Catherine and Stephanie were lying side by side on a beach towel, soaking up the sun. Stephanie was wearing a white bikini that exposed nearly all of her dark brown flesh to the elements, while Catherine had opted for a pink one-piece swimsuit from which only her rosy arms and legs protruded.

‘Are you having a good time, Kitty-Cat?’ Stephanie asked.

‘Wonderful, Stephie-Bean,’ Catherine replied. ‘How about you?’

‘Same,’ said Stephanie. ‘I’d like to stretch my legs pretty soon, though. How about we go back up to the boardwalk and take a ride on the slingshot?’

‘Ooh, no!’ said Catherine. ‘Sorry, Stephie, but you’ll never get me on one of those horrible things.’

‘Maybe Shawn’ll go on it with me,’ said Stephanie. ‘I wonder where he’s gotten to.’

‘Here he comes now,’ said Catherine. ‘He’s running right towards us ... with definite purpose, I’d say.’

Dressed in a blue pair of board shorts, Shawn skidded to a halt on the sand beside the beach towel.

‘Stephie, will you enter the King and Queen of the Beach contest with me?’ he asked unceremoniously.

‘I guess so,’ Stephanie laughed. ‘What do I have to do?’

‘There’s a boys’ round and a girls’ round and a couples’ round,’ said Shawn, as if this constituted a full explanation.

‘Isn’t the contest for couples?’ asked Catherine. ‘Straight couples, obviously, which is discrimination, but that’s beside the point.’

‘I guess it’s mainly for couples,’ said Shawn, ‘but there’s nothing to stop you entering with a sibling or a close friend. I mean, the couples’ round doesn’t involve anything you wouldn’t want to do with a sibling or a close friend.’

‘Don’t you want to find a little playmate your own age to enter with?’ Catherine suggested.

‘No, I want Stephie,’ said Shawn. ‘I mean, I need you, Stephie. Well, I do want you, but I also need you.’

‘Why do you need me, kiddo?’ asked Stephanie.

‘Because the girl has to be eighteen or over,’ said Shawn. ‘The guy can be younger.’

‘Wow,’ Stephanie laughed, ‘I only turned eighteen a few days ago and already I get offered my first chance to be a responsible adult. How could I pass that up?’

‘Why does the girl have to be eighteen or over?’ Catherine asked suspiciously. ‘I can understand why one person needs to be a legal adult, but why the girl specifically?’

‘Because the girls’ round is, er ... is a wet T-shirt contest,’ Shawn said sheepishly.

‘Oh, for God’s sake!’ said Catherine. ‘Stephie, you don’t want to enter one of those sleazy, misogynistic things, do you?’

‘Well, I don’t know,’ said Stephanie. ‘It might be kinda fun, just for a giggle. What’s the boys’ contest, Shawn?’

‘Hunks in Trunks,’ said Shawn, flexing his dark brown, twelve-year-old muscles to their fullest extent. ‘I should do pretty well, don’t you think?’

Stephanie smiled fondly; Catherine frowned slightly.

‘Isn’t there some kind of age limit for that too?’ she asked.

‘Um, well, yeah,’ Shawn admitted. ‘The guy’s supposed to be at least fourteen. But it’s not like that one’s a legal requirement, and I can pass for fourteen, right?’

‘A very young fourteen, maybe,’ said Catherine. ‘But that’s not the point, is it, Stephie?’

‘I can’t see the harm in it, Cat,’ said Stephanie. ‘Okay, Shawn, go sign us up and I’ll join you in a couple of minutes.’

‘Cool!’ Shawn grinned. ‘Thanks, Stephie.’

‘No problem,’ said Stephanie. ‘By the way, what’s the couples’ round?’

‘Talent contest,’ said Shawn. ‘I thought we could sing something.’

‘Yeah, great,’ said Stephanie. ‘Okay, I’ll be with you in a little while.’

Smiling all over his face, Shawn ran back along the beach. Catherine fixed Stephanie with an uncertain expression.

‘Are you sure you should be helping him do this, Stephie?’ she asked.

‘It’s just a bit of fun,’ Stephanie shrugged.

‘Maybe so, but he’s lying about his age,’ said Catherine. ‘And he’s sexualising himself. We both know how much trouble that kind of thing can lead to, don’t we?’

‘This is a very different situation, Cat,’ said Stephanie. ‘He’s just gonna stand there and flex his arms a little – it’s harmless.’

