I’m sure she can feel my hands trembling as I swipe the thick white cream across her golden shoulders, rubbing downwards across the delicate bones of her shoulder blades, slipping beneath the strap of her bikini top. The smell of coconut will forever remind me of this moment.
The situation in my board shorts is getting desperate. I can hear the Velcro rustling and creaking under the increased pressure. I work faster. The quicker I can get my hands off her and dive into the water, the better for everyone. Especially the families on the beach. No parent needs to explain to their five-year-old, who moments ago was innocently building asandcastle, what that man and lady are doing. No. They’re not wrestling, sweetheart. Not fighting.
Quite apart from if—when—Lilavati and I finally fuck, the first time won’t be on a beach, getting sand where it doesn’t belong. We’ll save that for later.
“All done.” Even I can hear the tension in my voice.
Lil gives me an odd look but says nothing. While she finishes putting sunscreen on her face, I grab the fins and masks and wade quickly up to my waist in the water. It’s cool and helps alleviate my physical discomfort, although the sight of her bent over, rubbing the last of the cream into her legs, does nothing whatsoever to help.
In the week before we flew out, both Lil and I were busy, so we didn’t get the chance to squeeze in more of our cafeteria lunches. And despite being hammered with work and putting together business plans that I have a good feeling about, I’ve missed her.
Spending a whole eight days in paradise with her is just what I need. With any luck, I’ll be able to carve out a little alone time for us to get to know one another.
Having finished with the sunscreen, Lil tiptoes slowly into the water, giving herself time to get used to the crispness.
“It’s a little chilly,” she squeaks as the water laps towards her bikini bottoms.
“Have you ever snorkelled before?” I ask, swishing the masks through the water.
She shakes her head, inching closer. I hand her the mask I bought for her.
“Right. I’ve rinsed it, but before you put it on, you have to spit in it and rub the spit all over the inside of the face plate.” I demonstrate with my mask.
“Spit?” Lil squawks in disgust, which is kind of funny coming from a doctor.
“That’ll stop the mask from fogging up. Once you’ve done that, give it another rinse in the water, and let it drain.” I show her the next step. “Your turn.”
Looking like I’ve asked her to pick up chewing gum from the street and eat it, Lil spits into her mask and swirls it around, then rinses it as I did.
“For someone who deals with bodily fluids all day, you sure are squeamish.” I laugh, to which she scrunches her nose and pokes out her tongue. Jesus. What I want her to do with that tongue.
We wade back into shallower water, our backs to the sea. I put Lil’s fins on, then mine, before taking her mask and slipping it over her head. I show her how to put the mouthpiece in and adjust the straps until it’s fitting nice and firm on her face, ensuring there’s no hair caught in the seal.
“When you put your face in the water, if you feel any water trickling in, let me know and I’ll tighten it some more.”
Lilavati nods, and I fit my mask. Since she’s never snorkelled before, she might struggle to walk in the flippers, so I scoop her up in my arms and wade into the deep water.
I’ve snorkelled this bay a few times, so I know it’s a good place for beginners. The currents are gentle, and there’s plenty to see. Hopefully, including turtles.
It doesn’t take Lil long to get the hang of the flippers or the mask, but her hand grips mine tightly as we swim side by side. There’s no live coral to speak of, but lots of interesting rocks, sea plants and grasses and hundreds of colourful fish. Lil’s eyes follow my free hand as I point out things she might like, and even through the facemask, I can see her smile. The water is clean and clear and some distance ahead, I see a dark shape bobbing in the current on the sea floor. I guide us towards it. I can tell the moment she sees what I’ve seen because she stops swimming, her head popping up as she treads water. I surface beside her, and we pull off our masks.
“There’s a turtle!” she exclaims with more joy and excitement than I’ve ever seen from her.
“Told you there were turtles in the bay. Didn’t you believe me?”
“Yes. No. Well, yes, but I didn’t expect to see one. I want to get closer. But I don’t want to scare it away.”
“The turtles in this bay are used to people. But we’re not allowed to get too close. They’re protected.”
Lil quickly puts her mask back on and powers off towards where the turtle is chomping on seagrass. Evidently, she no longer needs to hold my hand, which is a shame.
It looks to me like the turtle is a female, although I’m no expert. She gives us a brief look of disinterest before going back to concentrating on what’s important to her. We hover a couple of metres away, following her as she searches for the tastiest plants.
The swell of the ocean gently bumps us together as we watch.
I could float in the water all day, but Lil isn’t wearing a rashie, and I don’t want her getting burnt. Not to mention my stomach is starting to rumble. I’m about to give her a gentle tug when Lilavati reaches out, grabs my arm, and points with her other hand. There’s a second, smaller turtle swimming right for us.
We’re not allowed to approach them, but since this one is heading our way, curious and unafraid, I think we’re okay.
