Note: an older, re-edited story.
Melanie loved spending her summers on the South coast of France. She loved removing the top of her favorite camouflage bikini and going topless. And on those rare occasions when she found the right beach she would lie out sunbathing in the nude.
She loved the attention she got from the men who walked by. It made her feel sexy. She also thought that the dragon tattoo on the right side of her stomach gave her an air of daring, causing her to garner even more attention to herself. But sometimes she preferred sunbathing on a private stretch of beach away from prying eyes.
She loved the warm waters of the Mediterranean. She would frequently wade in up to her chest. She liked to dunk herself and blow bubbles, enjoying the way her flaming red hair would swirl around her face. But the one thing she hadn’t learned yet was how to swim.
She could paddle a little like some of the dogs she saw in the water. But she suffered from a bad case of arrogance. She had neither the desire nor the patience to attend a class to learn how to swim properly. She always believed she would either eventually teach herself or that one day she would run into the right man who would give her special lessons.
She was always careful whenever she entered the water, usually making sure she never got in over her head. A couple of times she waded out into water up past her shoulders. But that was as far as she went, although she did long to go out into deeper water. She always made sure of the depth beneath her, especially since she didn’t want to get caught in a retreating tide and pulled out to sea.
One day she walked down to the beach in her camouflage bikini, carrying a towel large enough to lie upon. She also carried another towel she intended to use if she got her hair wet. She was in the mood to do a little topless sunbathing. But if everything worked out she was seriously going to consider shedding her bottoms.
The beach had a few individuals, most of them nude or topless. But she wanted some privacy. So she made her way along the sand in her bare feet.
She was contemplating a private section she knew just around the bend. It contained a sheltered cove that was virtually unaffected by the tidal currents. If she found herself alone she was going to do a little skinny-dipping. She also thought she might try wading out into water at eye level, perhaps to blow a few bubbles.
When she rounded the corner she smiled to see her favorite stretch of beach was empty. That’s when she noticed someone had left a translucent green air mattress lying around. She wrinkled her nose in disgust at how someone could leave such a thing behind. She suspected it belonged to some uncaring foreign tourist.
She walked over to it and discovered it was functional. The idea of floating on the water appealed to her, especially with such a device in her possession. She could safely drift out into deeper water with the mattress underneath her.
Moving around would be no problem. She could easily paddle herself out and then back into shore in the sheltered section of water. The mattress would keep her head up out of the water.
She blew it up until it was total inflated. Melanie checked it for leaks. But there did not seem to be any.
When she looked around and confirmed she was still alone. So she shed her bikini top and bottoms, tucking them into her towels. Then she headed for the water with the mattress in her grasp.
She waded in up to her knees. Then she jumped onto the inflated material. Her forward momentum sent it drifting out toward the gateway to open water.
She rolled off it with a splash, bubbling with delight. Then she climbed back on. It was the perfect discovery for a morning dip before the beach would become crowded.
She slipped off and hung onto the end as she moved out into deeper water. Melanie kicked her legs, happily splashing as she steered the inflatable object around. She was careful to keep sight of the shoreline, wanting to keep the beach well within reach.
She delighted in the feel of cool water all over her naked body. She had a sudden urge to be daring. Melanie wanted to test her abilities. So she took a deep breath and went under as she clung to the mattress, her heart beating fast.
There was nothing beneath her feet other than the cool of the Mediterranean. She felt a jolt at the knowledge she was in water well over her head. She bubbled as she pulled herself back up with her arms, clinging to the mattress as her hair matted down over her face.
Being submerged was a thrill she hadn’t anticipated. So she took a deep breath and pushed herself back under. Once more she bubbled, her red tresses flowing around her.
She pulled herself back up. Feeling confident in herself. What if she let go of the mattress entirely? She could do that, couldn’t she?
She went underwater, this time letting go. She felt a jolt of alarm. So she quickly kicked herself right back up and grabbed onto the mattress.
Her heart beat fast. It had been a little scary. But the mattress had been right there and nothing bad had happened, right?
She tried it again, pushing herself under and holding her breath. She was not as alarmed as before. Then she kicked herself right back up.
This time the mattress had drifted a couple feet away. But with a quick lunge she kicked toward it. Melanie was able to grab onto it again.
