CHAPTER NINETY - A STEP TOO FAR

The battle raged on, shrieks of laughter and splashes echoing through the clearing as Karina and Nancy traded volleys of water. Leaves and moss were upturned in their wild frolicking, their initial purpose all but forgotten in the heat of playful abandon. Eventually, breathless and dripping wet, they called a truce, collapsing onto the mossy bank in a tangle of limbs and hiccuping giggles. Karina's sides ached from laughing, but a lightness filled her heart, one she hadn't felt in far too long. As their laughter subsided, Karina became acutely aware of Nancy's proximity, of the way their bodies were pressed together, the heat of her skin palpable even through the drenched fabric of their clothes. Nancy turned her head, emerald eyes locking with Karina's, a sudden intensity simmering behind their mirth-filled depths. Karina's breath caught in her throat as Nancy leaned in, her lips parting ever so slightly. "You know," Nancy murmured, her voice a husky whisper, "you're even more b