Prologue: Good Morning, Sunshine

Even before she opened her eyes Ayden could feel the sun beating through the bedroom windows; warming her bare skin below the light sheets that covered her legs.  The temperature, in the little room was rising fast, making it impossible to sleep.  Ayden rolled over and looked at the clock on the bedside table.  She groaned, “It cannot be this hot at 8:47 in the morning.”  It was going to be miserable again today, just like every other day this summer since she and Meg had arrived.  Why had she agreed to this summer adventure at the coast?  She had known immediately, when Meg first mentioned it, there would be no way to dissuade her ever persistent childhood friend.  Meg had always gotten her way in everything.  Even as children Meg could convince her to do things she knew she did not really want to do.  

They had been best friends since Meg had rescued Ayden from the playground bully on their first day of school and had been inseparable ever since.  They had grown up together in a small town and they had gone off to university together as roommates. In just a few weeks Meg would be moving across the country to her new executive position with a Marketing firm whose name was so long Ayden could never remember it.  Ayden had accepted a position with a small firm near her family home and she knew she would miss Meg, but she could not leave her aging parents alone.  Meg had cajoled her into this trip because it was their last summer of freedom before their jobs started in the fall.  It would be their last chance to spend a little time together.  Ayden had finally conceded and been convinced to share the beach house for the summer before Meg’s big move.

Meg had always been confident around men, and so typical of her, they had been at the beach house a total of five hours when she met an over tanned surfer boy with a phony white smile.  With her long legs, the way she flipped her beautiful blond hair while she laughed at their jokes, and the radiant smile she would flash when she wanted them; he had fallen under her spell with the first bat of her seductive eyelashes.  It was always that way when men were around Meg.  She just seemed to intoxicate them.  Now, it seemed Meg was barely around the bungalow long enough to change her clothes.  She glanced over at Meg’s bed and the covers were just as neat as the day they arrived.  Ayden wondered if Meg would ever even use the bed before the summer was over. 

Ayden stretched the kinks out of her back and ran her fingers through her long brown hair.  She yawned and threw back the covers; looking over at the clock that now read 9:01.  She sat on the edge of the bed pondering Meg’s more confident and outgoing style.  Meg had long blond hair with just a hint of a curl and all the boys at the university had regularly fallen over themselves to save her a seat at the football games, they all wanted to be near her and Ayden could not blame them.  She slowly slid herself out of bed until her bare feet touched the wood plank floor; its layers of peeling paint that had been applied over many years left it smooth under her skin.  She yawned and stretched again and sluggishly padded her way to the bathroom and a nice cool shower to help wake her up.

She smiled as she entered the bathroom.  It was almost too cliché even for the beach but at least it was cooler in here.  She and Meg had enjoyed a good laugh when they first saw it with its pale blue paint and lighthouse tiles.  There was even a string of sand dollars hanging from the mirror like a long forgotten Christmas garland, probably left over from some other tourists' vacation in the summers before theirs.  They had promised each other they would look for sand dollars to add to it before they left in the fall.  Ayden reached up and gently ran her finger over the rough edges and realized she missed having Meg around. 

Ayden watched her reflection in the long mirror as she slipped out of her bra.  Her brown hair fell over her shoulders and cascaded down to her full breasts, a wisp curled teasingly around one of her pink nipples.  She instinctively reached up to twist the tendril around her finger but as she did it brushed across her nipple, even on this warm summer morning her nipple suddenly turned hard like the small pebbles washed up on nearby shore.  She watched her breasts rise and fall with her slow measured breaths.  She tilted her head to the side and scrutinized her body.  She had once been told she had a figure like Jayne Mansfield and leaned forward provocatively, mimicking the star’s signature pose.  She laughed at the image smiling back at her and discounted the validity of the assessment.

