I knew I was staring, but I couldn’t help it. Her skin was smooth and tawny-even there. Her nipples were brown, vastly different from my light pink ones.

“Wh-what?” I stammered. I was still staring. She smoothed oil over her belly, which was softer and a little more rounded than mine, working it under the strings of her bikini and down into the grooves of her thighs.

“Your top.” She massaged oil into her thighs and calves. “You can take it off-so you won’t have any tan lines.”

She lay on her back on the blanket, glancing over at me. I must have looked shocked. “No one can see, Veronica. It’s a private beach-just us.”

“What about the kids?” I looked over my shoulder at the house.

“One word: X-Box.” She adjusted herself, opening her thighs a little. I couldn’t see a hint of hair under the triangle of cloth between her legs and wondered at it. Her body was fuller than mine, more rounded and soft. “I won’t look. Don’t be shy.”

Her eyes stayed closed and I hesitated, looking up and down the beach. Then I pulled my top aside and checked my tan line-I was definitely getting one! Mrs. B’s breasts were so large that they kind of sloped off to the side when she leaned back. I was a little intimidated-mine were nowhere near as big-but it was the smooth, almost bronze color of her flesh that really convinced me. I wanted a tan without lines, too!

I untied my top and slipped it off, reaching for the oil. Squeezing some into my hands, I leaned back and rubbed it into the swell of my breasts. It felt strange to be outside half-naked in full daylight-I hadn’t gone topless on a beach since I was Janie’s age. My nipples were small, pale pink pebbles on a puffy, rounded areola, and with the stimulation from my hands rubbing the oil on and the gentle breeze blowing in from the ocean, they were quite hard.

Mrs. B hummed something to herself, but I didn’t know the tune. The rhythmic sound of the waves against the shore had me drifting in and out. Far away, I heard a dog bark.