‘That’s another thing that bothers me,’ said Catherine. ‘If a twelve-year-old girl – or a fourteen-year-old girl who wasn’t lying about her age – stood up there in swimwear and posed for the crowd, that wouldn’t be okay, would it? But because the guys are doing it... ‘

‘I don’t disagree with you about that,’ said Stephanie. ‘Or about the boy-girl thing being discriminatory. But it’s a beautiful day and we’re at the beach and I’d like to have some fun, so I hope you won’t think any less of me if I abandon my principles and just go with it.’

‘Oh, of course not, Stephie,’ said Catherine. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be a Debbie Downer. I definitely want you to enjoy yourself, and Shawn too. You probably think I’m really boring now, don’t you? First I won’t go on the slingshot, then I start lecturing you about what you should and shouldn’t do with your little brother.’

‘I could never find you boring, Cat,’ said Stephanie, reaching out to cup her cheek. ‘And I don’t think you were lecturing me – I always want to hear what you have to say and I’ll always take it seriously, but in this case I know I can keep the situation totally under control.’

‘I’m sure you can,’ said Catherine. ‘Forget I said anything, okay? Go enjoy your contest.’

‘Will you come and watch?’

‘Maybe a little later. I don’t want to see the hunks in trunks ... or the wet T-shirts. But I’ll come to the talent show.’

‘Great,’ said Stephanie, jumping to her feet. ‘Ciao for now, then, Debbie.’

‘Hey!’ Catherine laughed.

After the Hunks in Trunks contest was over, Stephanie returned to the beach towel, knelt down and pulled a white T-shirt out of her bag.

‘How did Shawn do?’ asked Catherine.

‘He won,’ said Stephanie.

‘What?’ Catherine said incredulously.

‘The judges thought he was cute so they gave him maximum points,’ said Stephanie.

‘That actually proves what I was saying before, doesn’t it? If he was a girl, the judges would be perverts.’

‘You’re right. But he’s not a girl, and he’s really happy to’ve won, so I’m okay with the situation. No one’s looking this way, are they?’

‘No,’ said Catherine. ‘Are you really gonna enter a wet T-shirt contest?’

Stephanie nodded as she removed her bikini top and then attempted to pull the T-shirt over her head as quickly as possible.

‘You’ll probably win,’ said Catherine, as she watched Stephanie’s boobs disappear beneath the thin material.

‘You think so, Kitty-Cat?’ asked Stephanie.

‘Sure,’ said Catherine. ‘You have awesome, rocking tits, Stephie-Bean.’

‘Thanks,’ Stephanie laughed. ‘You have gorgeous legs.’

‘Maybe so,’ said Catherine, ‘but I’d never parade them in front of a bunch of horny spring-breakers, like you’re about to do with your boobs.’

‘Cat, I hope you don’t think I’m doing this to show off, or to try to look better than anyone else,’ said Stephanie. ‘I’m doing it because I think I might enjoy myself.’

‘Oh, no, I don’t think that,’ said Catherine. ‘I’m sorry, Stephie – I didn’t mean to let Debbie out again.’

‘It’s okay,’ said Stephanie, ‘you didn’t. So, are you gonna wish me luck?’

‘I’m wishing you all the luck in the world,’ said Catherine. ‘Though I still think you’ll win, with or without it.’

Catherine sat up and watched from a distance as Stephanie and several other girls in T-shirts and bikini bottoms had bucket after bucket of ice-cold water thrown over their fronts, striking various sexy poses with each soaking, then there was a lot of hanging about until a long-haired guy in board shorts came to announce the placings.

From what she could see, it seemed to Catherine that her prediction had been correct. Stephanie found Shawn in the crowd and the two high-fived enthusiastically, then she returned to the beach towel.

‘You won, didn’t you?’ said Catherine.

‘Yeah, I did,’ said Stephanie. ‘It was fun ... though I probably won’t do it again.’

‘You and Shawn must have this thing in the bag,’ said Catherine.

‘Unless we screw up the talent contest,’ said Stephanie, peeling off her T-shirt and laying it on the towel to dry.

‘What are you gonna sing?’

‘Mambo Number Five. I know it’s not technically a duet but it’s been our party piece for a few years now.’

‘I bet you’ll win that as well,’ said Catherine.

‘So long as we enjoy ourselves, I’ll be more than satisfied,’ said Stephanie, as she finished pulling the straps of her bikini top over her shoulders. ‘I hope you’ll come and enjoy it too, Cat.’

