The next morning began exactly like the one before for Emily. She awoke to the kisses of her fiancé. They cuddled again, but this time, they couldn’t spend as much time as the day before. Ben had to get up to drive Lily and Hanna to their scuba lessons. He quickly helped Emily get dressed into her dry bikini (the one from the first day) and slid a top over her head. He got dressed himself and they went outside to make breakfast. They were greeted by Lily and Hanna, who were already almost done setting the table. Everybody said their good mornings.
“Ben, I hope it’s not too much trouble for you, us taking this class now”, said Hanna. “It’s a bit unfortunate that we are gone for so much of the day now.”
“Don’t worry about it”, said Ben. “While it is indeed unfortunate, you won’t be gone all week. We’ll have plenty of time together.”
“Besides, we need friends we can force to go scuba diving with us”, Emily chimed in. “I got certified a few years ago and Ben and I have been diving at least once a year ever since. In fact, the only thing I don’t like about this…” She ostentatiously shrugged her armless shoulders. “…is that I can’t join you right now.”
“For real”, said Ben. “Don’t worry about it. After all, I suggested it.” He smiled.
“You’re too kind”, said Lily. “I’d love to go scuba diving with you. Just hit me up whenever.”
“Yep, same here. I’m game”, said Hanna. “I already have my dive buddy.” She smiled at Lily and both giggled.
“Bruce Willis Ruins All Films”, both recited together and all four laughed. They had breakfast together, before Lily, Hanna and Ben got up to drive to the scuba classes, while Emily remained at the table to wait for Lena and James.
Lily and Hanna were greeted by Georgios, who was eager to show them what he had done with the suits. They said goodbye to Ben, who returned to the house, and followed Georgios into his shop. He presented them with their suits and had them put them on, so that he could see how they fit and make corrections is necessary. Hanna and Lily eagerly put on their new suits. The legs had been cut and sewn closed and fit their stumps tightly but comfortably. No corrections were necessary. They looked at each other.
“Hanna, damn, the suit really shows of your shape now”, said an astonished Lily quietly.
“Look who’s talking”, Hanna replied with a grin. “Your suit now really highlights your missing leg.” They turned around and posed in their now perfectly fitting suits, causing Georgios to smile happily. He had them get out of their suits again and had them pack them in their equipment bag. Once the suits were in the bags, and the bags were in the trunks, he brought the girls to the car, and they set off to the beach again.
Back at the house, there was still no sign of James and Lena, so Emily abandoned her plan to wait for them at the table and headed to the beach. She picked the closest deck chair, pulled it in place with one foot and lowered herself into it. She tried to grab her top with her teeth. That worked, but she struggled to pull it over her head. She changed tactics and grabbed onto the hem with the toes of her right foot. It was a weak grip from her untrained toes, and the top slipped from her grasp multiple times, but eventually she managed to push it against the chair while leaning forward and hold it down, so that she slipped out of it when she sat back up. She grunted as she pulled her head out of the top, and a satisfied grin crept on her face as she finally freed herself from the top. She let herself fall backwards and closed her eyes. She tried to envision her current shape. Her shoulders were still there, but the sockets where her arm would usually connect where empty. There was nothing left that suggested she had once sported arms, and skin was running smoothly from her shoulders along the ribcage and past her hips to her toes. She had been like this for two days now and got more and more used to it. It massively impacted her ability to do things on her own, but she didn’t need to do anything. She was on holiday, had help, and if she wanted, she had enough time to figure things out herself, just like she did with her top.
She tried to imagine having hands. Opening and closing a fist. Waving an arm, pointing her finger at something. Shielding her eyes from sunlight. She tried to do those things but didn’t accomplish anything other than rotating and shrugging her shoulders. She heard a door open and sat up. She heard voices, James’ and Lena’s voices, so she got up and went to greet them.
“Morning guys”, said Emily, as she approached the outdoor kitchen, where Lena and James had just arrived.
They returned the greetings and the three of them made some small talk until Ben returned. He came hopping to the outdoor table and everyone exchanged another ‘good morning’ and Ben sat himself down.
“So, what’s the plan for today? Lily and Hanna have three days of scuba classes left. I would suggest that we go for the boat-trip once they can come with us, so that leaves three days to fill with something or nothing, whatever you prefer”, said Ben. “How did you like your time in the dinghy yesterday?”
“Oh that was awesome”, said Lena.
“Yeah, I didn’t expect to have that much fun with it”, James added. “It’s not quick, but it sure was nice doing some exploring. That, combined with swimming and the surfboard is good enough for me, honestly. Especially when I have company like yesterday.” He glanced at Lena, who blushed slightly and giggled. Emily grinned, and Ben just knew that she would probably have high-fived Lena, had either of them been able too.
“Alright! So, relaxing it is”, said Ben and smiled. “I’m glad you’re all having a good time here.”
