Page 91 of Hotter in the Hamptons

Jessica was walking away, waving goodbye. “God, I love that bitch,” Ryan said. “So weird to see work people out here, though. Really reminds you there’s a whole world waiting for us in New York.”

“I think we can pretend there isn’t for a little longer,” Emmett said. “At least I plan to.”

“I will cheers to that,” Ryan said.

“We’re out of wine,” Lola pointed out.

“Should we get another bottle?” Aly asked.

They all agreed that was for the best. The server suggested a prosecco.

***

When the Uber dropped Aly and Lola off—they’d had to call a car instead of driving back because of all the wine—it was a little after 6:00p.m., the summer sun still hours from setting and the muggy air only getting hotter. Lola climbed out of the car, saying goodbye to Emmett and Ryan, who had set a second destination in the app, claiming they were going to a party. Lola had a feeling, though, they were just going back to Emmett’s to jump in bed.

“I’m starving,” Lola said, as they walked up to the house, feeling wine soaked and fuzzy. “Should I UberEats something? Pasta, maybe?”

“I have steaks in the fridge,” Aly said. “I’ll grill for us.”

“Dream girl,” Lola sighed.

“But first,” Aly said, and then instead of finishing her sentence, she kicked off her shoes and headed straight for Giancarlo’s pool, unbuttoning her shirt and throwing it to the side, then slipped out of her pants, leaving an expensive trail of designer clothes in her wake. She dove into the pool in just her bra and underwear and then bobbed up to the surface. “Come on,” she called to Lola, who was enjoying the show. “It feels great.”

Lola shimmied out of her nap dress. And because she was feeling wild and free and more than a little buzzed from that final bottle of wine (plus the glass she’d chugged in Jessica’s presence probably), she took her bra off too. She cannonballed into the pool in just her underwear.

She found Aly in the cool blue water, and they kissed, enjoying the feeling of their submerged bodies pressed together, nearly naked and wine drunk and sunburned. Skin slid against skin. The earth was tilting around her; she was off-balance, but she couldn’t fall down in the water, not with Aly’s arms around her. Aly’s hands traced the outline of Lola’s body. Lola’s pulse quickened. They could do it in the pool if they wanted. There was no one stopping them.

But Aly pulled away and said, “Lola Fine, do you not know how to dive?”

Lola grinned, treading water. “What gave me away?”

“You almost killed me with that cannonball, for one thing,” Aly replied. “Shall we teach you?”

“You can try,” Lola said, splashing her. “No one has ever been able to help me. I’m a lost cause.”

“We’ve already established my teaching skills,” Aly said with a smirk. Then she dragged Lola out of the pool and made her stand on the edge. She positioned Lola’s body, trying to explain the technique. Lola was only half listening. She knew she didn’t have the right proportions for a graceful dive. No one with huge boobs did.

Aly made her try it anyway. Lola took a breath and then did the world’s largest belly flop. When she pulled herself to the surface, Aly was laughing hysterically.

“I fucking told you,” Lola cried, trying not to laugh for fear of drowning.

“Try again,” Aly said.

She did. And again and again. She wondered if she’d be better at it if she were sober. She doubted it. The physics just didn’t make sense.

Aly brought her portable speaker out and put on a Phoebe Bridgers album. The light was turning gold. From this moment, it didn’t seem possible that summer would in fact ever end.

“Bend your knees a little more before you jump,” Aly instructed.

Lola liked Aly coaching her, even if she knew it was futile. She idly wondered if anyone could see them, naked and jumping in and out of the pool, but the truth was she didn’t really care. Let them see two gorgeous women falling in love, having the time of their lives, splashing around in the perfect turquoise water under the setting Hamptons sun.

Finally, after a dozen or so attempts, something clicked. With her arms above her head, Lola launched herself off the edge of the pool.

She knew this was the one. She could feel it—the way the ground gave way, the way she cut through the air.

The world appeared to flip upside-down as she completed the mid-jump arc down into the water.

And there, walking up to the pool, was a man.

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