Sea.
I smiled as streaks of yellow, red, and blue swarmed around the
boat.
Jake inched closer, and his hot breath
brushed my cheek like a tropical draft. “Are you ready? Let’s jump
in!”
His sapphire-blue eyes sparkled, and
his brown hair whipped around in the wind as he met my gaze and
smiled. I brushed my hair behind my ear and smiled back at him.
When he removed his shirt, I couldn’t help but stare at his massive
body and all those thick, rippling muscles; he was even more
gorgeous than the last time I’d seen him without a shirt. His
beautiful body was so ripped that I was practically drooling over
him, and I was sure he’d spent hours at the gym every
day.
Without hesitation, Jake
jumped into the pristine water with a loud splash that caused our photographer
to laugh.
“ Your boyfriend is quite
the daredevil,” the photographer said. “I haven’t even checked for
sharks.”
“ He’s not my boyfriend,” I
said politely. “Is it okay to go in now?”
He looked through his binoculars in
every direction. “Looks good.”
“ Ooh, the water’s
wonderful!” Jake shouted. “Come on, Ashly!”
I leaned over the railing. “Forget
something?” I asked.
He grinned. “Guess so. Can you throw
it down?”
“ Sure.” I took off my long,
colorful wrap and adjusted my red and purple one-piece. I put on my
mask, snorkel, and fins, then grabbed Jake’s gear and jumped in. I
couldn’t fathom that I was actually floating above the actual Great
Barrier Reef. After I handed Jake his gear, I took a long, deep
breath and ducked my head under the water.
A school of yellow fish swirled around
us, and the underwater photographer began snapping away. “They look
good,” the photographer said. “I’ll have the CD and eight-by-tens
delivered to your hotel room when we get back.”
“ Thanks,” I
said.
He grinned and climbed back into his
boat. “For now, though, I’ll give you lovebirds some time to be
alone,” he said, ignoring my earlier claim that there was nothing
between us.
“ We’re just friends,” I
said.
“ The way you were staring
at him?” He laughed. “I don’t think so. You were lookin’ at that
boy like a crocodile looks at a chicken!”
Jake began to laugh.
My cheeks burned. “I was
not!”
Jake’s grin grew even
wider.
“ I wasn’t,” I
retorted.
Our photographer held up his
binoculars. “Enjoy yourselves. I’ll keep an eye out for any company
of the fin and toothy variety.”
I swallowed hard. “Why does that make
me a little nervous?”
“ We’ll be fine,” Jake said,
grinning. “C’mon. Let’s have some fun. It’s not every day you get
to splash around in Jaws’s backyard.”
When he clasped his hand around mine,
my skin began to tingle. His warm, soft fingers rubbed against the
back of my hand lightly as he pulled me toward the reef, and I
softly tugged my hand away; Jake had no right to hold my hand like
we were lovers on some excursion.
I dived deeper, to a point where the
visibility was awesome. The reef was beautifully decorated in a
kaleidoscope of marine life, from clusters of colorful anemones to
large sponges, coral, and starfish. Thick carpets of strawberry
anemones covered the bottom, and Jurassic-sized sea fans swayed in
the current like branches in the wind. I noticed every light and
shadow and thought about how wonderful they would be to capture
with my own camera.
I grinned at passing tropical fish all
decked out in startling reds, blues, greens, and yellows. There had
to be zillions of them. My eyes opened wide as I noted their
sparkling appearance, complex patterns, and vibrant coloration. The
spots, stripes, and shapes were all as different as snowflakes, and
some shapes and patterns I couldn’t even identify with my
vocabulary.
Jake’s black hair flowed
out in the water, waving back and forth with the rhythm of the sea.
A stream of bubbles came out of his mouth as he smiled, his eyes
wide. He picked up a huge stingray measuring
I smiled as streaks of yellow, red, and blue swarmed around the
boat.
Jake inched closer, and his hot breath
brushed my cheek like a tropical draft. “Are you ready? Let’s jump
in!”
His sapphire-blue eyes sparkled, and
his brown hair whipped around in the wind as he met my gaze and
smiled. I brushed my hair behind my ear and smiled back at him.
When he removed his shirt, I couldn’t help but stare at his massive
body and all those thick, rippling muscles; he was even more
gorgeous than the last time I’d seen him without a shirt. His
beautiful body was so ripped that I was practically drooling over
him, and I was sure he’d spent hours at the gym every
day.
Without hesitation, Jake
jumped into the pristine water with a loud splash that caused our photographer
to laugh.
“ Your boyfriend is quite
the daredevil,” the photographer said. “I haven’t even checked for
sharks.”
“ He’s not my boyfriend,” I
said politely. “Is it okay to go in now?”
He looked through his binoculars in
every direction. “Looks good.”
“ Ooh, the water’s
wonderful!” Jake shouted. “Come on, Ashly!”
I leaned over the railing. “Forget
something?” I asked.
He grinned. “Guess so. Can you throw
it down?”
“ Sure.” I took off my long,
colorful wrap and adjusted my red and purple one-piece. I put on my
mask, snorkel, and fins, then grabbed Jake’s gear and jumped in. I
couldn’t fathom that I was actually floating above the actual Great
Barrier Reef. After I handed Jake his gear, I took a long, deep
breath and ducked my head under the water.
A school of yellow fish swirled around
us, and the underwater photographer began snapping away. “They look
good,” the photographer said. “I’ll have the CD and eight-by-tens
delivered to your hotel room when we get back.”
“ Thanks,” I
said.
He grinned and climbed back into his
boat. “For now, though, I’ll give you lovebirds some time to be
alone,” he said, ignoring my earlier claim that there was nothing
between us.
“ We’re just friends,” I
said.
“ The way you were staring
at him?” He laughed. “I don’t think so. You were lookin’ at that
boy like a crocodile looks at a chicken!”
Jake began to laugh.
My cheeks burned. “I was
not!”
Jake’s grin grew even
wider.
“ I wasn’t,” I
retorted.
Our photographer held up his
binoculars. “Enjoy yourselves. I’ll keep an eye out for any company
of the fin and toothy variety.”
I swallowed hard. “Why does that make
me a little nervous?”
“ We’ll be fine,” Jake said,
grinning. “C’mon. Let’s have some fun. It’s not every day you get
to splash around in Jaws’s backyard.”
When he clasped his hand around mine,
my skin began to tingle. His warm, soft fingers rubbed against the
back of my hand lightly as he pulled me toward the reef, and I
softly tugged my hand away; Jake had no right to hold my hand like
we were lovers on some excursion.
I dived deeper, to a point where the
visibility was awesome. The reef was beautifully decorated in a
kaleidoscope of marine life, from clusters of colorful anemones to
large sponges, coral, and starfish. Thick carpets of strawberry
anemones covered the bottom, and Jurassic-sized sea fans swayed in
the current like branches in the wind. I noticed every light and
shadow and thought about how wonderful they would be to capture
with my own camera.
I grinned at passing tropical fish all
decked out in startling reds, blues, greens, and yellows. There had
to be zillions of them. My eyes opened wide as I noted their
sparkling appearance, complex patterns, and vibrant coloration. The
spots, stripes, and shapes were all as different as snowflakes, and
some shapes and patterns I couldn’t even identify with my
vocabulary.
Jake’s black hair flowed
out in the water, waving back and forth with the rhythm of the sea.
A stream of bubbles came out of his mouth as he smiled, his eyes
wide. He picked up a huge stingray measuring
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