She turned on the water and it sputtered and spit but eventually settled into a steady stream of clear water.  It had been Ayden’s idea to pay a little extra for the one bungalow with the large sauna shower, but she wondered if that had been frivolous since it had been too hot to use the steam shower.  She let her soft lace panties drop to the floor where she slowly stepped out of them and into the waiting shower.  The water danced across her skin and felt wonderfully cool as she closed her eyes and dropped her head back into the stream, letting it pelt down on her face before it raced over her body and down the drain, washing away the summer’s heat.  She shampooed her hair, letting her fingertips massage her scalp, before reaching for the bar of soap.  Ayden had always found the scent of lavender to be relaxing.  She rolled the bar over in her hands making a bubbly lather and sniffed at the bar smiling.  She slowly moved it across her stomach and up to her breasts where the cool water bounced off her warm skin.  The morning heat washed away by the cool water had made both her nipples hard.  She loved how the lather left her skin feeling soft and smooth.  She relished in it and her fingers slowly drew circles, playing at the edge of the hard pink eruptions.  She let the cool water rain down over her head and she slid the bar of soap slowly over her naval and down to the neatly groomed patch of hair.  The bar easily glided along the line between her thigh and her mons.  Her thumb brushed the edge of her lips and she held her hand still in the moist area, momentarily becoming more and more aware of her awakening arousal.  She had planned for this to be a quick shower but instead she set the soap back into the dish hanging from the wall.

Quietly, Ayden looked to the open door of the bathroom and listened to be sure that she was alone as her fingers slowly began to explore.  Her finger grazed across her clit making it throb and her breasts rose with a sudden intake of air.  She smiled and let the air flow leisurely from her chest as she closed her eyes.  Her finger flattened over her clit as she roughly pressed past it pushing further back as she let the finger slide deep inside of her.  She pushed in a second finger and her breath slowed to a rhythmic pant as the fingers slipped in and out of her drawing moisture out with each thrust of her hand.  She withdrew her fingers, moved over to the little corner seat and perched on the edge of it.  Ayden leaned her head and back against the shower wall as she brought the fingers up to press hard against the clit and slowly drew circles around it in the moisture, teasing it, she spread her legs further apart, letting the stream from the shower pulse against the throbbing clit.

Ayden moaned a loud, “Oh,” that came out in a gasp as she buried her fingers deep inside her again and dragged them out roughly, pulling wetness in its trail as she again lingered over her clit.  She twisted her hips to glide the folds over each other, enveloping the fingers that hungrily searched for the clit, punishing it harshly back and forth, with increased urgency.

Her breath began to come out in jagged raspy short puffs and her moans grew louder as she focused fully on her clit forcing her fingers to press roughly onto it.  She gasped for air yelling, "Oh no... no... no," but did not stop thrusting her finger against her clit.

The longing burning deep inside her threatened to explode.  She tried to relax, to make it last just a little longer but her body began to jerk and her head bounced against the shower wall as she yelled, “Oh... oh… OH!”  Finally in what sounded like a hiss she let out a low growled, “Yes…” as her finger slowed but still pressed hard against the tiny clit until her body gradually stopped shaking and her finger slowed.  Ayden let the corner seat support her weight as she sat dazed on it, pressing her flushed cheeks against the cool tile wall.  She closed her eyes and wondered what had come over her.  It was not like her to be so daring but it had been exquisite.  Her finger gently explored while her body relaxed and her breathing returned to normal.

She turned off the water and reached for a towel, but found them crumpled on the floor in a soaking heap. Ayden shook her head, but felt reassured knowing Meg had at least been there for a few minutes that morning.  With her toe she pushed the wet towels across the tiles to the sink.  She rung out her hair, but still water trailed in rivulets from her head, down her back and over the toned muscles of her shapely hips and thighs to the pile of wet towels under her feet.  

Ayden stood before the mirror and swiped away the steam that had collected there.  She found her comb under a pile of Meg’s beauty products and ran it quickly through her wet hair, tugging at the tangles left by the shower, wishing she had taken the time to use conditioner.  She effortlessly pulled all of her hair up into a tight ponytail and reached for the baby oil.  She knew it is a bit old fashioned and she would pay for the abuse to her skin when she was a little older but she loved the way it felt against her skin.  She slowly rubbed just a bit onto her arm in a sensuous leisurely manner, as if she had all the time in the world.  She was again distracted by the image of her naked body in the mirror as her fingers and palms danced slowly over the curves of her breasts, circling around the now tender nipples.  Absently she thought of the boys back at school as she gingerly massaged the last of the oil over her belly.  They might save seats for the fair haired Meg, she thought, but Ayden had occasionally gotten a little attention at university too.  She thought about Michael, her long-time boyfriend.  They had met her first year at school and he had been part boyfriend and part mentor to her; helping her find her way around the large campus.  They had only parted when Michael explained that he was not ready for marriage when he graduated the year before her and left school.  They had always been wonderful in bed together, but that special night after their team had won the final football match of the season the enthusiasm of the game had carried over into his love making.  He had sucked and nibbled so roughly at her nipples she thought that she would explode; and the amazing torrential orgasm that followed sapped her body of life causing her to fall blissfully asleep in his arms. 

