The Long Winter #112
Paradise part two
Everything was sunshine and rainbows when Penny woke the next day. Becca was showered and clean and smiling as the half-Asian girl emerged from the bathroom, coffee and breakfast ready on the balcony, the doors wide open to let in the fresh sea breeze.
“Good morning, beautiful!” Becca said, rushing up to hug Penny. Penny cringed momentarily, but the blonde girl wrapped her arms around her and kissed her still-pink cheek without even noticing. “How did you sleep? Pretty late in the morning for you to be waking up!”
“We were out past 2 AM,” Penny said, trying to blink through Becca's unexpected reaction.
“And today’s a whole new day! What do you want to do today? We can go down to the beach, of course, we can go shopping and get you a suitable bikini or three, like a thong that shows off that hot ass of yours—“
“You mean you’re not still mad at me?”
“Mad at you? Mad at you for what?”
Penny plopped down into her seat on the balcony and took a confused sip of coffee. It was sweet, full of cream and sugar the way she liked it. There was an omelet and a muffin and butter waiting for her on a plate.
“We were…” Penny took another sip and tried to smooth the worry from her face as she stared across the table at her smiling girlfriend.
“We were what?”
“We were arguing last night before we came home.”
“Huh, how about that. I don’t remember at all! I guess I should watch how much I drink, I must get carried away!”
“Yes, that’s one way of putting it…”
“What happened to your face? Did you bump something? Get in a fight?” Becca laughed.
You slapped me…
I wouldn’t bring it up. Blame it on the alcohol, like you wanted, and let it go. This is a fresh start.
Penny smiled.
“It’s nothing. I’m fine. Yes. Shopping. I still have a little of the money my parents sent me, I can afford to get a new suit today. Why don’t we go try some on?”
“Great! Then we’ll relax for a little while and then we’ll go out and do some shopping before getting lunch.”
“Getting lunch? I won’t get any more money until the week after next—“
“Don’t worry about it. Haven’t I always taken care of you? Let me take care of you a little longer. Being a Strong, Independent Woman is overrated. Much better to be pampered and doted on, don’t you think?”
“I do love it. I love you.”
“I love you, too. Let’s eat. The sun won’t be out forever!”
After they finished eating Penny dressed for the day in a flowery sundress and put a wide-brimmed hat on her head. Becca laughed and called her “Grandma” and then put on her own conservative skirt and floppy hat. They walked out into the sun and strolled down the sidewalk. All the streets were lined with palm trees and the air was salty and warm and humid. They enjoyed the warm and pleasant breeze as they looked through the windows of shop after shop.
“Come on, let’s check this one.”
“Okay!”
Penny followed Becca into a surf shop. There were boards on one wall, and wetsuits and board shorts and tankinis and long-sleeve tops. Becca bypassed all that for the bikinis. She held up several skimpy ones and laughed, each one smaller than the one before.
“There is no way I can go out in public in any of those!”
“You did it with Sandra down in, what was it? San Mateo?”
“San Mateo, yes, and there was no one else there! And you can’t be jealous because we weren’t even a couple yet.”
“I’m not jealous. Sandra’s a straight girl anyway, right?”
“Yes. But please, I can’t wear anything like that. It's so small!”
“You can’t wear that toddler suit you have right now.”
“I’d be fine wearing it. It’s comfortable.”
Becca snickered and rolled her eyes. Penny picked out another one and immediately put it back.
“Let’s try another shop,” she said.
“What? Why? What was wrong with that?”
“It was more expensive than everything in my suitcase combined!”
Becca picked it up and checked the tag.
“It’s not that bad. If you want I’ll spot you—“
“No, no, thank you. Let’s just try another shop.”
Becca laughed and relented and they left with the suspicious sales staff looking after them. They went in and out of a few more shops, Becca finding the tiniest, flimsiest pieces of fabric she could find, and Penny trying not to blush in embarrassment at them. And finally, on their fourth stop Penny held one up in triumph.
“This one.”
