14:47
Nick was preparing a salad with carrots, peppers, tomatoes, and more vegetables, he put a few dishes on the dining room table right before Judy and Connie came through the main door.
"Hi, Nick," said the bunny with a little smile on her face.
"Hi…" the fox raised his gaze and smiled "...where were you?"
"Judy helped me with a few things and then we ate something" explained the vixen as she put her hand over the bunny's shoulder.
"Oh, then I should get a tupperware for the salad" Nick took the dishes and went back to the kitchen.
"Well...I should get ready for the beach" said Connie before heading for the stairs.
"Did someone say beach?" asked Tom, who was already walking down the stairs.
"What are you doing here?... Don't you have to go to work?" asked the vixen.
"Yeah but last night some drunk coyotes fought in the tavern and ended up going through one of the big windows...that's why Alonso gave us the day off" explained the fox.
"Oh...well the beach thing idea was from Maggie so I'm sure she'll be pleased if you came with us," said Connie in a mocking tone of voice.
The vixen walked upstairs as she tried to hide her laughter, Tom grumbled before sitting on one of the couches and Nick got out of the kitchen.
"Whatcha have there?" the fox noticed the bag Judy was carrying, in which the bikini was.
"Mmm...a gift from Connie...I should get ready too" the bunny went to the guest room.
Judy left the bag on the bed and looked for some clothes in the dresser, she got a black top and a pair of short jeans before taking the bikini and getting dressed.
"Carrots?..." Nick called her from the other side of the door "...can I come in?"
"Yeah…" the door opened "...I'll be downstairs" she shyly smiled at the fox, who also smiled after closing the door.
Connie was waiting for the bunny in the living room, she was holding a big beach bag and was wearing a pamela hat and sunglasses.
"Looking good, Jude" the vixen winked at her.
"Thanks, you too...by the way, do you have a spare towel?"
"Yeah, don't worry...I have a lot of stuff in here, want some sunscreen?" asked Connie after whipping out a bottle of lotion.
"We're ready!" loudly said Tom, who walked down the stairs with Nick.
"Then let's go" the vixen got the keys from her mother's van before leaving the house.
The three foxes and the bunny got in the van and drove to Maggie and Olivia's apartment, where the arctic vixen and the squirrel were waiting.
"Greetings everyone," said Maggie as she put the beach umbrella and the portable fridge she was carrying in the trunk.
"Hi" cheerfully greeted Olivia while getting in.
When all six mammals were in the van, they set off to the beach. After getting the bags, the umbrella, and a few more things, they walked on a path that was between two huge rocks. On the other side, a cove with white sand and turquoise water.
"This place is beautiful" commented Judy.
"And very romantic" Olivia laughed before Maggie tapped her shoulder.
Nick, Connie, and Tom placed the many towels they brought on the sand while the arctic vixen took care of the umbrella.
"You can use this one if you want," said Connie to the bunny while pointing one of the towels.
"Thanks…you still have the sunscreen, right?" asked Judy as she sat down.
"Yeah" the vixen handled her the bottle of lotion after rummaging in the bag.
While Judy applied the sunscreen, Nick talked to Maggie, who was making sure the beers in the fridge were fine.
"Did you tell Olivia what we talked about this morning?" the fox whispered so no one could hear their conversation.
"What?...why would you say that?"
"Maggie," said Nick while raising one of his eyebrows.
"Okay I did...but don't worry she knows how to keep a secret"
"Nick…" the bunny's voice interrupted them "...could you help me with the sunscreen?"
"Well...I'll leave you alone" smiled the arctic vixen before walking away.
"Sure" the fox kneeled next to Judy.
"Oh...wait a second..." the bunny took off her top and shorts to reveal the purple bikini before laying facing down "...just the back" she used her arms to hide her smile and flustered cheeks.
Nick's eyes opened wide to carefully observe the back part of the bunny before reacting and reaching the sunscreen to gently apply it on Judy's grey back.
