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The narrative follows Betta, a young competitive swimmer grappling with intense physical and emotional awakenings. During grueling swim practices under Coach Lundqvist's demanding eye, Betta struggles with her technique while battling an overwhelming attraction to her teammate Alina. Their charged dynamic escalates during early morning training sessions where Alina's confident, near-flirtatious nudity in the locker room exposes Betta's raw desire and insecurities about her own developing body.
This tension culminates when Betta discovers her mother watching lesbian pornography after catching her in a similarly vulnerable moment of self-pleasure—a revelation that forces Betta to confront the shared, hidden intensity of their desires.
The story intensifies when Betta and Alina arrange a private pre-dawn practice. After a tense encounter with a lingering police cruiser, they find themselves alone in the locker room where Alina deliberately undresses with provocative slowness, locking eyes with Betta as she reveals her naked body in explicit detail. Betta's involuntary reaction—flushed skin, trembling hands, and visible arousal—prompts Alina to respond with a triumphant, knowing smile.
This charged standoff is interrupted by the arrival of their team captain, Lara Gustafson, who observes their flustered dynamic with sharp interest before ordering them to the pool. During post-practice showers, Alina initiates an intimate encounter, inviting Betta to join her under the spray. What begins as tentative touches evolves into passionate mutual exploration—kissing, caressing, and eventual climax—as steam and water cloak their encounter.
Their newfound intimacy is shattered when Lara suddenly pulls back the shower curtain, finding them breathless and exposed. Lara's silent, appraising gaze and unnerving smile confirm she witnessed everything. She leverages this knowledge later in the cafeteria, explicitly linking their sexual energy to athletic performance by telling Betta that Alina "helps you focus" and insisting they "channel" this raw intensity into their swimming.
The story concludes with Lara asserting control, positioning herself as an orchestrator of their dynamic. Over breakfast, she reframes Betta's attraction to Alina as "untapped power" to be weaponized in the pool, openly acknowledging and exploiting their sexual connection for competitive gain.
Betta and Alina walk to school under Lara's watchful eye, their relationship now complicated by Lara's intervention—simultaneously threatened and intensified by her predatory encouragement to "push each other" further.
Betta goes through intense training and personal revelations. After a charged practice session where she masters her turns under Coach Lara’s demanding guidance and earns rare praise from Coach Elena, Betta’s mother witnesses her breakthrough, finally seeing her strength.
This leads to an invitation to dinner at Alina’s house (Betta’s teammate and secret romantic interest), hosted by Alina’s vibrant mother, Gianna. At dinner, Gianna’s brother Mario, a reserved person, captivates Betta’s mother, Elly, by singing a heartfelt Italian song. Their connection deepens, culminating in Mario asking Elly for coffee after Betta’s championship race. Elly, battling past trauma, accepts tentatively.
Later, Betta’s restless anticipation for the race merges with memories of Alina’s intimacy and Lara’s intensity, culminating in a private moment of arousal. The story closes with Betta poised for the championship, her personal and athletic worlds charged with tension and promise.
After a restless night filled with memories of her teammate Alina's intimate touch and the scrutiny of her coach Lara, Betta wakes to a cold morning. She feels self-conscious about her lingering scent from masturbation during breakfast with her mother, Elly, who seems unusually calm after recent emotional turmoil. The narrative establishes Betta's vulnerability—her attraction to Alina, her fear of disappointing Lara, and her complicated relationship with her reserved mother, who is grappling with her own hidden past.
At the municipal pool, Betta faces high-stakes races. Her coach, Elena Lundqvist, assigns her the dreaded butterfly leg in a relay after a teammate's injury, amplifying her anxiety. Alina, assigned breaststroke—her weakness—shares Betta's dread, but their mutual attraction fuels them. Alina urges Betta to channel their sexual tension into power during the race ("Make the water burn"). Betta struggles during warm-ups but later excels in her freestyle events, driven by adrenaline and Alina's presence. Meanwhile, Lara observes critically, while her protective friend Alexa offers encouragement, highlighting themes of mentorship and rivalry.