‘Yeah, I’ll walk back over with you,’ Catherine smiled.

As they approached the crowd, Stephanie and Catherine passed the curvy blond girl who had come second to Stephanie in the wet T-shirt competition, still wearing the saturated garment and a red pair of bikini bottoms. Her contest partner, who had placed very near the bottom of the Hunks in Trunks standings, was clinging onto her arm and muttering something to her.

‘For Christ’s sake, Simon, will you stop trying to drag yourself out of the friend zone?’ the blond girl snapped. ‘Just shut up and go get your magic set!’

‘We’re miles ahead on points, Stephie,’ Shawn grinned, as he ran up to join them. ‘We’re gonna be King and Queen of the Beach for sure! I’m glad you came to hear us sing, Cat.’

‘I wouldn’t have missed it for the world,’ said Catherine.

‘After their truly enchanting performance in the talent contest, our runners-up are Danielle Collins and Simon Nicholls,’ the long-haired guy in board shorts announced. ‘But totalling the points from all three events, there could only ever be one winning couple – Stephanie and Shawn Sloane!’

The runners-up received a smattering of applause, which they acknowledged with as much enthusiasm as they could muster, then the winners stepped forward to bask in the mindless adulation of the crowd.

Catherine watched as Stephanie and Shawn, both with huge grins on their faces, joined hands and bowed to their very appreciative audience. When the cheering finally died down, Stephanie ran over to Catherine and threw her arms around her.

‘Did you see that, Kitty-Cat?’ Stephanie enthused. ‘We won! We’re King and Queen of the Beach!’

‘You totally deserve it, Stephie-Bean,’ said Catherine. ‘You were amazing – both of you!’

‘Listen, I hope I haven’t been neglecting you. I only entered the thing in the first place to make Shawn happy, but I guess I did get kinda into it and it’s taken a long time, and I know you and I were supposed to be spending the day together.’

‘We have been; I don’t mind that you’ve been having fun with Shawn too. I’ll never feel neglected, I promise, so long as you still have room for a little bit of Catherine in your life.’

‘Always,’ said Stephanie.

Catherine smiled at Stephanie, Stephanie smiled at Catherine, then Catherine looped her arms around Stephanie’s neck while Stephanie’s arms encircled Catherine’s waist. The two girls then kissed each other deeply.

Raucous cries broke out from what remained of the beach contest audience. There were wolf-whistles, cheers and general uncouth vocalisations, then someone shouted out ‘Hurrah for the lesbians!’ just before Catherine and Stephanie drew apart slightly.

‘And I thought I was done making a public exhibition of myself,’ said Stephanie. ‘For today, at least.’

‘People are so stupid,’ said Catherine.

‘Some of them can be,’ Stephanie agreed.

‘Let’s carry on kissing,’ said Catherine. ‘If they want to act like a bunch of numbskulls, let them!’

Stephanie was more than happy to join in with this plan; the two stood on the sand and kissed for some minutes, during which time the audience steadily dispersed. Soon the girls’ hands were snaking all over each other’s backs and their breathing was becoming more and more rapid.

‘Do you think we could go somewhere?’ Catherine asked breathlessly.

‘Go somewhere?’ said Stephanie.

‘Yeah, you know,’ said Catherine. ‘Go somewhere.’

‘Oh God, I’d love to,’ Stephanie said longingly, ‘but I really should stay where I can keep an eye on Shawn.’

‘I don’t think this is the right place for that,’ said Catherine, scanning the immediate vicinity. ‘Where is Shawn? I can’t find him anywhere!’

‘Oh no, don’t say he’s disappeared again,’ said Stephanie. ‘I hope he’s okay.’

‘Yeah, I think he is okay,’ said Catherine. ‘I can see him now.’

‘You can? Where is he?’

‘To be totally honest with you, Stephie, it looks like he just went somewhere.’

‘Went somewhere?’

‘Yeah, with that blond girl who was in the magic show. Look, they’re coming out of the alleyway there, between the diner and the ice cream parlour.’

Stephanie’s mouth dropped open as she watched Shawn and Danielle, who was now dressed in both parts of her red bikini, emerge from the alleyway together and step onto the boardwalk. They exchanged a few words, both of them laughed, then Shawn came running towards Catherine and Stephanie while his companion wandered off in a different direction.