Yes, to butterflies in my stomach. Although it could also be the chickpeas. I always had trouble digesting those.
“There you are.” He slid next to me—aftershave and smooth confidence. “Missed you at dinner,glikia mou.”
“I ate early with my grandmother.”
“Yes, I saw the two of you out on the deck. Do you mind?” He held up a cigarette.
I watched as he lit it and took a drag, blowing the smoke into the air slowly. His lips formed a small O, like the aftermath of a kiss you don’t want to end. He tapped the glowing tip of his cigarette on the ashtray and caught me staring at his double thumb.
“It’s ugly, yes?” He stretched his hand out, turning his wrist to examine it.
“It’s different, but I don’t think it’s ugly.”It’s holy. It’s holy-fuck-I’m-sitting-next-to-a-guy-with-three-thumbs.“In fact, when I was born, a fortune-teller told my mother that my soul mate would have an extra thumb.”
Nikos stared at me for a moment, his O transforming into anOh-my-God-I’m-sitting-next-to-a-girl-who-will-boil-my-pet-rabbit-if-her-horoscope-says-so. Then his face cracked and he burst out laughing. “That’s a good one.” He pointed his cigarette at me. The wispy smoke did exactly what I wanted to do—curling up and dying.
I mean, I finally got it out there, even if Nikos had taken it as a joke. It was a bit like Joseph Uncle’s big box of underwear. It’s funny to everyone else, but it means something to you.
“Something else I need to tell you.” I might as well put itallout there. “I bought a swimsuit today, but I can’t go diving or snorkeling because I can’t swim.”
“Can you kiss?” Nikos stubbed his cigarette out and leaned closer. I could smell the tobacco on his breath. “Because swimming is…” He shrugged indifference. “But kissing. Kissing is important.”
My throat went dry as his face filled the frame of my vision.
Please let it be epic and beautiful and memorable. I know it’s not a rain kiss, or a chase-through-the-airport kiss, or a top-of-the-Empire-State-Building kiss. But it’s the kiss I’ve been waiting for since the moment I ran into Nikos and his extra appendage. And it’s happening. It’s happening right now.
My eyelids fluttered shut and I raised my lips to meet his.
“Nikos!” We flew apart at Isabelle’s voice. “What are you doing?” Her eyes darted between Nikos and me. “Did you forget about our meeting?”
“That’s tonight?” Nikos pinched the bridge of his nose. He extricated himself and got up sheepishly under Isabelle’s icy glare. “Give me a minute,” he said to her. “I’ll be right there.”
Isabelle hovered for a few beats. Then she got in the elevator and punched her floor.
“Sorry, glikia mou.”Nikos sounded remorseful over our almost-kiss. “I have to go. Isabelle and Thomas are going over wedding stuff with Teri and me. They want to make sure the best man and maid of honor know what they’re doing. But I’m all yours tomorrow night. We’ll be in Mykonos. Put on your dancing shoes because I’m taking you clubbing.”
I sat back with a happy grin after he left.
Yes! Dancing with Nikos in Mykonos—the bronzed, throbbing, party animal in the heart of the Cyclades.
It was clear Nikos was open to having some fun on the high seas but was a relationship on his horizon? The forever-kind that I was looking for? And even if it was, how would we handle a long-distance relationship in the interim?
Ugh. I pulled the brakes on my train-wreck of thoughts. It was the kind of self-sabotaging most women do to themselves. We racewayahead. We want to cover all the possibilities. We want to jump in, but we also want to protect ourselves. Men? They’re just grateful if we show them our boobs. And who knows? Maybe I wouldn’t think Nikos was so hot after I got to know him. I mean, I admired his muscles, but his bulgy biceps made his arms stick out like twin parentheses, like he was perpetually carrying carpet rolls under them. After a while, that could get annoying.
Forget the muscles. Think about the thumbs. The THUMBS.
My brain went back and forth until I drifted off under the stars.
When I woke, the moon was high in the sky. I stretched and re-draped my shawl around me. Time to get to bed. Since Joseph Uncle and Rachel Auntie were still on the outs, that meant another night in Alex’s cabin. Hopefully, he was already asleep.
I was halfway to the elevator when I stepped on a pool noodle. I returned it to the big bunker that stored all the pool toys and gadgets. A volleyball net, inflatable pool loungers, yoga mats, and even a remote-controlled snack float. My fingers closed around a ping-pong ball. It was light and round—a sphere of air on my palm. It would never drown, it would always float back up to the top. I rolled it back and forth between my fingers before putting it in my pocket. No one would miss it. A whole bag of ping-pong balls lay on top of a foam collar—the kind you put around your neck to keep your head above the surface. I picked up the collar and gazed at the pool. It was glassy and quiet under the light of the moon. Blue-green lights glowed under its rim.
Should I? Shouldn’t I?
I had tried on the swimsuit after my shower and left it on under my clothes, so the moment was perfect. With no one around, I wouldn’t be making a fool of myself either. Still, I was filled with all kinds of dread.
Go ahead. Make friends with it.
Or stand there like a loser all your life, Moti.
