Jake launched himself into the sea and swam towards her.I followed him in and it was only when we got closer that I paused.
The water wasn’t deep as she was still close to shore, so she wasn’t in any danger of drowning.
Shit.Maybe it was her match, who I think was called Greg, that was underwater?
‘You okay?’ Jake said as he reached her.‘What happened?’
‘It’s my phone!’ she shrieked.‘I was trying to take a selfie and I dropped it!’
The woman started sobbing like a baby who hadn’t eaten, slept or had its nappy changed for hours.
‘You lost your phone?’ Jake frowned, like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.‘That’swhy you screamed for help?’
‘Yes!’ she snapped.‘What am I going to do?’
Jake looked at me and mouthedwhat the fuckwhilst I fought the urge to laugh.
‘Well, I can see that this is very important to you and obviously it’ll be impossible for you to survive without your cell…’ he said.
‘Exactly!’ Kayla nodded, clearly oblivious to the hint of sarcasm in Jake’s tone.
‘So let me see if I can find it for you.Okay?’
‘Okay,’ she said, her sobs immediately subsiding.
Jake dove under the water.As the seconds ticked by, I grew increasingly concerned.I couldn’t believe he was actually risking his life, just so this woman could find her phone.
When his head bobbed up above water again, relief flooded my veins.I knew the water wasn’t deep enough for him to drown, but that didn’t mean that staying under water for too long wasn’t dangerous.
‘Still looking!’ he said before ducking back under again.
About thirty seconds later (yes, I counted, just in case), he reemerged, but this time he was waving a phone in the air.
‘Got it!’ he said triumphantly.
‘Oh my God!’ Kayla squealed, jumping up and down.‘You’re a lifesaver!Thank you so much!’ She threw her arms around him and a bolt of jealousy rocketed through me.
‘You’re welcome.’ Jake shot me a look which saidthis is awkwardand gently lifted her arms away from his neck.‘I’m not sure if dropping it in some rice will save it, but if it does, maybe try protecting it in one of those waterproof phone holders next time.’
‘Okay!’ she beamed, bashing away at the phone screen.
Jake took my hand and led me out of the sea and just like before, the sensation of his fingers curled around mine sent a zing of excitement zipping through my bloodstream.
Once we were safely back to shore, we looked at each other and burst out laughing.
‘I can’t believe that she cried for help because she dropped her goddamn cell!’ he sighed.
‘I can.Some people are obsessed.I’ve heard about people posing for selfies on the edge of cliffs and crazy shit like that.Some of them even die trying to get the perfect shot.’
‘It’s insane.We’ve forgotten how to just live in the moment.There’s been so many times I’ve performed and seen people with their cells, watching everything from a screen because they’re filming, instead of just enjoying what’s happening right in front of them.They miss most of the show because they’re too busy uploading shit to social media.’
‘I agree.But I’m surprised to hear you say that, considering how much you love posting stuff on the ’gram.’
Jake froze and his Adam’s apple bobbed.
‘Yeah… I guess that makes me a hypocrite.’ His gaze dropped to the ground.‘I-I just remembered, there’s something I need to do.I’d better go.I’ll catch you later.Okay?’
‘Okay,’ I said.