“That one?”
Becca peered at the dark blue suit, took the two pieces from Penny and held them up in front of her.
“Let’s try it on.”
Becca took Penny’s arm and pulled her into the changing room. Penny tried to protest, but Becca was quick to pull the half-Asian girl’s dress up and off.
“Let’s see how this looks on you,” she whispered into Penny’s hear, giving her lobe a quick lick.
“This is dirty!” Penny whispered back as Becca set the bikini top around Penny’s body in the handsiest way possible.
“That’s the point,” Becca whispered back, her hands working inside of Penny’s undies.
“Becca, stop—“
“Beg me.”
“Please stop…”
“You really want me to stop?”
“Nnh!” Penny put her hand over her mouth. “Yes, please stop. Please…”
“I love to hear you beg.”
Becca kissed her and then yanked her undies off and slid the bikini bottom on. She stood back and admired her girlfriend. Penny took a long, slow breath, and then she put her focus on the mirror. The suit looked good, the top was padded and fit her like a good sports bra, and the bottoms rose low on her hips and offered plenty of cover for her butt. Becca smacked her there and squeezed.
“Yes, I do think I like this one.”
“Stop it, I’m already wet, it’s going to be too embarrassing to give this to the clerk…”
“She’s going to love it, maybe we should invite her in here with us…”
Penny pushed her hands away and then turned and kissed her before changing back into her clothes. When they emerged from the room the clerk jumped back from the threshold and made like she was busy putting new stock on hangers at a table near the fitting room as though she was not curious about the couple. Becca handed the bikini over to the clerk and she led them to the register where Penny paid and thanked her. With the new bikini secure in a bag the couple stepped back into the strengthening sun while the clerk smiled at their backs.
Becca stopped and checked her phone for a moment, then began tapping out a message as they moved down the street.
“Let’s go have lunch.”
“Sure.”
“I have friends who own a Cuban place not far from here. They’re looking forward to meeting you.”
“Okay!”
Penny followed Becca around a corner and towards the ocean. They could see it extending forever in the distance beyond the shining buildings, but Becca turned again before they reached Ocean Blvd. They passed in the shade of the palm trees past several more shops, and then Becca turned through a gate to a fenced-in patio with picnic tables shaded by umbrellas and more palm trees. A pair of older women, perhaps in their early or middle 30s, came out to greet Becca. The taller one Becca called Rally, she had short black hair and a tall, lean body and she carried menus. The other was not as slim but solid and athletic and had a square face with a pleasant smile Becca introduced as Katrina.
“Everyone calls me Katty,” she said in a thick Cuban accent, shaking Penny’s hand, “Because I totally am. We welcome you to Miami. Any friend of Becca’s is a friend of ours.”
“Thank you, it’s nice to meet you.”
“Oh, Becca, where did you find her? Her accent’s adorable!” Rally said.
“She’s from Port Matthew.”
“Port Matthew? My hero!” Katty swooned into Penny’s arms and kissed her cheeks. “Oh, your people rescued my family! Thanks to you the Communists were defeated and kicked off the island and now we are prosperous and so many of us are reunited and I can’t thank you enough.”
“You’re welcome—“
“Katty, come, leave the poor girl alone, she has enough to deal with with Becca, doesn’t she?”
Katty and Becca laughed.
“Hey, how do you know she’s not the handful between the two of us?” Becca said, taking her girlfriend back from Katty.
“Sometimes one can just tell. I won’t judge though. Anyways, come in the back and have a seat. We’ll fix you up a couple of pork sandwiches.”
Penny followed them through the air conditioned restaurant. Past the crowded dining room was the much warmer kitchen with the stoves all cooking. It smelled wonderful: grilling meat, Caribbean spices, frying food. And then they were out the back door and on a private patio. They were surrounded by lush foliage and the sun dappled the tiles and picnic table. They could still smell the food, only here it was intermingled with the ocean breeze. Rally sat them at the table and the pair disappeared for a moment into the kitchen.
