The Beach Neighbor Proposed Something to Both of Us

—Pass me the sunscreen —Marina said without opening her eyes.

—How do you mean? —she took off one of the headphones she was listening to music with.

—The sunscreen. You’ve been lying on your back for a while and you’re going to burn.

—Here you go, darling —I handed her the bottle, still warm from the sun.

—Turn over and lie down fully —I asked her. Before unfastening her bikini, I leaned in and kissed the line of her spine, right between her shoulder blades. I knew what I was provoking: a shiver ran down her back and her skin prickled.

—You’re such an idiot —she murmured—. You always surprise me, even though you always do the same thing.

—I love your back. And I love the place where your back stops having a name —I slapped her ass.

—Starting already? —she asked, but she didn’t move.

—You’re driving me crazy. I can’t stop looking at you, all distracted, with those nipples standing out under the wet fabric. I don’t even know how to sit without it showing.

—Come on, finish the job and we’ll go for a swim.

I unclipped her bra and started spreading the cream over her shoulders, kneading the top of her back slowly. I’ve always thought that was one of the most erotic parts of her body, that stretch from the neck to the shoulder blades that few people ever bother to really look at.

—Mmm, that feels good —she said in a thick voice—. Work there, I’m carrying a lot of tension.

A naked back, sensing the weight of her breasts flattened against the towel, has an immediate effect on me that I never know how to hide in a swimsuit. I moved lower, my hands sliding along her sides, brushed the sides of her tits and felt the temptation to keep going, to slip my fingers underneath. I held back.

—Oh, how delicate you’ve become —she laughed into the towel—. At another time you would’ve already been insisting on that area.

—Do you miss it?

—It surprises me. You never leave things half done.

—Maybe this is the moment to give you a taste of your own medicine. Is that your ego talking, or desire?

—Come on, come on, and finish up, it’s scorching hot.

***

—Hi, how are you doing?

The voice came from a couple of towels away. A girl was approaching with an easy smile and a confident stride that didn’t match her age. She couldn’t have been more than twenty-two, petite, very well proportioned, wearing a bikini that covered just enough and an even tan that gave away many hours on the beach without a trace of tan lines. She could have been our daughter, and that thought, far from making me uncomfortable, crossed my mind more than once.

—I saw you earlier and your faces looked familiar —she said, stopping at the edge of our towel—. You’re the people in the room next door, right? As soon as I heard you talking, I said to myself: it’s them.

—You recognized us by our voices? —Marina asked, half sitting up.

—The walls are paper-thin. You can hear everything.

—Everything, everything? —my wife pressed, narrowing her eyes.

—I’d say so —the girl replied without batting an eye—. And, while we’re at it, would you give me one of those beers you’ve got in the fridge?

—Of course, help yourself —I handed her a can cold with condensation.

—Can I sit with you for a while?

—Of course. I’m Marina —she said, and as she propped herself on her elbows to give her two kisses, she completely forgot her breasts were out.

—Daniela, nice to meet you —the girl replied, then turned to me to repeat the greeting—. And you?

—Me what?

—What’s your name? —she laughed. When she kissed me, she took me by the arm and pressed her breast against it, rubbing it for barely a second. I looked like a fool.

—Andrés —I managed to say—. Nice to meet you.

—You get so shy when there’s a pretty girl near you —Daniela commented, amused—. Though, after what you can hear from my room, I’m not sure why you’re pretending to be bashful.

Marina’s face went red as a tomato.

—I think it’s great that a couple your parents’ age has fun like that —the girl went on, taking a swig of beer—. It’s not the usual thing.

—Like what? —Marina asked, even more flushed.

—Don’t be embarrassed now. It’s the most natural thing in the world. And being such an attractive couple, I imagine you’ll do well around here.

—Well… we have noticed people looking at us —my wife admitted.

