Leads them on a little

Emily sipped slowly from her bottle, ice water trickling down her throat. From behind her sunglasses, she watched them pretend not to watch her. Dan cracked a joke and threw the frisbee low. Charlie caught it with an easy twist, laughing like they weren’t both completely distracted.

She let them sweat a bit longer before she waved a hand lazily.

“You boys gonna stand out there all day?” she called. “I’ve got a cooler full of cold drinks.”

Dan was the first to jog over, sweat slick on his chest, sandy ankles kicking up behind him.

“Thought you’d never ask,” he said, flopping onto the towel beside her with absolutely no shame.

Charlie followed more slowly, dropping down on her other side. Close. Not quite touching—but close enough she felt the heat of him even through the blanket.

“You offering hospitality to strangers now?” he asked, reaching into the cooler.

“Strangers don’t usually ogle me for half an hour first,” she replied, her voice light.

They laughed.

Dan pulled out a soda and cracked it, already leaning toward her. “I was subtle.”

Emily arched a brow. “You tripped over your own shadow and dropped your frisbee.”

Charlie grinned, sipping slowly. “We’re young. It’s part of the charm.”

Young. God, they were. Twenty, maybe. College boys with beach muscles and no real shame.

Emily tilted her face toward the sun, letting the heat soak in. She hadn’t felt this… watched in ages. Not since before Chloe. Before the soreness, the hormones, the silence from Jason. She couldn’t remember the last time he’d even touched her like he used to. Let alone made her come.

Her nipples stirred under her bikini top at the memory—or maybe the lack of it.

She cleared her throat and shifted.

“I need sunscreen.”

Dan was already reaching. “I got it.”

Charlie didn’t move, but his smirk deepened.

Emily handed the bottle to Dan and turned slightly, giving him her back. Her shoulder blades were warm, her spine tight with anticipation.

Dan’s fingers were warm, slippery with lotion. They slid over her back, up to her shoulders, rubbing slow circles.

“Tell me if it’s too much,” he murmured.

She didn’t. She let him work, her breath hitching slightly when his hands dipped to her lower back, brushing the top of her bikini bottoms.

“Switch,” Charlie said quietly, holding out his hand for the bottle.

Emily turned toward him, raising her arms over her head as she stretched again—letting her bikini top ride just a little higher. The red fabric was tight over her breasts now, nipples clearly outlined beneath it.

Charlie’s hands were steadier. Slower. He started at her shoulders, fingers broad, thumbs skimming just under the edge of the top. He made no move lower. Just let the tension build. His knuckles skimmed the outer curve of her breast once, deliberate.

She didn’t flinch.

She didn’t breathe.

His eyes met hers.

Still no words.

Dan laughed to break the silence. “Bet she’s feeling pretty lucky with all this attention.”

Emily smiled and leaned back, reclaiming her water. “You boys are cute.”

They watched her. Not like boys.

Like predators in the sun.