“This place is really wonderful,” Penny said, looking around. It was like being in the jungle, with the added benefit of no mosquitoes. She noticed the fountain bubbling nearby and heard the birds in the trees and squealed with delight.
“You are too adorable.”
“And it’s all for you!”
Rally and Katty emerged with plates and joined them for lunch. There were Cuban pork sandwiches and French fries and fried plantains, and Katty produced four beers for them.
“You do drink, do you not?” she asked as she set one down in front of Penny.
“Sure…”
Penny watched Becca take a long pull of hers and then took a sip of her own. It was good, light and slightly bitter and it paired well with the sandwich which was delicious and spicy and she loved the crunchy, thin bread.
“So we just got in yesterday,” Becca said. “We went out a bit last night, but I think we went at it too hard so I’m not sure we’re going to be doing much of anything tonight.”
“Aw, that’s too bad,” Rally said. “I wish you had called us, we could have met you somewhere.”
“We’re meeting now, and trust me, this is more comfortable than any of the clubs!”
They laughed with Becca and Penny relaxed when Becca reached for her water instead of her half-full beer.
“How did you two meet?” Katty asked.
Becca glanced at Penny.
“It’s sort of a terrible story…”
“I rescued her from a thing,” Becca said. She smiled sadly at Penny. “We don’t need to tell them details if you don’t want to.”
“Well, it’s probably better just to be honest,” Penny said. She looked at Rally and Katty. “It was a Halloween party. Someone found some revenge porn of me and showed it to everyone there. Then when I didn’t do what they wanted they dumped their drinks on me. Becca helped me get away and clean up.”
“Holy shit!” Katty nearly jumped up from her seat.
“Revenge porn? Some poor guy mad you switched teams?” Rally asked.
“No. Well, sort of. My ex-girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend was mad at her and hid cameras in our bedroom windows. He showed it to all our classmates. But since it’s illegal he got arrested and we worked to get the videos removed.”
“Videos? Plural?”
Penny blushed and shrugged.
“Holy shit, that’s some story. And you started dating because of that?”
“No, we talked for months before we finally started dating,” Becca said, squeezing Penny’s thigh. “It took a few dates before we even had sex. She’s been so worth the wait, just a perfect girlfriend in every way.”
“Aw, that’s so sweet, so wonderful,” Rally fluttered her eyes at them.
“How come you’re down here?” Katty asked. “You’re not jetting off to Cancun or Tunisia or some other exotic locale for the summer?”
“No, Penny’s working in the city so we’re here this summer. She’s only working four days a week, though, so maybe we can make it to Mexico or something for a long weekend.”
“You’ll want to be here on the fourth,” Katty said to Penny. “The fireworks, the Freedom Festivals, the barbecues…”
“Speaking of festivals, Vine&Main has their monthly pool party this weekend,” Rally said. “You two should come.” She smiled at Penny. “Do they do Pride in Port Matthew?”
“Pride? No, I think the first time I heard “Pride” with a capital P was from Becca.”
“She’s a PMer, Ral,” Katty said. “If she don’t want to do no Pride, you ain’t going to make her do it.” Katty smiled at Penny. “PMers are my brothers and sisters, I’ll protect you from these Prideful hedonistas!”
“Shut up, Katty! You’re the most Prideful person I’ve ever met! She should come! It’ll do her good to meet everyone!” She smiled at Penny again. “You should come. It’ll be fun!”
“Well, of course if Becca wants to go I’ll go. A pool party sounds like fun.”
“There’s music and drinks and tons of people, of course,” Rally said. “Someone is always throwing one, but the Vine&Main one is for us exclusively.”
“They also throw a Purple Panties party where everyone is supposed to wear colorful underwear,” Katty said. “I like that one the best, but the only throw it once or twice a year. This year I think they’re doing it Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day weekend, like summer bookends.”
“Purple panties? Sounds interesting, neh…”
“You’re going to have a wonderful summer, Penny,” Katty said. “It’s going to be just wonderful…”