I don't know about you, but the first night in an unfamiliar bed is usually quite dreadful for me. Although it is totally soft, my back and neck feel like I slept on the floor.

Carefully, I crawl out of bed and try not to wake Miko. She fell asleep immediately after her brief burst of energy yesterday. On my way to the bathroom, I collect all the wet clothes that are scattered everywhere, from the pool to the bedroom. I mentally apologize to the landlord of this beautiful house. When I arrive in the bathroom, I grab a towel to wipe up the wet spots on the floor where the clothes had been lying.

“Gotcha.” I flinch and shoot a panicked glance in the direction of the bedroom where the voice came from. Miko gives me a big grin and approaches me.

“Did I wake you up?”

"As always. I feel it when you're missing.”

“Don't worry about it. Shall we jump under the shower and head out for breakfast?”

Miko looks down at me and sees the towel in my hand.

“Were you planning to take a shower by yourself? I get it. You've had enough of my body last night.” She frowns and marches past me into the bathroom. Without commenting on her dramatic performance, I go back to the bedroom and get our shampoo out of my suitcase.

After the shower, we brushed our teeth, did our hair, and put on a little make-up. Dressed just in our underwear, we now stand somewhat at a loss in front of the large bed on which we have scattered our clothes.

“The weather report says it will be 26°C.”

“Will you be putting on a bikini?” I ask somewhat skeptically. I don't know if I want to go swimming.

“There's no harm in wearing one underneath. I'm more wondering what I'll put on over it.”

“Shall I choose something for you?“

”Only if I can choose yours.“

”And that's easier than for yourself, or what?”

“Obviously.”

“Fine.”

It takes less than two minutes to get us both dressed and ready for the day. I chose a black dress for Miko with short sleeves made of thin fabric that can be unbuttoned widely, making it relatively easy to take off. Miko has picked out black shorts and a simple gray T-shirt for me. She can't hide the fact that she just wants to see my legs.

“Happy?”

“I think so,” Miko says, looking at herself in the large mirror that hangs in the hallway. With her waist tightened by the belt that is attached to her dress, Miko's body looks criminally attractive. She was always slim and fit, but in the last few months, she got even hotter.

“Shall we go? I'm starving,” she says, staring at me in the mirror while I still check her out, slightly absent-minded. Thanks for the meal, Miko. Thank you very much.

From the house, we can quickly reach the city center, which is practically one huge pedestrian zone several kilometers long, lined with a wide variety of shops and restaurants leading to the beach at the end. It's off-season, but there are still a lot of people around. Overall, the vibe here is rather rural, which reminds me of home, but oddly enough, in a positive way. For a long time, I thought that I considered our area boring, but after a few trips to big cities, I'm starting to see the charm of more relaxed surroundings. Perhaps I'm getting old.

“You wanna hold hands?” Miko asks when we arrive in the city center. Slightly irritated, I look at her and grab her hand.

“What kind of question is that? I told you to just go for it.”

“Sorry.”

I know that it is still not so easy for her to live out our relationship in public. I think I know that it's not because we're both women but rather that she is generally a bit reserved, unlike when we're alone together, where she is quite unhinged and sometimes a hell of a lot more demanding and needy than I am.

Only occasionally, when she is somewhat emotionally charged, she blocks out the world around us and takes everything she needs, as long as we don't disturb anyone with it. Holding hands is harmless compared to that.

“Why are you blushing, Kayla?”

“Just remembered something.”

While I'm actively looking for a nice place to have breakfast, I spot something else that seems a bit out of place at first glance. Though it looks a bit like a school and schoolyard at first, I recognize a mage guild building when I see one. Especially because of the large sign at the entrance that marks it as such. Rather subconsciously, I stop and glance in the direction of the entrance. When I realize that, I notice Miko, who is also watching the guild building.

“Wanna go peeping?” Miko's choice of words is a little weird, but she knows me too well.

“Why not.”

Like your typical tourists, we walk the few steps straight to the entrance of the area, which is surrounded by a relatively high stone wall. The gate, which can shut off the property, is open so that we can look inside. The place is huge, I don't know how many members they have, but even with our small guild, I would have loved to have a base like that.