She let out a playful laugh. She was exhilarated at the joy of her newfound play-toy. What’s more, she was now using it to overcome her anxiety of being in deep water, especially here on her own private section of beach where she could enjoy a nude dip.
She pushed herself downward again, reveling in the sensuous feeling of cool water on bare skin. Her nipples hardened considerably until she felt herself becoming more than a little aroused. Melanie bubbled happily as she kicked upward, bursting up for a breath before reaching out and grasping the air mattress once again.
With a floatable object within easy reach she became a bit more daring. Melanie became curious as to whether or not she could reach the bottom. Just how deep was she? Could she push her feet into the sandy soil below?
Taking a deep breath she pushed herself downward. Air trickled out of her nose as she used the palms of her hands to push herself down. Once more she felt that anxiety the deeper she went.
She fought off the feeling as she waved herself deeper. She wanted to reach the bottom where the water would feel cooler. A little more and she felt her toes push into the sand
Hooray – success! With a triumphant burble she kicked upward, pulling with her arms. In no time at all she was back at the surface, clinging to the mattress and panting quietly. It was over her head, but not very deep.
“That was easy!” she told herself. A surge of confidence coursed through her veins. That’s when she found herself wanting a better challenge.
She kicked herself out a little deeper, feeling the excitement well up in her chest. Then she pushed off, waving her arms with her palms up as she worked her way down again. Her red hair streamed above her as she released bubbles.
Melanie felt the seductive caress of cool water flowing over her exposed crotch. It made her hot with arousal. She loved the way the way cool water turned her on.
It took her a little longer, and her anxiety toyed at the fringes of her consciousness. But once again she managed it. Melanie touched the sandy bottom with her toes, gleefully wriggling them around.
She kicked upward, pulling with her arms. ‘Now I can teach myself how to swim!’ She grinned as she chased her bubbles back to the surface.
She popped up and discovered the mattress had drifted out of reach. She felt a minor jolt of alarm. But she confidently paddled toward it, an awkward mixture of kicking and flailing with her arms.
Once again she reached it with no trouble at all. Melanie smiled triumphantly. This wasn’t bad at all; in fact it was actually quite exciting!
She clung to the mattress, her slender legs kicking back and forth as she shivered with delightful tingles. She checked her distance back to the beach. It was well within range.
She wanted to go farther out. Melanie wanted to challenge herself even more. Now she could tell her friends she could reach the bottom of the ocean by herself… well, so long as an air mattress was around.
She was enjoying submerging and surfacing in the nude. She wanted to do a little more while she was still in possession of the inflatable. What if the owners came back and demanded it?
She was really becoming turned on. Being naked in cool water, going all the way to the bottom, was resulting in a sexual desire that was starting to throb in her pussy. Could she get herself off like this?
Melanie suddenly became curious. How long could she hold her breath? She was becoming more confident submerging. Now would be a good time to further test her abilities.
She was not wearing a watch. But she could gauge how well she was doing. Melanie filled her lungs before pushing herself downward off the mattress.
Once more air trickled out of her nostrils. Her red hair streamed upward toward the surface. It felt wonderful.
She had to wave her palms up harder. She had to work for it a little more as she was definitely out in deeper water. But once again she felt her feet touch the sandy bottom.
Melanie felt a thrill she’d managed the task yet again. Buoyancy wanted to lift her back up. She kept waving herself down until she was almost crouching.
She looked all around, releasing bubbles out of her nose. It was an incredible sensation being this far below the surface. She looked up to see she was probably no more than 5 meters down… maybe 6.
She looked up, her vision somewhat blurred by the water. She could clearly make out the mattress above her. It looked to be moving a little.
Was there a small breeze at the surface? Melanie felt a surge of uneasiness. That’s when she decided she’d been under long enough.
She kicked herself off the bottom, pulling hard with her arms. Air bubbled freely past her lips. She angled herself up toward the mattress and reached it easily enough.
She clung to it as it drifted out into the middle of the cove. Melanie panted happily at her progress. It felt like she’d been down a lot longer that time. With a little bit of practice she could go deeper… hold her breath and stay on the bottom even longer.
She kicked herself a little farther out. For the first time since she’d started her adventure she felt a flicker of hesitation. Was she going out too far?
