Lucy went back inside, and stopped just inside the doorway, waiting until Erica seemed to have stopped typing before she spoke.
“Hey,” she said, when Erica looked up. “Could I borrow something to swim in?”
“Swim in the sea?”
“Well, yeah,” Lucy said, a little confused. She’d assumed that was obvious, and also had no idea where else she might swim nearby.
“It might be cold,” Erica said.
“Yeah, I guessed. I mean, I noticed that earlier...”
“Oh yeah,” Erica said, sounding a little surprised, as if she’d forgotten their early morning swim.
“I won’t get in if it still is,” Lucy said, in case Erica actually cared.
Erica nodded, distractedly.
“So can I borrow something?” Lucy said, wondering if Erica had already forgotten she’d asked.
“Yeah, of course,” Erica said, and pointed to her bedroom. “There’s stuff in the second drawer in there.”
“Thank you,” Lucy said.
“Nah, it’s fine,” Erica said. She hesitated, then added, “I mean, I’m just glad you’re actually swimming in clothes this time…”
Lucy glared at her for a moment, until Erica grinned.
“You’re not funny,” Lucy said.
“Yeah I am. But stop distracting me and go swim.”
Lucy nodded, and went into the bedroom. As she passed the kitchen, she noticed that the bottle of vodka had disappeared from the counter. Erica must have shifted it discreetly while Lucy was outside, and put it somewhere out of sight.
It was sweet, Lucy thought. Unnecessary, but sweet.
She went into Erica’s bedroom, and looked in the second drawer down, and found bikinis. A lot of bikinis, perhaps ten of them in different colours and patterns. There were bikinis, and only bikinis. There were no one-pieces at all, as if living at the beach had turned Erica into some kind of geek mermaid.
Not that only having bikinis really meant anything.
Lucy looked for a moment, and decided she couldn’t be bothered trying all of them on to find out which suited her best, so she just picked one at random, and put it on, and then put the tee shirt and jeans she’d been wearing back on over it.
She went back out into the lounge. “Towel?” Erica said, without looking up.
“Oh. Yes, please, if you have some.”
Erica pointed to a cupboard in the hallway, which turned out to be a linen closet when Lucy went and looked. There were sheets and bathroom towels, and more brightly coloured beach towels, too. Lucy took one of those, and went back into the main room of the house.
“Okay,” she said. “Thank you. I’m just going over to the beach.”
“Surprisingly, I guessed. You’ll be okay on your own?”
Lucy nodded.
“Are you sure?” Erica said.
“Yeah, I think so.”
“Come back if, I don’t know… if you need anything,” Erica said.
“I will.”
“I mean it.”
“I know.”
“And do actually come back,” Erica said. “That too. Don’t go running off or something. I still have your clothes.”
Lucy smiled. “I won’t.”
“Okay, good. Now go away and stop being distracting.”
Lucy nodded. “Thank you,” she said again, and then did.
YOU ARE READING
Losing Everything
RomanceLucy loses everything that matters to her, her partner and job and business and all her money. She loses everything, and in doing so she reconnects with an old friend, Erica, and begins to fall for her instead. And as she does, she realizes that e...
