The Etiquette of Smoking

Under Your Skin

"You don't think this is too much? I should have gone with the yellow one." I complained when Niki parked her car in one of the many packed beach parking lots. She rolled her eyes and leaned over the center console to face me.

"I told you to go with the sexy red one. I would've loved to see everyone's reaction to that." She laughed, unbuckling her belt and climbing out. Just two hours before she let me dig through her closet so I could find an acceptable suit to wear. I owned 1 one-piece, black bathing suit of my own, which I brought to her apartment but she nearly went into cardiac arrest over it. I ended up choosing a black bikini with cups that hugged only the bottom and sides of my breasts, leaving the majority of my chest exposed with matching bottoms that sat high on my hips. Niki, always the exhibitionist, wore a blindingly white strapless bikini top with matching bottoms and an oversized floppy hat.

I grimaced at her words but followed her outside anyway. The weather was immaculate today. Not quite as sweltering as yesterday but just hot enough to get a decent tan. The sun hung bright and shining in the blue sky. A few thin clouds dozed lazily overhead but weren't enough to block the heat from the sun. It was perfect weather to lay out. We had all agreed to try to leave by noon from our separate apartments and meet up at Brighton beach around 12:30. At 11:55 we had packed lunch in a cooler and our bags with extra clothes and towels all loaded into the trunk of her car.

"The red one was practically made of floss." I grumbled, adjusting my shorts as I climbed out of the passenger side and came around to the back of the car. Niki was lifting her bag onto her shoulder and grabbing some towels to carry under her other arm so I followed her lead, grabbing my own bag and lifting the cooler out of the trunk.

"Sexy floss." Niki grinned, taking the handle on the other end of the cooler and lifting it with me. I looked around the parking lot until I spotted Ian's car clear across the other side.

"I see the car, should we text them to see where they are?" I asked her as we carried the cooler onto the cool, pale sand. Niki shook her head.

"Nah, let's just get down there and see if we can find them. If not, we'll just set up and let them come find us." She laughed and I cracked a smile. We walked down until we did actually spot the boys sitting under a large beach umbrella, laughing and drinking.

We dropped the cooler down hard on the sand, startling Max, who jumped slightly and turned to face us.

"Hi boys." Niki grinned, dropping her bag down beside the cooler and unraveling her towel on the sand. I noticed Chad first, as he sat with his back to the sun and reflected light off of his skin.

"Jesus Chad, your skin is so white. Did you put sunblock on?" I asked him, kneeling onto the sand and pulling my bag around to face me. Max laughed out loud despite the fact I wasn't trying to be funny; I was genuinely concerned. Chad smiled regardless and shook his head.

"Fuck no, that shit is greasy and gross." He complained and held his hands up when I handed him my bottle of sunblock. Ian, who sat on Chad's other side, happily accepted the sunscreen from me though and began rubbing it into his legs and chest.

"Not this one, it doesn't feel greasy. You're going to burn if you don't put any on." My attempt at convincing him was unsuccessful and I shrugged at his second refusal. He would regret it by the end of the day, guaranteed. Behind me, Niki had pulled her cover-up off and was stuffing it into her bag. I still had my shorts and tank top on over my swimsuit on and wasn't sure when the right time to remove it would be, especially with all of these men sitting here to watch.

I didn't have sunscreen on yet either and didn't want any tan lines from my clothing so in the meantime, I moved to sit beside Joji who was safely seated beneath the umbrella.