An inner voice warned her not to get too cocky and to stay within range of the beach. Melanie acknowledged the voice. But she was having too much fun to stop now. Besides, a few more descents and she might very well cum without touching herself.
She moved closer to the opening in the cove to the Mediterranean beyond. She could hear the surf, indicating she was farther out than she’d ever been before. But she was becoming more confident in her abilities. Besides, she could easily ride the mattress back into shore if need be.
This time she took a really deep breath. She wanted to be down on the bottom much longer. Melanie wanted to hold her breath while enjoying the sensation of cool water on naked skin at the bottom of the sea.
Melanie filled her lungs. Then she pushed herself off the mattress, setting it in motion as she headed toward the bottom feet first. This would give her two nice challenges: a nice long breath-hold on the bottom followed by the swim back up to retrieve the moving mattress.
She ignored the warning in her head as she worked her way down. She was too excited with her challenge to pay it much attention anyway. She allowed more bubbles to trickle out of her nose as her hair swirled above her head from her descent.
It took longer to get to the sandy bottom. As she looked all around she understood why. The bottom had quickly dropped off the farther away from shore.
Melanie felt a delicious shiver of unease. But she had a task to perform. She didn’t want to chicken out and abort. She could do this!
Melanie burbled as she waved her way downward with the palms of her hands. She felt the coolness of sand as her toes wriggled into it. She smiled inwardly, feeling a surge of triumph.
It had taken a little extra effort. But she’d made it. That’s when she tried to settle in for a nice, long breath-hold, crouching on the floor of the cove as she looked upward.
She was definitely deeper, although the sun was still penetrating to her depth in the clear Mediterranean Sea. The water was bracingly cool. But it made her pussy hot with arousal knowing how deep she was.
Her nipples were incredibly hard. Melanie was more than a little excited. Her red hair flowed gently around her head as it began to settle.
Melanie brushed the strands out of her face. She looked up in an effort to locate the air mattress floating on the surface. It was farther away, much farther than she thought it should be.
She could see it heading toward the opening in the cove. It was drifting toward the stronger current of the tides beyond. If it went much farther the tide might catch it. If she wasn’t careful she might lose her prize.
Melanie felt a jolt of alarm. Instinctively she kicked off the bottom with her feet. Then she tried to angle herself in the direction of the mattress.
Something was wrong. It looked like it was trying to get away! And she was still over halfway down!
Her lungs began to heave as she frantically pulled upward with her arms while kicking with her legs. The stirrings of panic spurred her onward. Melanie began to fear she might have pushed her luck a bit too much.
Damn; she was deep! She felt so heavy; why was it taking so long? She must have bubbled a lot of her breath away.
She gave up trying to angle toward the mattress. Melanie needed the surface right now. She shot straight up, desperate for her next breath.
She burst up out of the water, gasped for air. Then she slipped right back under the surface. Without the reassuring touch of the mattress in her grasp she began to panic.
She popped up again, gasping once more as her hair plastered itself all over her face. She frantically brushed it out of her eyes as she slipped under again. Then she popped back up and turned to find the air mattress had drifted several meters away.
She slipped under again, bubbling in growing panic. She had to choose between going for the mattress or heading back to shore. Then she turned to look at the beach.
Right away she knew it was too far away. She seriously doubted she could make that swim. She could only paddle, and that was many, many meters away.
She slipped back under; she’d not learned how to tread water very well. She came back up sputtering. Then she frantically set off toward the wayward mattress.
It was her own fault. She’d gone too deep. And she’d pushed against the mattress too hard to give herself a challenge.
Melanie thought she could make it. She told herself she could make that. She just had too!
Melanie kicked and paddled toward the mattress. She gasped and whimpered as her heart hammered in her chest. There didn’t seem to be anyone else around. She just had to reach that mattress!
She could feel herself getting tired. Her forward moment wasn’t very fast. The mattress was still several meters away.
Instinctively she reached out for it, only to slip under the surface again. It scared her, and she frantically popped back up gasping and sputtering. Then she slipped back under.
She came up coughing and gasping. Once more she began that clumsy paddling toward the floating mattress. Melanie could feel panic setting in.
She was so tired. And she was out of breath. What’s more, the mattress appeared to be heading away from her as though not wanting to be caught… heading toward the entrance to the cove where the breeze made the water ripple that much more.
