As I approach Elias, he smiles, and the look on his face tells me that he likes what he sees. Shyly, I avert my eyes from him and focus on the ground.
‘Is that a batik sarong?’
His question takes me aback. How on earth does Elias know about batik sarongs? Was it the sarong that he liked the look of when I walked out? There was me getting ideas!
‘Umm, yeah. Soraya picked it up on a stall in Indonesia on one of her wonderful trips.’
‘Very clever how they do batik with the hot wax. Have you ever seen it being done?’
‘Umm, no.’
As Elias talks about wax, I self-consciously cross my legs as I think about how my bikini wax might need redoing and start cringing. Thankfully, though, Elias seems nervous and starts rambling, delaying our swim. From talk of the art of batik, he tells me about the time he realised he needed glasses.
‘So, there was this woman walking down the street with a hamster. Now, I had a hamster when I was a kid, so I had to say something. I stopped her and went to pet its head, and she shouted at me to get off her chocolate muffin. It was a bloody muffin and not a hamster! Of course, I offered to pay for a new muffin after I’d had my hand all over it. The next thing I did was book an optician’s appointment.’
We laugh together, and I soon forget about my bikini line and, indeed, anything else.
‘Anyway, what am I going on about? Let’s have that swim.’
‘As long as you can see where you’re going,’ I tease.
‘Oh, don’t worry, I’ve got my contacts in, and I can see you very clearly.’ I notice his cheeks go red as he says it. Maybe it was better when I thought he was short-sighted!
Hesitantly, I remove my sarong, worried about exposing my wobbly bits and anything else. I hear Soraya’s voice in my head telling me to be confident and love myself, wobbly bits and all. Elias lifts his arms up to remove his T-shirt, and I try not to stare at those muscles underneath a long scar on his chest. I am glad Carol isn’t here now. I may have had to push her overboard to cool her down a bit.
When we get to the diving board, I insist that Elias dives off first. I don’t want him seeing me with my bottom wobbling everywhere as I belly-flop into the sea. Instead, I watch him as he flies through the air in the perfect dive. Then he disappears beneath the sea and pops his head up as though he is some great shark looking for prey. Let’s just hope I’m not his target.
I take a deep breath and jump off the back of the boat, closing my eyes until I feel the water smash against my body. It is refreshing and invigorating. This must be how those women who do that cold water swimming stuff feel, only chillier, obviously. I have never seen the appeal until now. But as I bounce up from the water, I feel regenerated, confident, and as though I am living my best life.
I smooth my hair with my hand in a way that makes me feel as though I am Bo Derek in that famous movie scene and smile at Elias as I tread water. Then he does something strange with his hand, in a sort of wave around my shoulders, and then he says, ‘Sorry, your top, umm, it’s…’
I look down and die. One boob is hanging right out, and I didn’t even notice. Was I too busy trying to create the perfect pose that I didn’t feel anything was wrong? I scramble so hard at the strap of my swimsuit to cover my modesty that I manage to scratch my skin.
‘Oh my god. I’m sorry. This blasted swimsuit. I’m mortified.’
‘Hey, you’re amongst friends. Forget it. I just wanted you to know, that’s all. I mean, gosh, people around here go topless all the time. Nothing to be ashamed of.’
Nothing to be ashamed of! I am dying and can never look this man in the eye ever again. I dive down under the water so that I can regain some composure, holding onto the strap as I bob back up. Elias is still there, looking at me, and the embarrassment has not ceased in the slightest.
‘Fancy a race?’ he says.
I’ll do anything not to look at him right now, even a competitive swim.
‘I’m not that good a swimmer, but I’ll try.’
‘I’ll give you a head start then,’ smiles Elias.
I don’t think I have ever swum so fast in my life. I was never a great swimmer, but suddenly, I have a strength and determination that I didn’t know I had. However, Elias quickly catches up with me, and we reach our agreed winning post, with him easily beating me.
‘I’ve an unfair advantage. Not a lot of people know this, but I was in the National County Team Championships a very long time ago. I should have slowed down.’
‘No, it’s fine. I don’t need any special treatment.’
Catching our breath, we tread water for a while, and then Elias floats up on his back. I follow his lead, and we float together, looking up at the bright blue sky with the shoreline in the distance. Everything is serene and perfect out here. I feel so free and at peace with life. I can’t ever remember feeling this relaxed.
When we finally start getting tired out on the water, Elias suggests we go back on board for a glass of wine.
I hadn’t planned on having a drink at lunchtime, but after my mortal embarrassment with boob-gate, I could probably do with one. How could I be so unlucky?
