Iwent up to the sky deck after everyone retired for the night. I wasn’t ready to say goodnight to the stars. Away from the city lights, they were bright and dazzling. I lay on my back, marveling at how something as simple as looking at the night sky could fill you up.
There was a splash as someone dived into the pool. It was lit from the inside and glowed with blue-green luminescence.
So much decadence. A pool, on a boat, on the sea.
I wondered how they kept the water from sloshing all over the place when the seas got choppy. A big-ass drain? A cover? My thoughts were interrupted by the dark figure slicing through the water in quick, sure strokes.
Nikos.
I should’ve been pleased to see him—alone, under the stars, on a warm June night. Instead, I felt a flash of annoyance. I liked my alone time. My brain had switched from conversation mode to solitude. I lay silent under the cocoon of my dark shawl, hoping he wouldn’t notice the mummified lump on the outdoor sofa.
It was a black lump on a white couch.
He noticed.
He swam up to the edge of the pool, rested his elbows on the rounded lip, and eyeballed me.
I would’ve un-mummified myself, but I might’ve ended up rolling off the couch like a log, so I remained in corpse pose.
“I’m almost afraid to talk to you.” He tilted his head and smiled. “Every time I say something to you, you take off.”
“Well…” I unraveled myself slowly, hoping he wouldn’t notice all the fidgeting going on under my shawl. I woulddieif he thought I’d been out here touching myself. “If it’s any consolation, it’s not you. It’s me.”
I forget how to breathe around you and suck all kinds of things down my throat.
“That’s usually a line reserved for when you’re breaking up with someone.” He flashed his perfectly aligned teeth. “I don’t think I’ve ever been shut down before I could even begin.”
No. Why would you? Look at you.
Shirtless Nikos. Moonlit Nikos. Water-slicked Nikos.
“Come join me,” he said. “The water’s perfect.”
Okay. A moment here, please.
A man with three thumbs was flirting with me.
Let that sink in.
The probability of this miraculous moment happening in my lifetime was mind-boggling.
But I couldn’t sidle up to him because I was terrified of drowning. Ever since I could remember, Dolly had banned me from the water. No swimming pools, no oceans, no baths, no puddles.
Oh Dolly. I know you were trying to protect me. I know you were afraid, but if someone tells you your child is going to die in the water—and you believe them—what’s the best thing you can do for both of you? You get her swimming lessons. You teach her how to swim. That’s what.
“I didn’t bring a swimsuit,” I said, finally free of my shawl and sitting up.
“So, go get it. I’ll wait right here.” He winked.
Score 1 for Moti. Subject has indicated his interest.
“It’s not in my room. I didn’t pack a swimsuit for the trip.”
“So, get in without one.”
Score 2 for Moti. Subject is in active pursuit.
I walked over to the pool and raised the hem of my dress. The higher it went, the higher Nikos’s brows lifted. We got to my thighs until I stopped and sat next to him, my feet dangling in the water.
