Free Skinny Dipping by Alicia M Kaye Page A

She didn’t need a fast track. She needed a blooming miracle.
    Carol finally emerged from her room, looking slightly anxious at Sophie bobbing up and down.
    “What are you doing?”
    Oh God, Sophie was being the strange flatmate. She’d thought Carol and her feline nails were weird, and Carol would be the prime candidate for weirdness. But evidently as Sophie bobbed, she knew it was her. Her! She stifled the thought. “Squats. Making sure I don’t think of my ex-boyfriend. That type of stuff.”
    “What’s that smell?” Carol wrinkled her nose, referring to the soup.
    “Minestrone. Want some?”
    “For breakfast?” Carol shook her head and sucked down some vitamins.
    “No better way to get into shape, vegetables every meal. Three meals a day.”
    Carol shrugged, looking at her intently – possibly for signs of madness – and then Sophie realized from her small frame, Carol possibly didn’t eat much.
    “Want to go shopping?” Sophie asked. Shopping was normal, not weird. Carol threw back a glass of water, and her energy seemed to come from somewhere, because she didn’t need convincing to go shopping, and the pair were soon headed for Oxford Street.
    ***
    After all the lunging and squatting Sophie’s body felt sore. When an arm, body or shopping bag slammed into her side, almost winding her, it was difficult to know whether a bruise was brewing from being knocked or from the oblique twists she’d tried earlier that morning. All she knew was her body ached. Sore, arms, legs, butt. All self-inflicted. It would be worth it once she was in the pool.
    On Oxford Street, shopping was war. Clenching her fists, sticking her elbows out slightly for protection, the crowd bustled in both directions but she didn’t have time to stop. Sophie pushed into the thick of it, amongst those committed to shopping, caught in a group snaking forward along the pavement. Sophie sidestepped, blindly moving off the Oxford Street pavement, to the curb. A deafening horn blasted and tires screeched from a red, double-decker bus skidding to avoid meandering pedestrians.
    Carol was panting hard. Her hair was combed back into a perfect bun, her makeup applied flawlessly with strokes of eyeliner extending out to create an illusion of an extra eyelash. Her foundation covering a sprinkling of freckles and her cheekbones were accentuated with blusher. She looked into Sophie’s face.
    “This is hectic, are you alright with the crowds?”
    “Thanks, yeah. How about you?” Sophie watched the bus drive off.
    “Maybe we should call it quits?”
    “No.” Sophie’s voice quavered, determined. Resolve and persistence kept her going. Learning how to swim could be her big opportunity to get more of the Silver Leisure Group, she just needed to believe it, and get in.
    “We’ve been to at least ten shops. I don’t think you’re going to find a swimsuit in October. You should have bought one in summer,” Carol stated.
    “I need one now,” Sophie said firmly. “I’m not going to go to come away empty-handed.”
    Carol put her hand on her hip, eyeing Sophie carefully. “Okay, the department stores must have a few in stock and we just haven’t looked hard enough. Selfridges is the biggest, we should go back there.”
    “You’re right, let’s go back. Thanks for coming with me. I know you have your call back audition later on.” Another dance company was interested in Carol.
    “I’ve only got another hour before I need to go to the studio, it will give me time to warm up beforehand.”
    “Are you ready for it?” Sophie asked, looking out onto the street, analyzing the traffic. A red light shone at the intersection signalling a perfect time to cross.
    “Yeah, they haven’t said anything about me dancing as a principal or even a soloist. But an audition is still an audition.” Carol followed Sophie as she stepped out onto the road and onto the traffic island.
    “I guess that’s still great news especially in a recession,” Sophie