77

"Girls I have an amazing idea."Yvonne declared as we shopped for accessories from a vendor who was selling beautiful hand crafted jewelry.

"Which is?"Louise asked.

"Let's get Nala's ears pierced."Yvonne declared looking at me.

"Not happening."I shouted rejecting that idea.

"But why not? You have beautiful earlobes, perfect for earrings."June chimed in touching my ears.

"I'm scared of needles."I admitted slapping her hands away.

"You weren't when you came to see me for the tests."Yvonne asked.

"Yeah I was! I just hid it well because it was necessary. Piercing my ears isn't so I'm not doing it."I explained.

"We'll be right here with you for emotional support."June enticed.

"Why are you so insistent on this?"I lamented.

"It's a rite of passage for a girl to get her ears pierced. Now we know why you skipped it but we want you to have that experience. Also Hunter will have one more thing he can gift you."Evelyn replied joining the conversation.

They were all ganging up on me and I didn't like it because I knew I would eventually cave.

"Come on Nala, it's what girlfriends do for each other and we'll be here the whole time."Yvonne begged.

"I really don't want to."I cried helplessly.

"You are the one who said that your twenty second year is the one where you would live and experience all that life has to give. This is your chance to experience a beautiful moment of getting your ears pierced with your girlfriends by your side. You'll not be alone."Louise expressed.

I looked at all of them and felt myself start to cave. Louise had used my words against me and the one person I couldn't argue with was myself.

"Okay fine but if I end up passing out, it'll be all your fault."I warned.

The girls cheered happily before taking my hands and dragging me with them as they searched for a good chemist. They were the best places to get one's ears pierced as they were sanitary.

We found one that got Yvonne's stamp of approval as she was the health practitioner amongst us.

"Hi, we're here to get our friends' ears pierced."Yvonne informed the lady on the other side of the counter.

"You've come to the right place, please sit there while I prepare."She directed us pointing at the waiting area.

"I've changed my mind, let's go back to shopping."I pleaded trying to get up but was pulled back by June.

"We're here for you, don't worry. It'll be quick and painless."She consoled.

They all looked at me with encouraging smiles but it didn't do anything to ease my worry.

We probably waited for five minutes but it felt like an eternity.

"Are you ready?"The young woman asked approaching us with what looked like a tiny gun in her hand, some cotton swabs and disinfectant.

"Yes."Four voices chorused.

"No."I cried out helplessly.

I was sandwiched between Yvonne and Louise who were each holding a hand mostly for comfort but to also stop me from running away. The chemist looked at us with mirth written all over her face probably wondering how a grown woman needed her hands held as she got her ears pierced. She would probably tell my story to all friends.

"Just do it, she'll never say yes."June declared.

"Okay."The chemist agreed.

She disinfected my ears first before holding out the gun. It was tiny, fit in the palm of her hand but to me it looked like a machine gun ready to blow my head off.

"Get on with it, there's no turning back now."I whispered closing my eyes and tightening my hold on their girls' hands. They squeezed back reminding me that I was not alone.

I felt her cold, gloved hands on my ears followed by the touch of cold metal and were it not for Evelyn holding my shoulders down I would have jumped up.

"Ready in three. One, two..."She counted down and didn't even get to three when I felt a slight pinch on my ear lobe.

I opened my eyes to find all of them smiling at me.

"One down, one to go."June announced.

"Wait, that's it?"I asked surprised.

"Yes, we told you it wasn't a big deal."Yvonne replied.

She was right but there was still a needle in the tiny but scary looking gun so I closed my eyes for the second time. It happened just as fast without any pain or discomfort.

"Yaah, you did it."Yvonne clapped letting go of my hand.

The other girls joined her in clapping for me embarrassing me even more. The chemist completed her job then gave me instructions on how to clean my ears until they healed. I paid and we all left happier than we went in.

"Here's to overcoming fears and putting holes in our bodies."Yvonne toasted as we all clinked our champagne glasses together.

