“What did you two get up to this morning?” Bouchra asked towards Lily and me, without hint of an agenda, which I appreciated.
I was about to answer when Lily jumped in.
“We went to the beach and saw a bunch of naked people.”
Everyone looked up.
“They have a scheduled time slot just at the bottom of the steps. I think it’s daily between nine and twelve. Be prepared to see some things if you dare to venture out early doors.”
“Right, I’m heading out tomorrow morning. Babe, you’re coming with,” Vicky said.
Mathilde laughed. “We have this in Germany. It’s no big deal. Nudists have rights just like everyone else.”
“I think it’s against the law in many countries,” Nell said. “Which is crazy.”
A debate took off about the right to freedom of individual expression in all its forms, versus the relative norms and moral expectations in different places. If there was one thing my friends did well together, it was having a good debate and discussing the ins and outs of controversial topics. Most of the time we agreed. We even agreed that we sounded like our very own echo chamber sometimes. The times we didn’t agree, we did that well too. We each brought our own views and experiences, and it fascinated me to see how we could speak about things without getting too upset by differences of opinion.
“I think anything people do which causes no harm to others is okay in my book,” Lily said.
“Exactly,” I agreed.
“Everything’s got so crazy in this digital age we’re in,” Mathilde said. She was the oldest in the group at forty. “How have we got into a situation where unelected tech companies are making decisions which affect millions of people across the world?”
Lily leaned forward, crossing her arms and resting her forearms on the table. The muscles in her arms were perfectly toned and strong. She was an athlete with brains. Could she get any hotter? “I don’t know. But it’s fuckingterrible. It feels like all around us there is this lurch to the right.”
Kaira chimed in. “We shouldn’t take our rights for granted, that’s for sure.”
“Makes me feel even more proud and grateful for the sapphic festival here,” Bouchra said. “We’re literally in the home of Sappho, getting to be out and proud, safe to walk down the street holding our girlfriend’s hand.”
“Safe to be ourselves,” Lily said.
“Cheers to that!” Vicky held up her glass, the least keen out of the group on these heated discussions.
We all joined in.
“Who would like some more wine,” Mathilde said, in her German accent.
Lily caught my eyes and smiled as my friends ate or went to get more wine. Nell started talking to her and they disappeared into a conversation.
I found that I cared about her already – a lot. We’d only just met yet there was inexplicable tenderness in my heart for her. In some ways, I felt like I already knew her, or had known her sometime in the past. Everything about her felt familiar to me, but also like uncharted territory. The way she made my pulse quicken and the way I hung off her every word was exhilarating. Such a quick connection with someone wasn’t common for me. It made me wary on some level because my excitement was growing with every moment I spent in her company.
I looked away and finished the rest of the delicious meal she’d made us – the first paella I’d ever had.
***
Lily and I woke while it was still dark on Tuesday morning and set off on our hike up the hill across the road from thevilla. We didn’t say much. I followed her along the trail, grateful she had found and brought a torch. My sense of direction wasn’t great at the best of times, and in the early morning dark, I felt safe with her.
“I did a quick run yesterday to check out the trail. It’s well marked and not too long,” Lily said, pointing the torch a bit further ahead.
Yesterday, Lily had gone off and done her own thing for the day. I hadn’t known it included this trail too. “That was really thoughtful of you. And prepared.”
“Wait till we get to the top. It’s going to be spectacular.”
We walked for another thirty minutes or so, side by side. Lily matched my pace, which I appreciated. I hadn’t slept well again because I knew I was getting up early so I wasn’t feeling my most energetic. The fresh air was good though. The walk itself was invigorating.
At the top of the hill, the darkness of night was beginning to lift. We could see the sea almost all around us. It felt like we were jutting out onto the sea, with a panoramic view of the inlet and the hills around the villas. Flecks of light pushed through from the east, but no sign of the sun yet.
We sat on a bench.
