Alice kept wading forward. Everything was dark except for the foam of the breaking surf. A large wave was rolling toward her and Alice dove under it, swam underwater, then came up next to Gina. “This feels fucking amazing,” Gina said, tilting her head back so that her hair was in the water.

Alice found herself annoyed to share the sentiment. She’d never swum naked before and the grasp of the ocean water on her skin made her feel incredibly alive. “Let’s see how far we can swim out,” she said.

“Maybe we’ll get eaten by sharks,” Gina said, then laughed drunkenly, swallowing some water then coughing it out.

Alice took a deep breath, filling her lungs, her feet planted on the dense, sandy bottom. The moon emerged from behind a cloud and shone silver on the water. “No, it will be great. Trust me.” Alice began to swim, Gina beside her. She went slow, not wanting Gina to fall behind. The water turned colder and calmer the farther out they went. She could hear Gina starting to breathe hard, snorting out water as she turned her head every other stroke. “You okay?” Alice asked.

“Yeah. A little tired.” Gina spun onto her back, her breath sounding ragged.

“If we go a little farther there’s a sandbar.”

“Yeah, let’s keep going,” Gina said, spinning and beginning to swim again, her arms slapping the water. Alice remembered what Gina had been like at cross-country practices, always willing to slow down if Alice was behind, but always making sure that she would be first to finish. Alice swam by her side. She was beginning to breathe heavily, too, but her arms felt strong, slicing through the water, propelling her. She felt like she could swim forever. She sped a little ahead of Gina, steadily moving away from shore, the water now much colder.

“Stop, hold up,” Gina yelled, her voice hoarse, and Alice stopped, spun, and swam back toward her. The lights along the shore seemed far away and insignificant. “I think I’m cramping,” Gina said, and there was some panic in her voice.

“Just rest for a moment,” Alice said.

“Have you felt the sandbar yet?”

“I haven’t, but I remember it, unless it’s moved.” Doggy-paddling, Alice could feel the water tugging at her legs. She’d wondered if they’d hit a rip current, and it felt as though they had. There really had been a sandbar out this far from Kennewick Beach, but that had changed after the storm-filled winter the year after they graduated.

“I shouldn’t have come out this far,” Gina said, her chin submerged in the water, the words sputtering.

“No worries. We’ll rest a bit, then turn back.”

“Okay.”

Alice, staying afloat just by scissoring her legs, said, “I am having sex with him, you know. With that fucking creep.” The moon was back behind a cloud, and it was dark again.