She had suggested we celebrate me getting my ears pierced with mimosas. To me that was a bit extreme but the girls were looking for an excuse to get drunk in the middle of the day and I let them use my little milestone. My ears felt weird and I had to keep resisting the urge to touch them. They looked like fake diamonds which they were but even I had to admit they made me look prettier.

We had an early lunch at the restaurant together with lots of mimosas before resuming our shopping trip. Two hours and lots of shopping bags later we all piled into the villa after a successful shopping trip.

I carried my bags up to the bedroom I was sharing with Hunter and unpacked our clothes. The girls had agreed that we would unpack first then join the guys by the pool for a relaxing afternoon.

After I was done putting everything away I lathered my body up with sunscreen before changing into one of the bikinis I'd bought. It was a two piece yellow and orange bikini with an intricate design. It had its own cover-up too which I loosely put on together with a pair of sunglasses.

I grabbed the sunscreen on my way out hoping Hunter had listened to me and stayed out of the sun.

"Don't we look gorgeous."Evelyn exclaimed as we ran into each other on the stairs.

She was wearing a two piece stringed bikini showing off her model figure perfectly. The other ladies joined us and they looked breathtaking as well in different bikini designs. We spent the next couple of minutes taking lots of photos.

We strutted into the backyard looking like models on the runway stopping whatever conversation the guys were having. Wolf whistles followed as they stared at us perplexed.

My eyes met Hunter's who was looking at me like a predator did to its prey as if he would devour me whole if given the chance. My eyes were on him too looking like a handsome devil in nothing but sunglasses and a pair of black shorts. I got to him and stood a foot away blocking the sun.

"Like what you see?"I teased with a cheeky smile.

"I love it."Hunter smiled back rotating his index finger asking me to twirl around for him.

I did exactly that before bridging the gap between us and sitting astride him on the lounge chair.

"You look gorgeous baby girl."Hunter complimented cupping my ass.

"Thank you, you don't look so bad yourself."I replied leaning in to kiss him.

We couldn't go all out as we had company around us so I hesitantly pulled back.

"There's something different about you, not just the bikini."Hunter commented pulling back to look into my eyes.

"Oh yeah, like what?"I challenged him waiting to see if he would spot the earrings without me telling him.

Hunter looked at me keenly, his eyes widening when he finally noticed my pierced ears.

"That screams peer pressure. Are you okay?"Hunter asked knowing the girls had talked me into it.

"Yeah I'm good, it was easier than I expected and they were there for me."I explained.

"That's good baby girl, they suit you."Hunter replied.

"Thank you."I smiled.

"I got the sunscreen, you should put some on."I said holding out the bottle for me.

"Or you can put it on me."Hunter suggested with a dirty smirk.

"Not with everyone watching us."I mumbled embarrassed.

"They aren't paying attention to us."Hunter replied and I turned to look around to see that he was right.

Everyone was engrossed with their significant other. Brian and Evelyn weren't even around, looks like the horny monkey couldn't keep it in his pants after seeing Evelyn in her bikini.

"Okay."I agreed getting off his lap.

Hunter and I switched so that I was kneeling behind him. I squirted some sunscreen on my palms, rubbed them together before massaging it onto his back. It was such an intimate gesture that allowed me to once again appreciate how beautifully sculpted my man's body was. I was turning myself on admiring his body and running my hands all over it. I knew Hunter was getting affected too seeing as his breathing changed but we both knew we couldn't do anything about it since he'd nearly ripped me apart with our previous nights activities and I needed time to heal.

Finally I was done and Hunter kissed me hard as a thank you before settling me in between his legs laying back on his chest as we enjoyed the shade.

"Yvonne said we're going out on the yacht tomorrow."I asked Hunter drawing mindless patterns on his knee.

"Yeah but not just tomorrow, we'll be out to sea for the next couple of days. We're sailing to Zanzibar, staying a couple of days before coming back."Hunted explained.

"We can get to Zanzibar with the yacht?"I remarked.

"Yeah you'll love it."Hunter nodded.