"Done," said the fox with a satisfied smile.
"Thanks, Slick..." the bunny turned around "...are you coming?" she asked after getting up.
"Yeah" they joined the rest in the sea.
APPROXIMATELY 30 MINUTES LATER…
After a long time in salty water, Maggie suggested they played some volleyball, so they walked back to the shore. The arctic vixen placed the folding net she brought with the umbrella while the others dried their fur with the towels.
"So...how do we do this?" asked Tom.
"What about...Maggie, Olivia, and you against Nick, Judy, and I?" purposed Connie.
"Seems fair to me," said his cousin.
The arctic vixen finished drawing the lines of the court with her claw before they got ready to start the match.
"11 points, best of three sets," said Maggie before serving.
2 SETS LATER…
The third and last set was about to begin but in the service, Olivia unbalanced in the jump and hurt her ankle.
"Oh god, Oli!...are you okay?" the arctic vixen ran to help her.
"No...it hurts"
"Let's get you out of here" Maggie carried the squirrel to her towel and used some of the ice of the fridge on her ankle.
Since they both left the match, Connie swapped teams, leaving the fox and the bunny alone.
Despite the lack of practice, Nick and Judy were able to get a match point before Connie and Tom so they planned a tactic before the serving.
Tom served and the bunny passed the ball to Nick who lifted the ball enough so he could help Judy jump and hit it, surprisingly it worked and the "WildeHopps" team won the match.
"We won, Nick, we won" over-excited for their victory, the bunny jumped and went for a hug but she accidentally unbalanced the fox, making him fall on his back and making Judy be on top of him.
They both stared at each other for a few seconds before their cheeks blushed the bunny got up.
"Sorry" apologized Judy as she helped him get up.
"Don't worry, Carrots" Nick smiled before realizing everyone was looking at them.
"Let's have some drinks" Tom broke the silence.
The six mammals sat around the umbrella and had some drinks while talking, telling anecdotes, and playing some game like truth or dare.
At some point, the bunny tried to slowly approach the fox, but Nick slyly put his arm over her shoulder and pulled towards him, making her rest her head on his arm. Judy stayed like that until they left the cove and on their way to the house.
A few minutes away from arriving at their destination, Nick was determined to ask Judy out so he started to think about how to do it.
"We're here" Connie parked the van in front of the house.
The fox whispered something to his cousin, who got out of the van and rushed Tom to get inside.
After Nick and Judy got out too, the fox started to prepare himself to asked the bunny as soon as they reach the door.
"Nick…" Judy's voice interrupted his thoughts and made him raise his gaze "...would you like to go on a date with me?" asked the bunny while shyly smiling.
After the fox's brain processed the information he recovered his sly smile and surrounded Judy with his paws.
"I would love to" answered Nick before giving her a sweet and gentle kiss that made them close their eyes.
Once they separated their lips they both looked at each other and nuzzled their snouts.
"Let's get inside" suggested the bunny.
They opened the door, carefully walked up the stairs to avoid waking up someone, and entered their room. Nick changed his clothes in the bathroom and went back to the bedroom wearing just a pair of shorts, for his surprise, Judy was waiting for him on the bed, wearing nothing but a large t-shirt.
A smile from the bunny was enough for the fox to slowly approach the bed, he crawled towards Judy, who wrapped her arms around his neck before kissing Nick.
"Goodnight, Slick" she smiled before getting under the bedsheets.
"Goodnight, Judy..." the fox whispered to one of her ears before cuddling with the bunny "...by the way, the sunscreen thing was on purpose, right?"
"Shut up, Nick" Judy blushed.
"Oh, Fluff...if you wanted a back rub you should have just asked for it" said Nick with his warm voice.
"And what about the volleyball match thing?" she reproached him.
"You hugged me" the fox slightly laughed.
"Yeah...but you fell on purpose"
"How can you fall on purp-" could say Nick before the bunny interrupted the argument with a kiss that made them shut up and fall asleep in each other's arms.