Free Distractions by Natasha Walker

was too much for her. Mark just wasn’t going to catch on. He stood, smiling generously, looking beautiful but completely at a loss.
    David came out. He’d stayed in to finish the cleaning up, but just couldn’t resist the sound of feminine laughter.
    ‘Shall we all go down for a swim? What do you think?’ he asked, taking hold of the back of each of the women’s chairs. He leant over and kissed Emma’s neck, lingering a moment longer because of her lovely scent.
    ‘I’m in,’ said Mark. ‘Come on, girls.’
    ‘We’ll come down with you. But I don’t know if I want to go in,’ said Emma, and received a tap with a bare foot beneath the table.
    Sally was determined to stay in the house, it would appear. So they sent the boys off with a promise to join them.

THIRTEEN
    When they were alone, after watching the boys cross the dune, Emma asked, ‘Where has the romance gone, Sal?’
    Sally had no idea what Emma meant. She initially thought she was referring to something their husbands had, or hadn’t done, and laughed. But then found nothing to reproach them for. She was about to answer but realised she had nothing to say.
    ‘Let me put it this way. I love you, babe. No one gives head like you do, ’ Emma said, in a low, slow, very stupid sounding voice, lampooning the sentiments of a vast majority of males.

    ‘I’m sorry, Em. If that’s how I sounded. Oh, how awful!’ Sally rose from her seat and came to sit on Emma’s knee. She threw her arm around her friend’s neck and kissed her on the lips. Emma welcomed her. ‘I didn’t mean it. I didn’t mean it like that. Honestly.’
    ‘You made me feel yucky, Sal.’
    ‘I’m sorry, baby, I am. Truly. Forgive me?’ asked Sally, before kissing Emma’s lips again. ‘You make me feel so hot, Em. You do, and I forget myself. I try not to think of it, I try to be good. But the alcohol … When I’m around you I feel anything can happen; I feel I can do or say anything.’
    Emma listened to her friend in two minds. She resented being made responsible for Sally’s loss of personal control, even if Sally had blamed the alcohol.
    On the other hand, Sally was sitting on her lap, being affectionate. She loved Sally, and always had, knowing full well her limitations and yawning deficiencies, as, presumably, Sally was aware of Emma’s failings. But then, that was part of the problem. She wondered whether Sally was as flexible in that regard. Could she forgive Emma as readily as Emma could forgive her? Sally truly had a kind of blind faith in Emma, a readinessto abdicate responsibility in her presence. This caused Emma anxiety. Sally would certainly blame Emma if anything went wrong. And due to Sally’s limitations Emma could not always safely assume what wrong was for Sally.
    Emma could see the boys down by the water’s edge. They were standing, arms folded, observing the surf, presumably discussing something of importance. The swell was much larger now than it had been in the morning. She had no fear for their safety, both were strong swimmers.
    Emma felt Sally’s soft kisses on her neck. She was trying hard to be strong, for what reason she could not say, for some principle she should probably uphold, most likely. The kisses were soft and delectable, warm and moist, and they sent delight through the whole of her body. Sally was purring, or as close to purring as a woman can get, and Emma could not resist stroking the cat in her lap.
    She noticed the boys diving into the surf as her hand ran along Sally’s thigh. She watched their bodies rise out of the waves to dive again. She wondered how long they would stay in the water. Or, more precisely, how long she had with Sally.
    Sally lifted her head from Emma’s neck and kissed her properly, on the lips. A spark wasgenerated by this kiss, which ignited the highly flammable tinder box of lust that lay in each woman’s breast. There was an explosion and that one lingering kiss began to burn, and their skin