Hi everyone! This is the first work I've decided to put online since trying my hand at writing again. I hope you give it a chance.

Please note that this work is rated M for tons of cursing and possible sexy moments (how sexy.. we shall see).


One


"Don't be a pussy."

Irritation worked the muscle above her eye at the crass insult.

It was the fourth time during the night Nya had been called a pussy by her sister and the fourth time she had nothing to say in response. They both knew she was at her breaking point of letting the offense slide. When the slur had first been uttered, it had been due to her decision to forfeit another dare and instead take a penalty shot of liquor. The next time she had chosen alcohol over a risky gamble, Nya had nearly choked on delicious guacamole at her sister's continuous goading; this time choosing to ignore Danielle and her teasing remarks. When she had been offered a nerve-wracking challenge a third time, Nya pushed herself off the loveseat and moved into the adjoining kitchen, busying her hands as she contemplated whether or not she could take anymore onslaught from her sister; she couldn't.

They were hours into the night, and though she had completed some dares, she could not bring herself to do the one propositioned to her.

She heard Danielle sigh from across the room, followed by slight movement and a mumbled, "She's not gonna do it." Nya lifted her head from organizing pita chips in time to witness her sister refilling an empty shot glass with a shake of her head.

"Ooh yes she will." Paloma, stretched out on the multicolored rug, raised her hand and pointed her finger to the ceiling with finality. She allowed a moment for her statement to settle before her arm fell back against her forehead, brushing away loose honey curls. A willing participant of the game, Paloma was the third of their foursome. She was the most carefree, the most confident, and the most oblivious of them all. With her elbows for support, Paloma lifted herself from the decorative pillows on the floor and glanced first at Danielle and then Nya, her hazel eyes glazed and struggled to remain open. "She'll do it." Her heavy northern accent, topped with her Hispanic twang weighted her sentences and cut the ends off most of her words. Her smile only widened as she rolled to one side in an effort to get to her feet. "She has to."

Resting on her stomach on the opposite sofa, Ann nodded her consent, her legs kicked behind her. "'Course she does." The most sober of them all, Ann never backed down from a truth asked or a dare commanded; she was the bravest and most daring of the group. She pushed back dark, straight locks, her monolid eyes focused on her screen as she lazily swiped left on her phone. "It's not a difficult dare. I mean…it's doable."

"Yeah- I know it's doable. She just won't do it. Again, it's because she's too puss-"

"Not wanting to go to jail doesn't label a person as a chicken, Dani."

Three sets of eyes turned to Nya who was glaring at her sister. Danielle rocked back from the edge of the sofa and angled toward Nya. "No, of course not a chicken. But it does label you as a pussy."

"Will you stop calling me that!"

"It's true though!" Danielle challenged, not concerned by her sister's yelling. She watched Nya stall in the kitchen and struggled to hide her own smile. She knew very well that she was being harsh, but she wanted her younger sister to, at least for girls' night, throw caution to the wind and not worry about consequences. At the sight of Nya's slumped and defeated shoulders, Danielle rose from the sofa in smug triumph and moved towards the glass doors that faced the backyard. She skimmed the area slowly.

It was well past 1AM, chirping crickets could be heard even with the doors closed, and small lights dotted the parameter of the land. To ease her paranoid sibling, Danielle made a show of scanning the surrounding yards before turning back to the group. "If you keep skipping dares, soon you'll be in the hospital getting your guts pumped. Right after Ms. Drinks-A-Lot over there of course."

At the insinuation, Paloma lifted her head from where she had plopped down beside Ann and stared openly at Danielle; genuine confusion clouding her features. "Who, me?" Receiving a nod of confirmation from Danielle, Paloma pouted. "Bitch fuck you."

Nya moved back into the sitting room, familiar with the back and forth between the other two women, and stood beside her sister. She turned the taller girl back toward the grass outside before more comments could be made.

"I'll do it."

Surprised, Danielle glanced over at Nya, her expression turning to one of hope. "No way."

"Yes way." At 5'6", she was a woman of average height, nevertheless, Nya pushed to her tiptoes and glanced around the yard nervously. "Yes, I'll do it. I-Is anyone there?"