At the scuba-beach, Lily and Hanna were hard at work learning about every aspect of scuba diving. Jack and Georgios proved to be great teachers and a terrific coaching team. The two temporary amputees quickly learned how to control their breathing and were surprised to find that the same bottle that had just about lasted for an hour in shallow water on the first dive, and twenty minutes in deeper water on their morning dive on the second day, could also last for three times as long if they controlled their breathing. Jack helped them move about outside the water when it was necessary but was happy to find that both were fairly comfortable and mobile despite their limitations. Of course, he had to carry the heave equipment for them, but apart from that, he didn’t need to assist them much. The adapted scuba suits made the subsequent dives a lot easier for the girls and they were both confident that they had made the right call purchasing them from the dive shop.
The following days all followed similar patterns. Ben would drive Lily and Hanna to the dive shop in the morning and pick them up in the afternoon after they had had their classes.
Lena and James spent most of the time together. In fact, they only spent one afternoon with Ben and Emily, who didn’t mind their alone time at all. James and Ben tried their hand at windsurfing. James did surprisingly well, once he managed to get the sail out of the water with his lower centre of gravity. Ben, who was a proficient windsurfer when his body was complete, struggled a lot due to his single leg and his missing hand. Eventually, he managed to raise the sail while standing on his stump and knee, and the others cheered him on from the shore.
In the evenings, the group would eat together and exchange stories of their days, before Lily and Hanna would leave to study, and the rest would play a game together and finally end the day while gazing into the night sky.
The couples grew closer and closer to each other, Especially James and Lena, but also Hanna and Lily. Both of them considered themselves straight girls. They had exclusively dated men in their past. In fact, Hanna’s last relationship had ended just a few weeks before the trip to Greece. However, after spending a lot of time together in their altered bodies and relying on each other, they grew closer to one another than they had ever before with a girl. The others noticed but decided not to comment on it to see if anything would develop.
On the last day of Lily’s and Hanna’s scuba class, they had to take the theory test, which they both passed easily. Before they began their final dive, Jack gave each of them a dive computer. They looked like bigger and clunkier watches. Jack had taught them how a dive computer works and why it was an important piece of equipment. Now he wanted to see them use it underwater, so the dive shop loaned them some to train with. Once they were underwater, they had to show off everything they had learned, but they had been taught well and had no issues at all. Jack gave them a satisfied ‘okay’-sign underwater and then signalled them to descent further. Lily and Hanna obliged and watched anxiously as the number climbed on the displays of their computers. They felt how the water became noticeably colder and how their surroundings grew darker. Once the computers indicated that they had reached 18 metres, Jack gave them the signal to level off, and made sure they were okay. Then he pointed upwards. The two girls looked up and their eyes grew wide as they realised just how far down they were and how far away the surface was. Jack grinned and gave them the sign to begin ascending again. Ten minutes later they broke through the surface.
“How did you like your last dive?” Jack swam over to the girls.
“That was awesome!” Lily grinned.
“Yeah, I didn’t expect to ever be this far down. Weird feeling but it was such a thrill”, added Hanna.
“I had to bring you down this far. The Open Water certification clears you to dive as far down as you did during your certification dives, with a maximum of 18 metres. We hadn’t been down there before, and since this was our last dive, we had to do it now. Congrats, by the way, you guys are officially certified now!”
The two girls grinned.
“Keep diving, though. Only practice lets you improve, so the more you dive, the better you will get at it. Keep at it.”
They nodded. “So what happens now?”, asked Hanna.
“We will swim to the shore, you will help to pack up the equipment. Then you fill out your dive logs and Georgios and I will sign them. After that we will drive to the dive shop, take our pictures for your certifications and you will pay for your classes if you haven’t done that yet. Tomorrow, you will each get an email with your preliminary certification. The real ones will come in the mail in about a month.”
“Sounds good”, said Lily. They slowly swam to the shore and kept chatting in the meantime.
Once they were back at the dive shop, had their pictures taken and paid up, they packed their wetsuits and said goodbye to Jack and Georgios. Jack helped Hanna climb into Ben’s car and Ben drove them home.
“Hi girls”, Emily shouted when the car’s doors opened. She strolled over. “How was your last day?”
“Awesome!” Lily and got out of the car and hopped to fetch the wheelchair for Hanna. She brought James and Lena with her when she returned. The two girls told the others about their day as they strolled towards the beach and received congratulations from their friends. The group made its way to the beach.
“You know what I’m looking forward to most, now that we’re done?”, asked Hanna. “I’m looking forward to finally spending an evening with you guys!”
“Oh, hell yeah”, said Lily. The scuba class was fun, but it’s been a bummer to not have been able to spend more time with you guys. It’s gonna be great to do that now.”
“We’ve been looking forward to that as well”, said Ben. “In fact, we were hoping to go on our boat trip tomorrow. Are you two up for that?”
