WIP Wednesday

I've started a couple new projects, trying to decide which will take off first. I thought I'd let readers share their thoughts. The vote buttons are at the bottom of the post after the excerpts.


Summer Lovin' (page 1)
summary: A young woman on family vacation in Florida meets a lifeguard on Daytona Beach. (F/F)


Rosa Martinez exhaled at the sight of the dunes covered in sea oats. Finally. Some private time. She and her family had arrived two days ago to the condominium complex located in Daytona Beach, Florida, for two weeks of vacation. The annual family vacation had been scheduled later this year than previous years.

 It meant she had only two weeks to get a proper summer tan or she’d be laughed at for even suggesting she was half-Cuban when she walked onto the campus at Miami University in August. Her mother’s scowl when she appeared “brown as a beechnut” in a sleeveless dress for her piano recital would be a bonus, too.

 The walkway over the dunes looked ready to crumble at the slightest misstep. The nails in the planks were rusted and the planks themselves warped extensively by salt water exposure. Yes, the area was prone to assault from hurricanes from late summer into fall, but this was suggestive of abandonment. An unkept walkway prompted thoughts of a slice of waterfront heaven where few people would be found. Perfect.

 She cast a glance over her shoulder to assure she was alone. No one had been awake at the condo when Rosa slipped out the door on her mission for some alone time. But there had been a few people milling about, particularly around the 7-Eleven where she’d bought her sunglasses. Assured she was indeed alone, Rosa shifted her towel and canvas beach bag to her right shoulder then reached for the handrail with her left hand.

 When she stepped out onto the planks, the second one shifted under her rubber surf shoes but, determinedly looking forward, she focused on her solitary goal and let her ears filled with the sounds of crashing surf and seagulls arguing. A few more shaky steps along the way and finally she stood on a wide beach. Before going to sleep last night she’d checked online for the tide tables. Right now, at just a few minutes before dawn, the tide was most definitely out.

Walking toward the water’s edge, the soft sand shifting easily under Rosa’s ankles finally gave way to hard-pack. Seaweed had been thrown onto the beach overnight and the rough line of it for a good mile in both directions showed her where the high tide line had last been. She wanted to stay out here as much of the morning as possible, so she laid out her towel between clumps. Withdrawing a compact telescoping umbrella from her canvas bag, Rosa buried the end of it in the sand. Appraising her set up, Rosa put her hands on her hips. Finally, she closed her eyes, inhaled the brine smell of the ocean and listened to seagulls.

 Finally calm and relaxed, Rosa turned to walk down to the water’s edge.

 “Stop!” A breathless voice disrupted her idyll.

 Fuck. Turning back to look up the beach toward the speaker, Rosa spied a blonde in jogging pants, matching dark blue jacket, and white tank top, running toward her. “What?”

 “Just got a jellyfish warning. This beach is closed.”

 “What?” Rosa looked around and held out her arms to show what she saw. “There’s no jellyfish here.”

 “Reported on the south side, which means they’re in the surf right now. They’ll be up on the beach with the next high tide.”

 “In six hours,” Rosa said. “Not now. So if you’ll excuse me.”

 “I can’t let you do that.”

 “Who are you to stop me?”

 “I’m the lifeguard.” The blonde waved her arm toward a lifeguard tower about 300 yards away.


Doctor Doctor (page 1)
summary: New ER doctor (and single mom) meets a woman on the beach in Miami only to learn later she's also on staff at the same hospital. (F/F)


 The salt air whipped at Jill Barnett's face as she held her son's hand. They had left the wooden walk and she let Taylor pull his feet from his tiny sandals. He strained against her hold trying to run at the water rolling in tiny eddies onto the beach. They weren't dressed for swimming and she thought now that had been short-sighted on her part. She had only wanted to get out of the apartment after spending most of the last three days unpacking and figuring out where everything needed to go.

  Spotting a bench, she steered her son toward it with a promise of dipping his toes in the water "in a minute."

 She looked back to the street and was just able to see the corner of their building beyond the 7-Eleven, the ubiquitous corner stores that seemed to be everywhere down here. She definitely needed a new landmark if she was going to get comfortable. She searched the area, spotting a peach awning painted with pale blue trim over a picnic table and grill mounted on a thick wood post.

 Brushing Taylor's dusty blond hair from his face became a repetitive action with the wind blowing it. Taylor decided it was peekaboo and giggled, trying to cover her eyes with his tiny hands. "Momma, boo!"

 She smiled at her son’s antics, but her heart wasn’t in it. Yeah, momma boo, Jill thought, looking around. She had needed a fresh start. Getting nearly fourteen hundred miles away from Chicago was definitely that. She thought of the temporary assignment she had landed -- three months -- with a bit of anxiety. With luck, it would lead to something else and she could stay longer. In a bid toward self-actualization, she had signed a full year lease.

 Taylor tugged her again toward the water. For a long moment, she focused on the rhythmic motion of the waves. It did look inviting. She wondered if anyone would mind a naked two year old while she wet her feet.

 She decided against being that bold; his diaper could be changed for dry later. "All right. C'mon, Taylor. Let's go get wet." She tucked his shorts and their sandals into his diaper bag on her shoulder. Holding his hand she walked him down to the water's edge just where the sand was newly wet.

 He danced with laughter in the first tiny wave. "Col’, momma! Col’!" It was indeed cold at first, but keeping her feet submerged Jill found it gradually became comfortable. She walked along the water's edge, feeling the sand between her toes with almost as much surprising joy as her son, who did a bouncy dance in and out of the wavelets, giggling and throwing his arms around.

 It had been forever since she felt carefree enough to do something as simple as run barefoot in sand. She had spent years studying medicine, completing her residency, taking on the many specialty rotations. Then there had been the stress accompanying her selection to the acute care unit. Her mind flitted over the frequently-at-odds leaders of the unit, Doctors House and Chase. Briefly she wondered if Greg had finally kicked his addiction. She figured he had. That man somehow always landed on his feet, whether it was with off the wall medical diagnoses or ending up on the wrong side of a hospital board decision. Robert seemed to always see to that. But she had put both of them behind her when she took the posting to the ER. God, no wonder she felt overdue for a vacation. Just mentally listing her CV was exhausting.

 The wind tousled her hair and pulled her back to the present. She let go of Taylor's hand in order to secure her blond curls in an elastic hair band. The humidity here had enhanced the natural curl she’d spent years trying to smooth out for a more “academic” look.

 Taylor ran after a retreating wave, trying to stomp it. Jill dropped her arms and her bag. She reached out and scooped up her son just as he started to fall forward from the force of the water taking his legs out from under him. He spluttered and she brought him against her chest, feeling her heart pounding, shaking her body from head to toe. "Taylor!"

 Dark hair followed by a compact body erupted from the water in front of her and Jill’s knees gave out beneath her. The world tilted at the same time strong hands wrapped around her upper arms. “Whoa!” could be heard just under her own yelp.

 A voice, with a fluid and mildly rolled accent Jill heard everywhere in the stores and streets here, asked if she was all right.



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