Post-competition, Alina's mother Gianna, hosts Mario Derossi — Alina's father's brother — for dinner. Mario shares a story about a baker's daughter escaping abuse, subtly paralleling Elly's hinted trauma (a coach's exploitation when she was fourteen). Elly reacts with uncharacteristic openness: laughing, touching Mario's back, and displaying a thawed, "molten" demeanor Betta has never seen. Gianna notices Betta's discomfort and warns her about unresolved family shadows. Later, Betta overhears Elly singing a Swedish lullaby ("Vargsången"), a rare moment of vulnerability, and witnesses her mother's conflicted expressions in the moonlight.
Betta retreats to her room, consumed by desire. She replays memories of Alina's touch while masturbating but is interrupted by Elly's phone call to her sister Helga. Betta overhears Elly confess she will "be with a man again" after thirteen years — specifically Mario — with plans for coffee and a "promise" for Monday night. Shocked, Betta listens as Elly locks her bedroom door for the first time ever, symbolizing a barrier to Betta's understanding of her mother's sexuality. The revelation stuns Betta, twisting her arousal into icy confusion as she grapples with Elly's newfound agency and her own tangled emotions.
Later, Elly quietly enters Betta’s room. Betta feigns sleep but glimpses her mother’s unguarded, "unburdened" smile — a stark contrast to her usual reserve. This sight soothes Betta, easing her into genuine sleep. The story closes with Elly retreating, her scent lingering, as Betta surrenders to exhaustion. Themes converge: Betta’s sexual awakening clashes with her mother’s reclamation of desire, while both navigate freedom from past shadows. The locked door remains a metaphor for secrets yet to unfold, but Elly’s peace hints at healing, leaving Betta poised between adolescence and the complexities of adulthood.
The story unfolds over a pivotal Sunday and Monday, centered on the narrator, Betta, and her mother. Betta wakes to a transformed atmosphere: her mother radiates a newfound lightness after choosing Mario—a man implied to be more than a casual interest.
Their morning is intimate, with Mom making *pannkakor* (Swedish pancakes) and humming a tune Betta hasn’t heard in years. The tension from Betta’s earlier eavesdropping (revealed through flashbacks) dissolves as Mom asks Betta to stay at her friend Alina’s house that night, subtly requesting space for her date with Mario. Betta agrees enthusiastically, masking her mix of excitement and dread with lies about Alina’s plans.
The day is marked by tender moments—a walk through autumn forests, shared photo albums of Mom’s youth, and quiet closeness on the sofa—where Mom’s uncharacteristic relaxation hints at liberation from past burdens.
That evening, Mom prepares for Mario’s arrival, dressing in a deliberately alluring outfit: a crisp white shirt with lace bra visible, a cherry-red skirt, and heels. Her confidence stuns Betta, who then heads to Alina’s house. There, Betta and Alina’s relationship intensifies into a charged sexual encounter. Alina explores Betta’s body with reverence, focusing on external pleasure—tongue and fingers tracing every curve but avoiding vaginal penetration.
She discovers Betta’s "secret spot" (the perineum and anus), using precise pressure to amplify her climax. Betta reciprocates, guided by Alina to stimulate similar erogenous zones, culminating in a shared, shattering release. Their intimacy is raw and communicative, with Alina framing it as "mapping secrets."
The next morning, Betta learns that Gianna (Alina’s mother) witnessed their passion and approved, telling Mom it "burns clean." Mom’s reaction is one of quiet complicity, not judgment. The story closes with Betta and Alina sleeping deeply, their bond solidified, while Mom’s journey toward happiness with Mario parallels Betta’s
awakening.Themes of maternal liberation, sexual discovery, and intergenerational acceptance intertwine, highlighting how both women embrace desire and vulnerability to reclaim their autonomy.
