day. They wanted to make the most of the sun while it still lasted. Grace wasn't particularly looking forward to exposing her pale flesh, especially next to Lisa's whip thin body, and Briana's petite curves, but once she was there it was nice to be in the sun.

They sat in a companiable row, scanning the beach and hoping none of their students were around. Lisa was still hungover from the night before and swigging water out of an enormous bottle. Briana seemed to find this highly amusing.

"You really should have drunk more water last night," she said.

"I know, I always intend to and then completely forget," Lisa replied.

"Good night?" Grace asked.

"OK," said Briana, "I think Lisa enjoyed herself," she said looking at Lisa pointedly.

"I never kiss and tell," Lisa said sanctimoniously, which made Briana guffaw.

"Sure," she said sarcastically and then turned to Grace, "Lisa disappeared at precisely the same time as Dave."

"Dave?" Grace couldn't help asking with surprise.

"Hey! He's quite cute," Lisa defended herself and then added, "And I haven't had sex in a very long time."

"What about Greg?" Grace asked, "Did he find you at the club?"

"Yeh, but his heart didn't seem to be quite into it. I think he was hoping you would go too."

Grace blushed.

"Now Greg IS cute," Briana continued. "And he doesn't sleep around," she added, which Grace thought was a little bitchy.

She was half way through liberally applying sunblock when Lisa suddenly exclaimed, "Holy shit!"

Grace looked up and saw Sam walking towards them, a little unsteady in the deep sand, his tight black wet suit pealed to his waist.

"Hello Ladies," he said cheerfully as he reached them.

"Hi," Grace managed to croak, her throat suddenly very dry. Lisa and Briana just stared up at him open-mouthed.

"I'm teaching surf school," he said, gesturing at a small crowd of kids gathering by the shore.

"Great," Grace managed to say.He stood looking down at them, shading his eyes from the sun, clearly waiting for more of a response but when he got none, he said "see you around," and walked away, the muscles in his brown back rippling hypnotically.

"Holy shit," Lisa said again. "I feel faint."

Briana just giggled as the sun block started to drip out of Grace's frozen hand.

"We really ought to come to the beach more often," Lisa said seriously and Grace and Briana collapsed into raucous laughter.

***
Sam was having a hard time concentrating with Grace reclining a few metres from him dressed in that red one-piece. It was by no means skimpy and with its old-fashioned style actually covered a lot of her body, but it clung to her enough to suggest the delicious curves underneath. Over the last few days, Sam had begun to appreciate that a woman didn't have to expose skin to have him lusting after her. Seeing just a glimpse of the curve of Grace's throat in that blouse she'd worn last night had turned him on far more than seeing Cindy's jiggling breasts in her tiny top. He had thought about that blouse all the way home, and had lain in bed picturing in his head how she would look with it unbuttoned and open to his gaze. He was suddenly feeling like a horny teenager, and since, right now, he was dressed in a skin tight wetsuit it was imperative he thought of something else. But he couldn't help glancing towards the splash of red in the distance, and imagining himself running a hand up...damn it! He had to get a grip.

***

Sam Anderson was far too good looking for his own good, thought Grace, as she finished smearing the sticky sunblock onto her legs. How could a girl compete with that body, she wondered, as she looked down at her own far from perfect physique. No wonder he was sleeping with girls like Cindy. Any normal woman would be too intimidated to function. And she had evidence that she was pretty ordinary. Brandon had proved that to her when he had too obviously demonstrated his preference for pneumatic breasts by playing around with that slutty colleague of his. She had been puzzled when Sam had flirted with her in Bakersfield that night, and she really wasn't surprised that he behaved so coolly last night. No, she would be far better off with a guy like Greg. Not that she was particularly interested in being with anyone right now. She couldn't take the disappointment again.