—People looking at you? Marina, you’re the attraction on the whole beach. One hundred percent of the guys would do you a favor and most of the women too. And in a development like this one, where everyone is pretty open, people start getting ideas.

—Wait —I cut in—. The development is… what?

—Don’t tell me you know nothing about the parties they throw here —Daniela’s eyes went wide, between incredulous and delighted—. I actually came to invite you. At home it’s my boyfriend, my parents and me, organizing the one for the weekend. My mother has seen you these days, she’s heard you plenty, and she thought you should come over to dinner tonight. We’ll get the party ready, have a laugh for a while and, if something comes up, whatever has to come up.

Marina and I looked at each other. Her face was a poem.

—Honestly, we had no idea —Marina said—. We chose this place because it didn’t allow children, which was perfect for a week’s rest, and because it was right next to the beach. Nothing more.

—So you’re not into the lifestyle?

—We’ve made a few forays —I replied, choosing my words carefully—. We were thinking of looking for a place nearby, but if we have it in the house next door…

—Then it’s settled —Daniela clapped her hands—. Tonight, around nine, we’ll be waiting for you. Come looking handsome and fresh, since the heat is brutal, though we can always get in the jacuzzi. By the way, Andrés —she suddenly lay flat on her back on the sand, next to us, and untied the top of her bikini—, will you put some cream on me too?

—Aren’t you going to turn over? —I asked, my mouth dry.

—No, better the front first. I don’t want to burn my breasts. If I get them red, neither my boyfriend nor anyone else is going to want to come close this weekend.

I started spreading the cream with almost ridiculous care, as if I were touching something that could break. Daniela had small, firm breasts, with dark nipples made hard by the morning air. Marina, beside me, watched with her eyes wide and without saying a word.

—Don’t be so prim —the girl protested—. Put it on properly or I’ll peel afterward, because I’m very pale where the sun doesn’t hit me. And you, Marina, don’t you want to help? It wouldn’t be bad with four hands.

I looked at my wife. Marina isn’t into women, never had been, but the girl was really something, and out of pure curiosity, or because of the heat, or whatever it was, she moved closer. The two of us started sliding our hands over that young body, spreading cream where it was no longer needed at all.

—Mmm, that feels good —Daniela sighed. She reached out and caught one of Marina’s nipples, stroking it with a softness my wife hadn’t expected.

Marina, topless from the start, hadn’t realized her breasts were right within the girl’s reach. When she did notice, it was too late to pretend she didn’t like it. The dampness showed through her thong, a small patch the sun would soon betray.

The scene was beyond exciting: four hands kneading those youthful breasts and the girl returning my wife’s caresses with the delicacy of an expert. The people walking past at the shoreline watched us openly, some stopping a couple of seconds longer than necessary.

—Look —Daniela said, lowering her voice—, Andrés’s friend is happy to see me too.

With her free hand she brushed over my swim trunks, right on top of the erection I’d been trying for a while to hide under the towel. There was nothing left to hide now.

We spent five delirious minutes, the three of us touching each other in the middle of the beach, without the slightest restraint, while people commented around us. The sun was beating down mercilessly and I could feel my heart in my throat, that mixture of embarrassment and desire I hadn’t felt in a long time.

—Well —the girl said at last, sitting up as if nothing had happened—, I think I’m protected enough now.

She gave each of us a quick kiss, picked up the half-finished beer, and tied her bikini with a calm that left us both breathless.

—Thanks for the beer and the cream. Tonight at nine, okay? Don’t stand me up.

She walked back to her towel, swaying her hips, fully aware we were watching. And half the beach was watching us.

There we stayed, the two of us, unbearably turned on and not quite knowing what to do with it.

—Andrés —Marina finally said, her voice hoarse and her gaze still fixed on the girl’s back—, I need a swim. A long one. And the way you look, so do you.

I got up as best I could, trying to keep the towel with me to the shoreline, and followed her into the water thinking that that night, at nine, was going to change a lot of things between us.