The moment the urge to just march onto the grounds grows inside of me, I see a group of people jogging out of a building further back. Miko and I step to the side and wait until they walk past us. While my eyes are fixed on the ground, Miko is standing there with her arms folded, staring at the group of mages jogging in the direction of the beach.

“What do you think they're doing?“

”Probably training.“

”Makes sense.“

”Shall we move on?“

”Yep.”

My curiosity about this guild on a leisure island is by no means satisfied, but we will be here for the next few weeks, which means this story is not over yet. And neither was our search for breakfast. It's not as if we hadn't already walked past ten bakeries, but we are waiting for the one true place, the shop that speaks to us, that literally draws us in.

“It's 10 o'clock, and we haven't eaten yet. I saw a WcDonalds earlier, and I'm not ashamed to order the full breakfast menu there just so you know.” A hungry Miko is a truly special creature, but I love her anyway. But in the end, just to be on the safe side, I chose a small café that serves breakfast where a table has just become available.

A waitress comes over and gives us the menus while she clears the plates and cutlery that are still on our table. “Take your time choosing, I'll be right back.” I understand the hidden message that she is busy, and we shouldn't stress her.

As if from nowhere, several sirens start to sound loudly, similar to a fire alarm.

“Attention, attention. A Dungeon Gate has appeared on the beach. Our guild is already securing the area. Please respect and follow the instructions of the mages on site.”

That's why this group was heading towards the beach earlier. While Miko continues to study the menu, calm as ever, I look around to see how the other people in the area are reacting. Meanwhile, the announcement is being repeated. I don't know if it's because they're already familiar with such announcements, but everyone seems deeply relaxed.

“I'll have the sweet breakfast, and you?” Miko asks as the loud sirens finally quiet down. I look over at her and see an awfully big grin on her face.

"You want to go and have a look, don't you?"

Miko just shrugs her shoulders. "I don't know what you are talking about."

“We're here on vacation. Dungeons and magic are off limits.”

"I have no intention of helping them."

"Looking is forbidden, too."

"I have no desire to."

She definitely used to be better at lying.

◆◆◆

“We can lie down here.” I put my backpack on the sand. After breakfast, we went straight to the beach and, in my opinion, walked along it a little too long before finally coming to a halt. I know that Miko was hoping that we might spot the Dungeon Gate somewhere, but the beach is huge. From our spot, you can gaze quite far into the distance, and yet there's nothing to see except sunbeds, parasols, and lots of people in swimwear.

Miko looks dejected and starts to unbutton her dress. Instead of undressing, too, I just stand there and watch. Out in public, it has a different impact, I tell you.

“Can you stop staring?”

“Nope.”

She's wearing a black strapless bikini. I don't know where she got the courage to wear something like that. Maybe it's because her breasts build up enough tension to keep the top in place. A thing like that would slide down me like a fireman on a pole.

When she has finished and starts to spread out her towel, I get rid of my clothes aswell. My bikini is probably the most grown-up thing I've ever worn. For a long time, I was a swimsuit advocate, but since I've swapped a bit of fat for muscle, my belly area actually looks quite decent. The fabric is colored light blue, and the top is bound together in the middle, so the smaller the breasts, the bigger the excess material... at least this way, I was able to tie a cute bow.

“I'm going to take a nap,” Miko announces and lies flat on her back. When I see her lying there like this, I want to put a blanket on her to protect her from other people's gaze, or I could put up a sign and take some money for it. But for now, I sit down next to her on my towel and take out my phone. I take a few photos of the beach and then switch to the front camera and take a quick snapshot of Miko and me. I post the pictures on my status. Perhaps someone will see them.

It takes less than two minutes for the first messages to reach me. Most of them wish us a nice vacation, but then Luna replies with a photo of her own. I have to check the picture three times before I fully realize what I'm looking at. It's a photo of Kajsa sitting on a camel, and they are definitely in a desert. Of course, while we were just visiting the seaside, the two of them fled the country... Nevertheless, I wish them a lot of fun on their trip.

Strangely, I'm not at all surprised that the two of them are traveling together. As far as I know, they're just flatmates, and they rarely seem to be more than that. Eliza once explained to me that you can tell that Miko and I are getting it on. The two of them definitely lack this aura, at least if you ask me.