Ellie raised her hand to knock on the door, but thought better of it when she heard a tremendous racket out back. Old-fashioned water pumps reared their heads in several places throughout the plant, and one of them was located behind the house that Anna and her folks shared. The unmistakable clank and gush of the spout filling a bucket drew Ellie around the side of the building in the twilight and she edged her way between the wall of the compound and the patched wooden fence that shielded the area from general view on three sides.
"Anna –" Ellie called quietly, wary of startling her, and stopped short, catching her breath as she sighted what the young woman was up to. Stripped down to nothing but a discolored bra and a pair of boxer shorts, she was engaged in hoisting up the filled bucket of water in preparation to pour it over her head. Her sun-kissed skin was round and beautiful in the soft evening glow, and Ellie had to swallow hard in order to participate in some decency.
"Anna – uh, it's Ellie," she called again, louder, her voice arresting the girl's movements. Ellie stepped into the yard, and Anna's eyebrows lifted.
"Huh? Oh, Ellie! Hi." Her state of undress didn't seem to bother her, as she hurried across the area and embraced her friend. "Sorry, showering," she grimaced. "You alright?" She rubbed a hand over Ellie's rounded middle. "I swear, every time I see you, you look bigger."
"It moves too, like an actual thing in there. It's crazy," Ellie murmured.
Anna's eyes shone. "You're so cute."
"Thanks, I guess," Ellie closed her eyes, wondering why she suddenly felt so dizzy. She opened them again. "Um – bad time?" A flush crept up her cheeks.
"Are you joking? We're both girls here," Anna snorted.
Ellie nodded. "Yeah."
Anna let out an exaggerated sigh. "Fine, Miss Innocence." She parted her long hair at the back of her neck and swept a portion of it over either shoulder, effectively covering her chest and a good portion of her stomach. "Better?"
Ellie shrugged. What could she say? No? I like your boobs? "So, how're you doing?"
"Fine." Anna grinned. "You know, I've missed you. You shouldn't keep to yourself so much."
"I don't really know what sort of stuff I'll get into if I don't, and I'm sick of dealing with crap," Ellie bit out. "I am just so mad sometimes."
"About what, exactly?" Anna's voice softened, and she pulled up a decrepit chair, gesturing for Ellie to have a seat, while she sat crossed-legged in the dirt. Ellie hesitantly took the chair, tipping her head back and draping her arm across her face.
"Look, I don't wanna talk about it. I just wanted to see you."
"Well, take your arm off your face and you'll have better luck."
Ellie grinned in spite of herself. "Alright." She laid the mock-sulkiness on heavily. "I guess I'd better help you, or this showering thing is never gonna happen. Where're your folks?"
"Jake is still with the guys checking the..." she gestured, "...contraptions that keep this place running, and Mom's probably still talking with Maria." She lowered her voice. "I'll bet she's talking about you."
"I wish she wouldn't."
"There's no real midwife in this place, and only a few women who've even had children themselves. Because of your immunity they're talking about contacting this doctor in –"
"Anna..." Ellie groaned. "Shut up, will you?"
"Fine." She cocked a dark brow. "Going to help me shower?"
"Sure," Ellie growled, a good imitation of Joel, and got to her feet. "Come on." She gestured to the concrete slab near the water pump. "A few good soaks is all you get, I don't feel like pumping up the whole freakin' river."
"Deal. Then I'll do you."
Ellie found herself nodding; the prospect of an actual dousing sounded nice after a few weeks of cleaning up with a washcloth. Grabbing the bucket and lifting it up in the air, enjoying the way her muscles felt flexing beneath her skin, Ellie shouted, "Readysetgo!" and dumped it on Anna, who squealed.
"Gol-lee, that's cold!"
"Good, huh?" Ellie regarded her soaking friend, Anna's long hair plastered to her face and neck.
"Hang on," Anna murmured, peeling her hair away from her skin and pushing it behind her back. "Again, and right on top of the head this time."
"It was on the top!" Ellie protested, vigorously plying the handle of the pump and pausing to take a breath when the water finally gurgled up from from the spout. "Alright, here's goes," she said, hoisting the bucket aloft again and pouring it over Anna as she squeezed her eyes shut and let the water run throughout her hair.
"Better!" Anna congratulated. "Last one." The final gold of the sun glinted on Anna's shining skin, slick with droplets of water, and wonderfully, deliciously bare. She had curves in places Ellie never thought twice about, and her figure proclaimed softness and beauty from the tiny lines at the front of her armpits where her arms joined her chest, to the deep indentation of her belly button and the shadow between her fuller breasts.
"Ellie?" Anna regarded her with a funny look, and Ellie caught her breath, realizing how unabashedly she'd been staring. She lifted guilt-filled eyes to her friend's and Anna's gaze softened somewhat. "Hey, do this one over my back," Anna said quietly, and Ellie nodded silently, plying the pump until the bucket was full. Anna bent over, bracing her hands on her knees, and Ellie slowly poured the water up and down the expanse of flesh, the sound of the excess water hitting the concrete the only noise in the twilit yard. When the bucket was empty, Anna stood still for a moment, her eyes closed, savoring the feeling of the final droplets rolling away from her skin and Ellie, in a sudden motion, threw herself across Anna's back, gripping her in a desperate hug.
