Page 67 of Guava Flavored Lies

CHAPTER30

The drive from the restaurant,over a causeway, and onto Virginia Key only took a few minutes. Lauren guessed where they were going as soon as Sylvie flicked on her turn signal.

Virginia Key was a small barrier island on the other side of Biscayne Bay from Downtown Miami. It was mostly a nature preserve with a strip of sandy beach best suited for dogs and families.

There was no glitz. No flash. Just a patch of sand off the side of the road leading to the larger island of Key Biscayne.

When they were in high school, the stretch of beach was a prime location to park and make out. It took all of Lauren’s self-control not to comment on Sylvie’s intentions in adding it to their date.

Sylvie backed into a spot far away from the handful of parked cars littered along the dark beach. There was nothing but a crescent moon and the skyscrapers across the bay for light.

Following Sylvie, Lauren slid out of the Jeep. The warm wind whipped her hair into her face as they walked a few feet toward the sand.

“Not as many cars as there used to be.” Lauren looked around the mostly empty length of asphalt. “Where the hell do teenagers go these days?”

Sylvie leaned against a gently swaying palm tree, her gaze on the minute waves lapping against the shore. “They probably just do it all by text. Send each other nudes instead of interacting in person.”

With her back to the water, Lauren propped her hand above Sylvie’s head, resting her palm against the trunk.

Sylvie looked up at her. Her lips parted as if daring her to close the gap.

Lauren used her free hand to keep Sylvie’s hair from getting in her face. “Would you have sent me nudes?”

Sylvie’s eyes widened in abject horror. “Absolutely not!”

The sight of an agitated Sylvie was a strange but powerful aphrodisiac “Why not? It’s not like I would’ve shared them with anybody.”

“No way. What if you lost your phone? Or you got hacked?” Sylvie shook her head. “Way too risky.” After a beat, Sylvie tilted her head to the side, her top lip curled by mischief. “Would you have sent one?”

Lauren tucked Sylvie’s hair behind her ear to keep it from flying wildly around her head. “I don’t know. Maybe. Would you have wanted one?”

Sylvie bit her bottom lip, undoubtedly knowing its effect. It was a lure pulling Lauren into deeper waters.

“I guess it depends on what kind of nude we’re talking about.” Sylvie ran her fingertips over the edges of Lauren’s exposed collarbones sending a rush straight through her.

“Are there different ways to be naked?” Lauren whispered, inching closer to Sylvie’s lips.

Sylvie’s eyes brightened. Lauren would’ve given anything to know what manner of thoughts she was entertaining. “If you were sending me nudes, I would hope you’d put a little thought into it.”

“Part of me wishes I had memorialized that body,” Lauren mused. “I never expected things to shift and expand immediately upon turning thirty.”

Sylvie slid her hands around Lauren’s waist, pulling her close in a single, decisive move. “You look damn good to me,” she said before kissing her.

Sylvie’s lips against hers were a revelation. A trip through time. At once revisiting the past and making promises about the future.

Sand shifted beneath Lauren’s feet as she leaned in closer and pressed Sylvie against the tree. Tongues warm and sweet from soda met and receded over and over like the waves racing to shore before retreating.

Beneath her fingertips, the fabric of Sylvie’s dress creased as Lauren gripped her hip. She wanted to pull it up, to feel the soft skin underneath, but she wanted to savor every moment with her too. The desires were irreconcilable.

As she lost herself in Sylvie’s lips. In the warmth of her body. The desire for more won out.

“Let’s go back to the car,” Lauren whispered before kissing Sylvie again, their noses bumping as she responded with equal hunger.

Sylvie didn’t reply. Instead, she grabbed Lauren by the hand and tore off in a trot toward the street.

Getting into the back of a Jeep was not as fun as Lauren imagined. The space was tight and the seats were stiff. Sylvie, however, was undeterred.

Before Lauren could make a joke about never having been in the backseat of a Jeep, Sylvie pounced.

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