"Noooo-uh. No lights. Everyone's sleeping, just quick in and out."

Nya let out a breath and nodded, "Fine."


Warren Montgomery shifted positions and his muscles protested at the movement. He angled his head from one side to the other, resounding pops audible before he stood from his office chair for a much needed stretch. His shoulders were tense, his back muscles stiff from hunching over his work table all night, but damnit the sketches were complete. Paying no attention to the time, he had labored on well into the night until his eyes burned from staring too long and too hard at pencil sketches.

He worked first one shoulder and then the other, arms stretched out in front of him as he made his way out of his cluttered workroom.

The decision to leave his entire life behind and move across the country wasn't particularly an easy one, but the position change, the pay increase, and the temporary paid timeoff while he readied a place to live did aide in convincing him. Plus, having his family closer was a bonus. When the news of his return home reached his mother Maureen in Texas, she had been over the moon. Her happiness had slightly dimmed however, when she found out that he wouldn't be moving back into the family home, but instead Warren would be three hours away from where he grew up; housesitting for his brother, Paul, and his wife for the summer while he made arrangements for his own place.

The visit to the apartment his office had acquired for him had been a short one. Though the space had been suitable enough were it just him, there was no way it could accommodate the very large and affectionate personality that came with him.

Warren walked across the hall from his makeshift office and into his bedroom, the click-clacking of weimaraner claws hitting hardwood trailed devotedly behind him. His fingers brushed against the raised nose of Penelope when the pair entered the darkened room, the plush carpet muting her paws.


The trio followed behind her as witnesses, wine sloshing in glasses as Nya tiptoed across the grass. They whispered among themselves, giggling like teenaged girls. When she was at the hedge that divided the property, Nya turned to face her friends, her brown eyes pleading, one hand clutching her robe closed at her throat.

"Y'all, can't I just—"

"No, bitch, just do it." Danielle replied. She was grinning from ear to ear, genuine pride lighting up her features as she nudged Nya forward against the fence. "You've already come this far." Encouraging agreements followed as the others were already hopping the railing.

Releasing a breath, Nya boosted herself up and kicked first one leg then the other over the waist high fence and dropped into her neighbor's yard; smoothing down her kimono.

Shaped like a bean, the pool glowed a clear blue from its illumination. Paloma located a comfortable seat on a lawn chair and shifted to make room for Ann. They watched on as Nya walked slowly from cool grass to the smooth red brick of the patio, and circled to her right toward the steps, all the while glancing nervously around her. When finally, at the shallow end, she faced the house and stared wide eyed, allowing the seconds to tick by to confirm there was indeed no one home or awake.

The three other women held their breaths in anticipation.

Penny had heard the ruckus long before the group had reached the wire fence. She moved away from her distracted human and wandered into the sitting area, quickly nosed the door curtains aside, and stared out the back glass door. She whined softly her tail beating against the side of the couch, eager to join the festivities happening outside.

Nya's shoulders stiffened and her knees nearly buckled at the flutter of curtains. Danielle was over the fence within seconds and jogging toward Nya. She reached for her sister's arm and tugged the other woman to her side.

"What- what is it? Is someone there?" Danielle glanced at the glass doors of the neighbor's house, struggling to see what had frightened her sister. "Fuck it, let's go."

Nya blinked and turned her eyes back onto her sister. "No, no. It was my reflection."

"I don't care. Let's just forget the whole thing." Danielle inched toward the fence, nerves tightening her features; Ann and Paloma hurried over.

"No, Dani. I'm doing it." Nya shook her older sibling off her arm. "Back up." Nya inhaled deeply, released the breath in a slow exhale, and turned back to the pool. Her friends moved a step back, when she released the knot on her robe, the garment falling to the ground noiselessly.

Their cackles and drunken whispers made them almost impossible not to see them in the dead of night. Penny, not much of a barker, found a comfortable position in the living room and settled down for the night while Warren, at the sound of the dog's soft whining, glanced out his bedroom window, half expecting to find daring teenagers wandering through the neighborhood but instead witnessed a very naked woman step into his pool.

"Huh." He thought as he pushed the curtains back to their original position and turned away from the window, a shadow of a smile turning his lips. "All right then."