Anna straightened, and turned in Ellie's arms, and the two held each other close, Anna's wet skin seeping damp through Ellie's tshirt, as they lay their heads on each others shoulders and stood still for a long time.
"Your turn," Anna said, giving Ellie a gentle shake. Ellie clung to her, and murmured hoarsely:
"I like you so much."
"I like you too, Ellie," Anna said, giving her a squeeze. "Come on, take off these old clothes and get clean. You'll feel better."
Nodding childishly, Ellie sat down and unlaced her shoes, peeling off her socks and standing, turned her back to step from her jeans and pull her tshirt off over her head. There was a click as Anna turned on the electric light fastened to the fence, and then the sound of the pump being raised and lowered as Ellie turned back around in the semi-darkness, crossing her arms over her chest defensively.
Anna looked up and regarded the girl. Her bra was ragged, and a looked as if it used to be a blueish color, now faded to a dirty lavender. Her underpants too, were unraveled and worn, hanging loosely from her small pelvis. Ellie's legs were fair, and dotted with freckles, as was most of her skin, and her arms were wiry and muscled, striving to hide her breasts only recently beginning to swell with the additional changes her body was undergoing. Her belly was distended and pale, a gentle curve of tight skin holding a new life within the walls of flesh and muscle. The girl kept her face tipped down as she removed one arm from her chest and used her free hand to pull her ponytail down, veiling her face and neck in the strands of light brown hair.
"Come on, girlie," Anna said kindly. "Ready for your shower?"
Ellie nodded, and made her way over to the slab. "Don't look at me," she mumbled. "Just get it over with."
"Why not?" Anna said, putting a hand on Ellie's shoulder, and looking her in the eye. Ellie rolled her eyes.
"I look dumb."
"No, you don't. You're slender and pretty."
"I don't have boobs, only a belly," Ellie whispered, clamping her arms around her rounded stomach. "It looks stupid."
"You don't have boobs? Then what're these?" Anna brushed a hand over Ellie's bra, and she sucked in her breath, the flesh more sensitive, more tender to the touch than ever before, even through the fabric.
Ellie managed a foggy smile. "Fine. But stop looking at me, you're making me embarrassed."
"Why?" Anna's voice was low.
"Because I don't look good naked."
Anna shook her head, her eyes shining in the glow from the electric light. "I think you're beautiful."
Ellie gave a tiny snort. "You just say that because you're my friend."
"No." Anna'e gaze was earnest. "This is pretty." She put her hand under Ellie's chin and lifted it, looking at her round face, her small nose and large eyes. "This is perfect." She tugged the strap of the small bra supporting Ellie's bosom. "And this," she spread her palm over the firmness of her belly, seeping warmth through the skin, "is beautiful."
Before Ellie knew what had happened, her mouth was upon Anna's and her arms around her waist, crushing their bodies together, backing Anna up with faltering steps into the house, their lips travailing at the others', their uneven breathing filling the night air. Skin against skin they held each other, Anna's hands gripping Ellie's sides, finding the curve where her hips met the swell of her stomach and stroking there, Ellie's hands tangling in Anna's hair, feeling the soft damp waves against her skin, touching the velvet softness of her chest.
As suddenly as it had happened, Ellie jerked away, a wild fear in her eyes, and she stepped backwards, nearly tripping on the forgotten bucket. Anna regarded her with a shocked gaze and rumpled hair.
"Ellie?"
"I'm – so sorry..." Ellie choked. "I didn't mean –"
"No, it's okay," Anna reassured her, approaching the girl, her arms outstretched. "It's fine, I don't mind."
"I do, I don't want this to mean nothing like it did with Matt," Ellie said, her words rushed. "I know there's no going back –"
"It's okay."
"There's no going back –"
"Ellie, it's okay."
"There's no going back..."
Anna enveloped the shaking girl in her arms. "It's okay," she whispered. Ellie gradually relaxed in Anna's embrace, and then pressed a warm kiss to the side of her neck. Anna smiled and lifted a finger, leaving Ellie for a short moment to go inside and grab a blanket, spreading it upon the damp ground, and beckoning for Ellie to join her. Lying side by side, Ellie stroked Anna's hair back from her face, and slowly, ever so slowly, Anna reached behind herself and undid the clasp on her bra. Ellie couldn't bring her gaze downwards, she was too afraid, so she simply looked at Anna's face and did the same, pushing their bodies together, and feeling the beauty of it. Ellie tangled her legs with Anna's, holding the girl close to her, and Anna gasped, Ellie's skin upon hers, both her small bosom and her bare belly, feeling within her the gift of warm shifting life. For a brief moment, Ellie had a thought of the past: Riley. And then Ellie touched Anna everywhere she had always wanted to, eliciting sounds of pleasure, and the most superb feeling of happiness she had yet experienced in life.