"Just how big is the yacht if it'll accommodate all ten of us for days out at sea."I inquired.

"You'll see for yourself tomorrow, I'm not ruining the surprise."Hunter replied.

I didn't press him for more details because I knew he wouldn't budge and also because deep down I wanted to be surprised.

"Bear, you promised to teach me how to swim."I reminded Hunter as I admired the beautiful pool I couldn't get in because I couldn't swim.

"I remember, you want to learn now?"He asked me.

"Yes."I requested.

Learning how to swim had never been a necessary life skill for me but being with Hunter had taught me that I needed to be an all round kind of girl. He had a pool in his Nyari house too so I needed to learn. I didn't want to always be the girl who sat on lounge chairs and watched other people have fun.

"Let's go teach you how to swim."Hunter declared getting up ditching his sunglasses and flip flops.

I took off my shoes, cover up and sunglasses before taking his hand. He led me down to the shallow end and we both got into the lukewarm water.

"Your hair will get ruined."Hunter warned me.

"I already braced myself for that the minute we landed here."I replied with a shrug.

The twists were a protective hairstyle so they would last me till the end of our trip but they wouldn't stay as long as they would have. I made sure to braid them into a pony tail so they wouldn't get in my face as the water made them heavier.

"I'll teach you how to breath and see under water first, the show you how to float and we'll end with a simple breaststroke."Hunter explained.

"Okay, I'm ready."I smiled confidently even though a part of me was scared shitless.

I'd already overcome one fear, what was one more?

Hunter guided me to the middle of the pool where the water reached just below my boobs to start the training.

He was a patient teacher and I almost drowned myself a couple of times by panicking but he was always there to catch and rescue me. Learning how to breath and see under water was easy, the floating was the hard part but once I'd mastered it, the rest was even harder.

I almost gave up a couple of times but Hunter was always there with me to encourage me. Eventually after two grueling hours I finally managed to swim a hundred meters all by myself unaided.

"Yes I did it."I cheered wiping the water off my face after a successful lap.

"Yes you did baby girl, I'm proud of you."Hunter praised kissing my forehead.

"You are a great teacher."I smiled at him feeling very accomplished.

"And you're a willing student. Now let's put those new skills to the test. Time for some real fun without learning."Hunter declared.

"But you'll still look out for me right, I'm not that confident."I replied.

"Of course baby girl, I got you. Always."Hunter assured me.

We waddled back into the pool, making sure not to stray too far into the deep end and started swimming. It was so much more fun now that I knew what I was doing so Hunter and I had a great time.

When I started pruning, Hunter called it a day and we went up to a our room to shower before joining everyone else for another festive supper.

"Who wants to go blow up fireworks by the beach after supper?"Brian suggested.

"How are you still in power with the brain of a five year old?"Owen asked him.

"You know you love my charming personality so are you in or are you out?"Brian asked.

"Of course I'm in."Owen replied.

"Perfect, any more takers?"Brian inquired.

We all agreed to go because it seemed fun but we agreed to be careful because fireworks were dangerous if mishandled.

We all knew we would end up playing in the water afterwards so we all had swimming costumes under our clothes.

"I've never seen fireworks up close before."I admitted to Hunter as we lay on the sand looking up at the millions of exploding colors in the sky.

They were defeaningly loud as they popped out of their canisters but the view was so worth it.

"They are beautiful but not as beautiful as you."Hunter grinned.

"Cheesy, I like it."I laughed cozying up to his side for warmth.

With Hunter I was getting to experience a lot of firsts which I absolutely loved. I was living out all the things I'd missed out on growing up but with the bonus of having a gorgeous man by my side who made everything possible. It was selfish of me to think I couldn't have both a good relationship and have fun at the same time but Hunter was showing me how possible it was and for that I would always be grateful to him.

After the fireworks display we all messed around in the salty ocean water making sure to stay on the shallow end as it was dark and we needed to be safe.

Day two had been quite eventful with the days to come looking even more promising.