Badass - Episode 13

Three tattooed women in tiny bikinis pile into inner tubes and hit the river. The water slaps cold against their thighs. Their laughter bounces off the canyon walls. They drift close together, fingers trailing, skin slick with sunscreen and spray. Later they climb onto the giant inflatable banana that skips behind a speedboat. Bodies bounce, hips grind against the vinyl ridges. Every wave throws them forward; every thrust presses them tighter together. Wet fabric slips. Fingers hook into straps. A strapless top peels away and nobody bothers to fix it. At the take-out, a cop in mirrored aviators waits on the bank. She is tall, broad-shouldered, and the tan line of her cuffs sits low on her hips. She watches the trio approach, thumbs hooked in her duty belt, a slow smile cutting across her face. The women stop, water still dripping from their chins. They pick up a hitchhiker on the dirt road out. She is long-limbed, dusty from the shoulder, wearing cut-offs and nothing else. She climbs into the back seat between two of them, knees spread for balance. Hands find bare skin without asking. The car fills with the smell of river water, sunscreen, and fresh sweat. The road curves; the woman between them rocks with it, breath catching each time the tires hit a dip.