“Sounds awesome, hell yes”, said Lily. “Right Hanna?”
“Absoutely!” Hanna smiled.
“Great”, said Ben. “I’ll make the call in a second.”
Once they were at the beach, all six of them went for a swim and enjoyed the water for a while. Then Ben headed to the house and booked the boat for the next day. The others showered, helping each other in the process. Emily waited for Ben before the two of them showered as well. Then they went to the outdoor kitchen to meet the others.
“So, we have a little bit of a situation”, said Ben. “The fridge is practically empty. I could either go shopping now, or we eat out today. If we do, we should probably drive two towns over to avoid any folks I might know…”
“How far would that be? I wouldn’t mind eating out at all”, said Lena.
“Well, I think we should be fine with a 45-minute-drive”, Ben responded. “There’s this town, Psakoudia, that has some nice place and even some beach bars for a good time once we’re done.”
“Sounds great, let’s do it”, said James. The others quickly agreed, and everyone went to get ready.
Thirty minutes later, they met in front of the main house and filed into the car. Once again, those with arms helped those without fasten their seatbelts, then they drove off.
Ben had mastered driving with one hand and one foot by now. The rental had an automatic gearbox, so he didn’t have to worry about switching gears. He used his arm stump to work the indicator and sometimes even to turn the wheel. It was as though he didn’t miss his left hand.
Once they arrived in Psakoudia, Ben parked the car by the promenade and the odd group got out. Hanna sat in the wheelchair, while Lily used the crutches. Ben and Lena hopped alongside them, and James waddled on his stumps. He was trailing a little behind and chatted with Emily, who was the only one in the odd group who could walk properly. They had a look at every restaurant before they agreed on a nice little place tucked away at the far end of the promenade. It was one of those places where the customers could pick their fresh fish out of the refrigerator. They drew quite a few curious looks when they entered. They were greeted by a very enthusiastic owner, who directed his waiters to push some tables together, so they could all sit with each other.
They enjoyed a delicious meal consisting mostly of grilled seafood. Ben fed Emily and James did the same for Lena, teasing her with at every bite. She feigned outrage and they stole a quick kiss, drawing smiles from everyone at the table. After dinner, they went for cocktails at one of the beach bars, enjoying the attention they were getting from the locals and other tourists.
They got back home some time around one o’clock in the morning. Lily, Lena, Hanna and James excused themselves to the guest house, leaving Emily and Ben with some alone time.
“Wanna go to the beach to do some quick stargazing?”, Ben asked.
“Yeah, sure! After all, that’s how the day ends, right?”
“My thinking exactly.” Ben smiled and they got on their way.
“That was a nice evening”, said Emily once they were cuddled up in one deck chair.
“It really was, the food was awesome. That waiter though… I don’t know, he really wasn’t very skilled in customer interactions, was he?”
“You’ve ordered too much”, Emily said, mimicking the waiter’s accent and annoyed tone. Ben chuckled.
“You picked the worst place to sit”, he joined in, prompting a giggle from Emily.
“I bet he’s some relative of the owner’s, who was guilt-tripped into hiring him.”
“You think so? Now that you mention it, they did look a bit alike. Maybe they are cousins..”, Ben said.
There was a short moment of silence as they both looked up at the milky way.
“Tomorrow we’ll go on the boat trip.”
“Finally! I’ve been looking forward to it ever since you suggested we come here in the first place”, Emily said.
“Same for me. I booked the largest boat they have at the rental. I think it’ll be great.”
“I can hardly wait.”
There was another moment of silence.
“Uh, Ben?”
“Em?”
“I’m a little cold. Can we head back now?”
“Sure thing. We should probably catch some sleep anyway. We should leave here early tomorrow.”
They headed back up to the house. Inside, Ben quickly got changed before he turned to help Emily. He paused for a moment.
“Em, you look absolutely stunning!”
“I know”, Emily grinned cheekily. Ben rolled his eyes. “For real, though, thank you”, she said.
He marvelled at her in her sleeveless dress that highlighted the complete absence of her arms before he helped her out of it. Once she was on the bed in just her underwear, they kissed and he helped her get changed into her pyjamas. He helped her brush her teeth, before they slipped into bed together. Ben switched off the light. She rolled over, kissed him again and cuddled up to her.
“Ben? Can you help me out of my pyjama pants?”
“Sure!” Ben had stopped asking why Emily asked him to do stuff about a day after he had made her arms disappear with the Atomizer. Instead, he just did what she asked.
“Better now?”
“Yeah, thanks!” She cuddled up to him again.
Suddenly she turned her head and whispered into his ears. “Tell you what, if you wake up before I do tomorrow, you can do whatever you want to my body with the Atomizer, but only if I am still asleep, and you have to set the timer for the end of the day.”
He didn’t reply, but she grinned into the darkness as she felt his dick get hard.