Her daydream ended as she caught her reflection in the mirror and it brought her back to reality.  Ayden gathered up all the towels from the floor and deposited them in the hamper; vowing to do the laundry in the evening when it cooled off a bit.  She grabbed the little blue bikini, hanging on the rack and slipped it on.  She remembered how they had shopped for days before finding it.  Meg had been so excited and promised it would be perfect for the beach.  As Ayden passed through the bedroom, on her way to the kitchen, she snagged her old familiar university T-shirt, which she had borrowed from Michael and often substituted for a nightshirt.  It was still lying on the end of the bed and she threw it on, over her bikini.  She walked into the kitchen humming the old Beach Boys’ song, “Fun, Fun, Fun” but got stuck on the chorus and could not remember the rest of the words.  Seeing the pile of dishes in the sink she guessed Meg had not come by alone and wondered how it was she had not woken up.  Ayden sighed, but a smile crept across her face as she shook her head and picked up the bowl from the table that was still half full of milk and had a few stray Cheerios still floating in the white liquid, like little life preservers.  With the dishes rinsed and tucked into the dishwasher she went to the refrigerator to see if there was anything left.  She located an apple and two peaches which would have to do for breakfast and lunch, and tucked them deep inside of her bag as she headed out the door to the beach.

The beach was only half a block away and as soon as the door was closed she could smell the cool salt water calling to her.  There were little tourist boutiques lining all of the streets along the beach.  They sold everything from snow cones to tourist T-shirts proclaiming, “My grandma and grandpa went to the beach and all I got was this silly tee.”  There were little cafes with small tables lined up in front and bars that seemed quiet during the day, but drew large crowds at night.  Ayden meant to explore a couple of the nicer bars in the evenings but going alone did not seem as much fun as going there with Meg.  At the very corner, right across the street from the beach access was even an old LP record shop that had bongo drums hanging from the awning out front.  She wondered if the shop had been there since the 1960s. 

The beach was busy, this late in the morning, but not as crowded as it would get over the weekend.  Ayden easily found a nice location and laid out her towel on the dark pebbly sand.  The sand was already soaking up the heat of the day and her toes were burning from the walk over, so she headed directly to the water’s edge to dip them in the cool surf.  She had always loved the ocean and the roar of the waves filled her ears.  She stood in the cool water, drinking in the fresh sea air, her toes digging into the soft sand as she watched each wave slowly roll onto the shore.  The surfers were sitting on their boards, lined up like toy soldiers standing sentry, waiting for that one perfect wave.  They were doing their best to find a big wave but this morning the waves were small and the surfers were left paddling on their boards in the deep water far away from the beach.  Ayden was hot and with the small waves keeping the surfers out in the deep water she was sure it would be safe to venture out of the shallow water.  She gingerly stepped a little deeper; ever slowly, she crept further into the water until she had to hop a little for each wave as it rolled towards the beach.  She laughed at herself and enjoyed the feeling of being a kid again; playing in the surf.  She had gone a bit further than she had intended, but she felt alive and refreshed as the water swirled around her. 

She turned to check the bag that she had left unattended back on the beach when an unusually large wave plowed into her from behind and spun her over.  Her head was pulled under water and she was tossed and tumbled about like she had been thrown inside a washing machine.  She could not find the surface.  She was not even sure if she was right side up or not.  The waves seemed to crash into her as they tossed her over and over.  She started to panic.  For a moment her head was above water; she gasped for air.  As quickly as the air appeared it was gone again and she had swallowed half a mouthful of saltwater.  She had always been a good swimmer but something was pulling her under.  She fought frantically clawing for the surface, for another small gulp of air.  Her head hit something hard and she felt dazed.  Her lungs burned but all she could see were bubbles and green foam all around her.  “Surely,” she had thought, “someone had to have seen me go under.  Someone would pull me free,” but no hand of rescue reached out to her.  Slowly the green water had faded to black.