Melanie slipped under yet again. She kicked herself right back up, whimpering and crying out. In desperation she turned toward the beach.
She started to paddle toward it, only to discover how far away she was. Now she could feel the effects of the rippling surf of the Mediterranean. She was too far out in the cove and was starting to bob up and down.
Melanie turned and began paddling frantically toward the air mattress. She reached out for it, an arm frantically outstretched. But it was still well out of reach.
She got tired and slipped under the surface once more. She frantically kicked upward. Melanie popped up and gasped for breath, only to slip back under.
She shook her head in growing terror. She couldn’t tread water. Hair swirled all around her face.
She flailed for the surface, bubbles spewing out of her mouth. She popped up and gasped for breath. Then she slipped back under.
She grunted as she kicked upward again. Melanie burst up and gasped for breath. But she was too tired and slipped right back under.
There was no time to cry out, no time to scream for help. She was exhausted, struggling to keep her head at the surface. Melanie was too busy trying to breathe without vocalizing her distress… not that anyone was around to notice.
Melanie took a deep breath and then slipped back under. Tired muscles gave out on her. She drifted in place less than a meter below the surface.
She writhed and thrashed about as she struggled to contain the air in her lungs. She a burst of adrenaline and she shot up for another breath. Melanie coughed and gagged as her head popped up.
The mattress was floating nearby. But it was tantalizingly out of reach. By then her mind was overridden by full-blown panic.
She kept on going under. Each time that happened, her focus was on getting back to the surface. But then she would slip under again, bubbling frantically.
Her hair flowed around her face, obscuring her vision. She didn’t even try to brush it away. She kicked herself back to the surface and got a qui kbreath, only to slip below the surface again.
Her heart hammered in her chest. Melanie was filled with panic. That’s when she reflexively sucked water into her lungs.
She shot up for a breath, coughed and then slipped back under. Melanie coughed as she sucked down more water. Instinctively she began flailing upward with her arms, kicking haphazardly in a purely reflexive manner.
Air spewed out of her mouth as she coughed and gurgled. Every time she inhaled she coughed out more air. Soon she was coughing out water.
She flailed a meter under the surface, going nowhere in her disorganized thrashings. She began having painful convulsions, her lungs spasming as she tried to breathe. Her breasts bounced and heaved each time her body jerked and shuddered from another useless inhalation.
At some point Melanie was dimly aware of her body climaxing. A wisp of her creamy discharge leaked out of her pussy. But she wasn’t the least bit interested.
Her struggles lessened until her muscles gave out altogether. For a moment she drifted in place, every fiber of her being feeling brutally violated by flooding water. She tried to scream but she couldn’t move her lips. Besides, all that came up were a few solitary bubbles.
She looked up at the surface in shock as her lungs flooded. An occasional convulsion bent her over at the waist. The occasional bubble slipped past her parted lips.
Melanie was still conscious. Her body hurt like hell. Then she became aware of the fact she was actually sinking… heading once more for the bottom, away from the air her lungs so badly needed.
Her nude body drifted downward until she came to rest on her back on the sandy bottom. Her dying eyes looked up at the surface above. Melanie had just enough time for her mind to acknowledge the arrogance that had cost her her life. Then her vision faded as consciousness slipped away into merciful oblivion…
Later that afternoon a group of men and women in their early 20’s came to the cove. They stumbled upon the towels, the discarded bikini pieces and the air mattress that had eventually drifted back to shore. A quick search revealed nothing else.
It was assumed the items had been left behind. There was no other sign anyone had been there. No one knew what to do, so the items were left alone.
It wasn’t until a couple days later when Melanie’s body rose up near the surface from the buildup of the gases inside her that she was discovered. One of the girls who was swimming halfway out into the cove came upon her body as it was slowly drifting up. It made her let out an ear-splitting shriek of horror.
Two young men quickly swam out and brought Melanie’s body back in. But it was deemed far too late to save the unfortunate young woman. They summoned the local authorities to report what appeared to be an accidental drowning…
2011; 2020 (written for Kelly Jan 30 ’11; ed. Feb 28 ‘20 by riwa)
(Picture found on the Internet and added for illustration purposes.)