[Fiction] It started in the Summer...

[HW1997]

As I swung my car into Emma's driveway, I muted the radio and flicked my hair out of my face. Pulling up outside her door, I pulled on the parking brake, and flung my door open, and grabbed my overnight bag from the trunk, checking my reflection in the window as I did. Looking good!

I pulled my t-shirt down and pulled my yoga pants up to smarten up a bit, before ringing her doorbell. While I waited for her, I glanced around the front of the house, to see what was going on. Not a lot by the looks of things, although there was a large truck with building equipment parked on the other side of the driveway, next to the gate that led to the back garden of Emma's house. Got the builders in? I wondered to myself.

Emma appeared at the door and squealed on seeing it was me.

'Hey you!' she said with excitement and a broad smile that showed off her perfect white teeth. She embraced me tightly as I dropped my bag on the floor and hugged her back.

'Hey!' I said, just as excited to see her as she was to see me. 'How've you been?' I asked. It had been nearly a month since we saw each other last, we had both been on vacation, myself in Europe and Emma in Australia.

'Great', she said as we walked into the cool of the house, 'Australia was amazing!'

'You're gonna have to show me some pictures later', I replied. We chatted about our holidays for a few minutes in the kitchen before Emma suggested that I drop my bag in her room. I ran upstairs on my own. Emma's room, as usual, smelled of her perfume. I loved the smell, and made a mental note to ask what perfume it was. I also made a mental note to remind her to clear up before her family got home from their trip to see their friends in New Mexico. She wasn't the tidiest person in the world - her sheets were roughly pulled back into place, she had a bra and tracksuit top on the floor, and her hairdryer, among other things, was a distinct trip hazard.

Back downstairs, Emma had poured me a drink. I was thankful for the cool refreshment, today the temperature was a sweltering 93 degrees. I gulped it down and refilled myself.

'Thirsty?', Emma pointed out my greed. I smiled.

'So what are the builders here for?', I asked with genuine interest. Emma's family were very well off, having a house that backed onto the seafront. I was wondering why on earth they would need anything changed in their home.

She rolled her eyes, 'dad wants another garage built round the side'. Emma's dad loved sports cars. We both laughed and tutted.

We chatted and laughed and giggled for a good half an hour before we realized that we weren't actually outside and enjoying the beautiful weather, so we decided to go and sunbathe next to the pool. Now that it was 3pm, the sun was high and beating down.

'Hope you brought your bikini!', Emma said as we walked up to her bedroom.

'Oh crap, I forgot!', I said.

'It's fine, you can wear one of mine', she replied. In her bedroom, she opened a drawer and found a gray bikini and passed it to me. I slipped into her bathroom and changed into it. I looked in the mirror and realized it was far too small for me. The bottoms fit just fine, although I was a little alarmed at how revealing the rear of it was, but I guessed the top was skimpy even on Emma, whose breasts were a lot smaller than my own. I stepped out of the bathroom to show Emma. She had her back to me, wearing just her black bikini bottoms which tied at the sides, while she was struggling to tie her top up. Although Emma and I were very comfortable with each other, we had never changed in front of each other before, and sure I had seen her in her underwear before, but we had never seen each other naked. In fact, oddly, close as we all may be, none of my friends had seen me or each other naked. Emma was still having difficulty with her bikini.

'Can you help me out here?' she laughed. I tied the top for her, while she held her blonde hair out of my way.

'There you go, now don't laugh, but do you have a top that's any bigger?' I asked.

Emma turned round and giggled. 'Uh oh, boob alert!' she said, 'I don't have anything bigger! But you can't really wear that, you're right...' she said, and paused.

'It's fine, I'll just pop my t-shirt on instead', I said, turning round, undoing the bikini top and pulling my t-shirt on instead. I bunched the front up and tied it below my chest so that my midriff would tan nicely. Emma wolf whistled as I turned my back. I guessed she was looking at how little my butt was covered by the bottoms. Did she choose these ones on purpose? The bottoms weren't exactly thong-like, but the material at the back formed a sharp angled 'V' and sat high on my hips. I turned back round.

Emma laughed, 'better than nothing right?' she winked, and we went downstairs and positioned some sun loungers next to each other by the pool. It was only after a good 10 minutes of talking and soaking up the hot sun that I realized that neither of us was wearing sun block.

'Hey Emma, have you got anything for the sun?' I asked, sitting up.

'Oh man I totally forgot', she said, running inside the house. While she was inside I took in the garden. My family had a pretty nice house, in fact we had two nice houses in California, one on the East Coast and a villa in Italy, but Emma's parents' place was the best. There was a huge pool, palm trees, a hot tub, an enormous garage full of Emma's father's cars, and the house itself was mansion-esque. Looking around, I noticed that the builders who were laying the groundwork for the new building were in plain sight, and rolled my eyes thinking that they would most probably have noticed and enjoyed the sight of two young females in their swimwear by the pool.

Emma returned with the sun block, and passed it to me. All too aware of the builders potentially watching me from across the garden, I began to apply it to my legs, my arms, my face and my front.

'Want me to help?' Emma said, as I struggled to reach around to my back. She had taken the bottle and was applying it before I could say yes. I smiled ruefully at the thought that the builders would be enjoying this even more.

I returned the favor for Emma, and we returned to gossiping and filling each other in on our holidays while soaking up the hot sun.