Nya wiggled her toes in the water and was greeted by warmth. Fingers trembling at her sides, she submerged one foot and then the other, feeling glossy tile against her bare feet as she stepped further into the heated pool and away from her friends. Goose bumps prickled her exposed skin at the night air. The warm liquid passed her knees, then her thighs, the tips of her fingers grazing the surface of the water. The muscles in her back tensed, water enveloping her naked butt. Her nipples puckered from the sensation of breeze brushing against her wet skin. She continued further into the pool until she had to kick to keep herself afloat.

Danielle cupped her hands around her mouth. Though it was meant to be a shout, it came off as a harsh whisper. "One lap!"

"If she only does one lap, she's gonna have to climb out over there." Paloma pointed to the opposite end of the pool in confusion before looking to Danielle. "That's stupid."

"A lap. A full lap—never mind, she knows what I mean." As if shooing an insect, Danielle waved her hand through the air toward Paloma and focused back on Nya. "She's the swimmer not you."

Nya ignored the bickering occurring behind her and frog-kicked her legs until she was floating in the center of the pool. She gulped in a deep breath and plunged head first. Her arms stretched out and her legs pumped to propel her further down. She exhaled slowly, moving through the water, and after a few underwater kicks, pushed through the water's surface and inhaled. Nya allowed her body to float upward and become parallel. She moved in even strokes, making her way to the opposite end of the pool before she ducked underneath, tucked her body, and rolled to kick off the wall.

Though muted, Nya could her the cheers of her friends as they applauded her on; causing a smile to curve her lips. Her movements were fluid and easy as she swam, tilting her head every few strokes to inhale a breath of air. When she neared the stairs, Nya tilted backwards and dunked her hair underneath the water one last time to smooth her kinks out of her eyes. She used the railing to step out of the pool, as though posing for a commercial, and instead of grabbing her only piece of covering that Danielle held out to her, she sashayed across the yard; her friends hurrying to catch up to her.


"I... am… speechless." Ann declared from in the hall closet. She made her way back after retrieving the needed towels and draped the largest one across Nya's shoulders. She used the smaller one to aid in drying her friend's dark hair. "Our darling Nya bared it all tonight."

"Literally!" Came Danielle's cheerful reply from deep within her own bedroom.

Heart hammering from fear and her daring walk across her yard, Nya wiped droplets of water off her forehead and smiled halfheartedly as she clutched her towel. She leaned back against the sofa cushions and Paloma followed suit. Sobriety slowly taking over and leaving an unwelcome throbbing against her temples, Paloma reached for Nya's hand and squeezed gently. "Very sexy move, girl'," she spoke.

Danielle returned with dry pajamas for her sister. "And that walk off? Ugh, perfect." Dramatically, Danielle dropped the clothing on the sofa arm and replaced Ann with drying Nya's hair. "All righty... who's bunking with me?" she asked. Paloma's hand shot up excitedly before she slumped it back in her lap. "Okay, I get Ms. Crazy and Ann's in your room Ny'." Nya nodded her understanding and stood.

Sensing growing staleness within the group, Danielle rounded the couch and cupped her sister's cheeks. "You killed it tonight, babes." Danielle tucked a kinky curl behind her sister's ear, fluffing out the ones clinging to the woman's nape. "I'm never calling you the 'p' word again."

Nya let out a light chuckle, attempting to comb her fingers through her knotted hair. "Well, thank you for that." She grabbed the miniature glass on the coffee table and gulped down the forgotten shot of liquor much to the group's surprise. Clearing her throat from the burning sensation, she glanced at her friends, "Night y'all." Nya stepped around Danielle and moved toward her bedroom.

Someone had been home, someone had been awake in her neighbor's house and had seen their childish play in their pool.

Panic gnawed at her throat and threatened to choke her with each step she took. Turning the corner in the hall, Nya entered her room and shut the door before leaning against it. An unexpected giggle bubbled out of her and she rushed to cover her mouth with her hands, her eyes glancing through the open window of her bedroom that provided the perfect angled view to her neighbor's yard.

Oh God, she was going to jail.


Thanks so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed it! Please leave a review and let me know what you thought. :)