The narrative unfolds through the intimate perspective of Betta Svensson, a young woman awakening after a passionate night with her friend Alina Derossi at Alina's family home. The morning after is marked by a deep sense of sated exhaustion and lingering intimacy, disrupted when Alina's mother, Gianna, cheerfully interrupts them for breakfast.
Betta, still disoriented by sleep, opens the door naked, leading to an amused but knowing encounter with Gianna, who comments on their "humming" energy from the night before and insists they shower. This sparks a mix of embarrassment and playful tension between Betta and Alina, who navigate the awkwardness with shared laughter and a rushed, sensual shower where they wash each other with deliberate tenderness—a grounding contrast to their earlier passion.
The story shifts focus to Betta's mother, Elly, who shares a transformative experience with Mario Derossi (Alina's uncle) in a parallel narrative. Elly describes their first intimate encounter in vivid detail, emphasizing Mario's reverence and patience as he awakens her physically and emotionally. He focuses entirely on her pleasure, guiding her through two powerful climaxes before they eventually make love, with Elly taking control and feeling "reforged" rather than broken.
Later, in the quiet dawn, they share a tender, mutually fulfilling moment where Elly feels liberated from past trauma, sleeping deeply without nightmares for the first time. This catharsis leaves Elly radiant and unburdened, her phone call with her friend Helga underscoring her newfound freedom and happiness.
Themes of liberation and self-discovery intertwine both narratives. For Betta, witnessing her mother's emotional breakthrough (overheard through a phone call) reshapes her understanding of Elly—not just as a parent but as a woman who has shattered her own chains. This revelation mirrors Betta's own journey of sexual awakening with Alina, framed by Gianna's earthy acceptance and the Derossi family's vibrant, chaotic warmth.
The story closes with Betta drifting into peaceful sleep, her thoughts echoing Elly's transformation, only to be jarred awake by another abrupt knock—hinting at cyclical new beginnings and the lingering resonance of their shared experiences.
The story centers on a pivotal morning between Betta, a teenage girl, and her mother, Elly Svensson. Elly appears transformed, wearing a sheer nightgown that radiates sensuality and confidence—a stark departure from her usual guarded self. She calls Betta "lilla eld" (little fire), echoing a nickname from Gianna, signaling a shift in their relationship.
Over blueberry pancakes, Elly reveals she spent an intimate night with Mario, Gianna's brother, describing it as a rebirth: a quiet, profound experience where she felt truly seen and chose to be "taken" and "known." Her newfound openness stuns Betta, who grapples with her own awakening desires, influenced by Alina (Gianna's daughter) and haunted by Elly's raw honesty.
The conversation deepens as Elly explains Mario's imminent return to Italy and their mutual decision to part without promises. Quoting an Italian proverb—"Lontano dagli occhi, lontano dal cuore" (Far from eyes, far from heart)—she frames their connection as a fleeting gift of freedom and passion, not ownership.
Betta absorbs this stark acceptance, contrasting it with her expectations of dramatic romance. Elly’s serenity, underscored by her physical ease in the gauzy nightgown, symbolizes liberation from past trauma, leaving Betta both mesmerized and unsettled as she prepares for school.
Later, Betta meets Alina at the bus stop, who eagerly probes about Elly and Mario. Betta shares Elly’s revelations, including the concept of "rebirth" and Mario’s departure. Alina responds with fiery pragmatism, comparing their mothers' radiant independence and framing passion as "ignition"—burning intensely in the present.
On the walk to school, Betta recounts Elly’s and Gianna’s wisdom about freedom ("our bodies, minds, hearts are ours only") and passion versus love. Alina then draws a distinction: passion is discovery "like finding a new star," while love is "choosing to orbit that star every day." She demands clarity about their own relationship, but their conversation is abruptly cut off by a summons to the coach, leaving Betta’s turmoil unresolved.