Dorsai - Kelly's adventures

By that time, we were close enough to the restaurants that Kelly turned to see if Marlyn and I were done talking. Seeing that we were, she got Marilyn involved in helping us pick out a place for breakfast. It didn't take long to make a decision – I think all of us were too hungry to fuss about it.

Inside the restaurant, I was mildly surprised when Marilyn decided that she was willing to sit next to me, across from Kelly. Marlyn smiled at me when I looked at her, and took her place across the table from me.

Again, it didn't take us long to decide on what we wanted – and true to her word, Kelly ordered a fair-sized breakfast, surprising Marlyn and Marilyn. As Kelly was eating, she saw Marlyn watching her a bit, and turned so the two of them could share a Look. Marlyn quickly looked over at me when it was done, then blushed slightly. Apparently, Kelly had gotten the idea across that*I* was the cause of her increased appetite – and why.

I took the opportunity to try starting a conversation with Marilyn. Shy and hesitant at first, she eventually got used to my attention on her so that she was able to respond to me with more than short, simple sentences. Still, I was surprised when she took my hand as we were heading back for the hotel after breakfast. Kelly and Marlyn both noticed, and grinned at me when I looked at them.

Back in the hotel lobby, Kelly asked Marlyn if she and Marilyn had to change clothes; Marlyn answered that they had their suits on under their dresses – that there really wasn't anyplace to change at the beach itself. A few minutes later, Bhoy showed up with the van. We quickly went upstairs to collect our beach things before piling in for the trip to the beach. On the way, I cautioned Kelly about making sure she kept plenty of sunscreen on – relating how I'd fallen asleep near a swimming pool shortly after being stationed in the Philippines. After only an hour in the sun, I'd burned so badly that even the soles of my feet had blistered and peeled. Kelly solemnly nodded her understanding, and started applying suntan lotion while we were still en route.

Once at the beach, it didn't take us long to get set up. The manager of the hotel had generously loaned us a beach umbrella, so we had a shady place to rest near the water. Bhoy had brought along his own things, and set himself up several feet away – close enough to help if needed, but far enough to not intrude. Kelly and Marlyn both looked shocked when he took off his shirt, revealing a torso that bore mute testimony to his military experience: I saw where he'd been hit by bullets a couple of times, and what could only have been a knife wound along his ribcage.

Kelly looked at me, and I just shrugged before telling her "Marlyn told us he was retired from the Philippine army. Soldiering isn't what you could call a safe occupation." Kelly gave him another look before shuddering slightly.

While Kelly and I had been occupied, Marlyn and Marilyn had shucked their outerwear to reveal their choice in swimsuits. Both were modest one-piece numbers, though rather colorful. As I'd suspected, Marilyn's suit revealed the fact that she was in transition from young girl to young woman: there was a noticeable swelling at the top of her suit, with a corresponding narrowness at the waist. Her small, firm butt was set on a pair of long, slender legs. For her part, Marlyn revealed that she was most definitely female: her bust was smaller than Kelly's, but on her smaller frame, it looked quite nice, as did the gentle curve of her waist and hips. Smooth, nicely-turned legs framed the slight mound of her mons.

Kelly followed their example, showing them that she was sporting a brightly-colored very modest bikini. I could see Marlyn looking at her a bit enviously; Marilyn was simply dumbstruck. I took off my shirt and dropped my walking shorts to show that I was content with a pair of boxer-type swim trunks. From the corner of my eye, I could see Marlyn giving me the once-over – to Kelly's discrete amusement.

Finally ready to get wet, I announced "Last one in the water is a rotten egg!" – and made a mad dash for the ocean. Kelly wasn't far behind me, while Marlyn and Marilyn got lost in the translation – but quickly got into the spirit of the thing to follow our example. I, then Kelly, dove in and swam a little ways out in the warm, clean water. When we looked back, we saw that Marlyn was keeping Marilyn company closer to shore.

Kelly and I splashed around for a little bit, then swam back toward the others. When we were close enough, we got our feet under ourselves and walked over to where they were standing in the knee-deep (to Marilyn) water.

I asked Marlyn "Is everything okay?"

She smiled shyly, and told me "I'm not such a good swimmer, and Marilyn doesn't know how, at all."

Marilyn was staring down toward where her feet were during this, and I squatted down a bit to ask "Marilyn? Would you like Kelly and me to help you learn how to swim?"

She hesitated a little, before she shyly admitted that she would.

I squatted down some more, and told her "I think you are pretty brave.

The first time I tried to learn how to swim, I was so afraid that I couldn't even move."

She looked up at me for a moment, and I nodded to assure her that it was true. I went on to tell her "I know it's kind of scary, but I'll be right here with you the whole time, okay?"

She smiled a bit, and nodded her agreement before I told her "If you want to hold my hand, we can go out a little more so we can get started, okay?" as I stuck my hand out.

She took it, and walked next to me as she, Kelly, and I slowly moved to where the water was a little deeper. She started getting nervous when it was hip-deep on her, and all but petrified when it was past her waist. I stopped us there, and told her "The first thing I want to show you is that you aren't in any danger, okay?"

She looked at me as though she knew I was lying through my teeth, but gamely agreed. I said "If you don't mind, I want to hold you in my arms to do it. Is that okay?"

She looked to Marlyn who was a few feet closer to shore, but could still hear us – Marlyn indicated that it was okay, and Marilyn told me that I could.

I carefully squatted down to take her into my arms, one behind her knees, the other across her back. Nervously, she put her arms around my neck, holding tight. I could still breathe after a fashion, so I didn't say anything to her about it. What I did tell her was "That's fine. Do you feel how the water is kind of holding you up?"

She said she could, and I went on "What I want to show you is that the water will hold all of you up, so that you can breathe, even if you aren't actually doing anything. I'm going to squat down a little bit, and you'll feel the water holding you up when I do. I am not going to let go of you – you will still be able to feel me touching you. Okay?"

She wasn't entirely sure about what I was suggesting, but willing to give it a try. I slowly lowered myself in the water, making sure that she could feel my touch on her as she got lighter and lighter in my arms. Finally, she was floating, my arms barely making contact with her.

She still had her arms wrapped around my neck, but she'd finally relaxed enough that I was able to breathe normally. We stayed like that for a minute or so before I began to stand up, taking her weight in my arms again.

Reasonably sure that she wasn't going to instantly sink to the bottom like a brick, Marilyn was considerably calmer by the time I was standing upright again.

We repeated the lesson a couple more times; with each iteration, Marilyn seemed that much more comfortable in the water – even letting go of my neck for the last pass.

Sneaky devil that I was, each time I took her weight in my arms again, I was taking another step into deeper water. When she let go of me for the last floating lesson, I figured she was ready for the final exam. I told her "I'm going to let go of you now, but I'm going to do it very slowly, okay? I'm going to stay right here, and so is Kelly, so there's nothing for you to be afraid of. I just want you to try it once on your own, okay?