Jamie raised her hand. “Who’s our buddies?”
His jaw went slack. “Shit, sorry, guys. I forgot to pair you. Alright, the two getting married will be paired.” He pointed at Faith and Asher. “The couple will be together.” He pointed at Jamie and John. “You two will be together.” He pointed between me and Mags, causing my chest to flutter. “And you…” He smiled at Eve. “Will be with me.”
She nodded shyly in return. “Next rule is to dive within your limits, right?” Eve wrung her hands together.
He nodded. “Above all, remember that diving should be fun. Never put yourself in an uncomfortable situation. If you aren’t physically or mentally capable of going further, call it. You need to be aware of your buddies’ limits as well. Have a motion to not go further if you need to. Like a safe word for underwater.”
Mags stepped over to me with a hesitant smile. I smiled back. “Ready for this?”
She nodded. “I’m pretty excited.”
The instructor went over the equipment one more time before allowing us to jump in the water. Mags reached out and grabbed my hand, sending tingles through me. “Let’s do this.”
We bent our knees and jumped into the cool sea. Our bodies broke the surface of the water and swam up. The water moved around our limbs in swirls, creating a buoyancy. We put our masks on and checked our equipment before starting to descend.
The water was exceptionally clear this far out in the ocean. It was impossible to gauge the depth. Our group stayed within the same area, and following Ray’s lead, we descended a hundred feet to the bottom.
At the bottom of the sea, it was bewitching, like being in a different world. Schools of bright-hued fish and strange sea flowers decorated the sand floor. This deep in the sea, even with the wet suit, I could feel the temperature of the water drop.
My body had no weight. I could glide in any direction without fear of falling. My senses were altered; the sounds were lazy and the light was gentle. And what could I think about during the new experience? Not exploring the bottom of the sea but exploring the body of the woman in front of me. Mags moved her limbs against the water, and her hair moved behind her. She was a goddess, and I wanted to worship the woman in the one way I knew I could.
She pointed down toward something, and I followed her gaze. In the beam of my headlight, the coral was dusky pink with pale blue nodules. A smile broke under my mask, which was hard with the mouthpiece.
The coral was brimming with seahorses. Their angled heads and tubular mouths bobbed and swayed in the current. Their transparent fins moved in waving motions. We waved our arms to signal the others. They swam over to us and the instructor pulled out a camera, snapping some photos of the seahorses.
As we were engrossed with them, a dolphin made an appearance. He had a shiny grey topside and whiter underbelly. He swam close to us and Ray held out a hand. The dolphin nuzzled it and swam around to demand pets from all of us. I could see the happiness in Mags’ eyes as she touched the slick skin of the Dolphin.
A few moments later, the Dolphin swam away, and Ray signaled for us to follow him back to the surface. We stopped every thirty feet with him before reaching the surface.
Once we broke through the water, we boarded the boat. I tore off my mask and sucked the oxygen in. “That was fucking awesome.”
Ray chuckled. “I love this job.”
Eve struck up a conversation with him as he had the captain of the boat head back to the mainland. I was happy to see her relaxing.
Mags still had a sense of wonder in her eyes as she gazed out at the ocean. “That was the coolest thing ever.”
I nodded. “It really was. Too bad Declan missed it.”
Her eyes shifted to me, and she smiled. “He left, Luca.”
My heart swelled at her words. Relief swam through me, but I pulled the reins in. I didn’t know why he’d left, but the last thing I needed was to be relieved.
I tilted my head. “Left the resort?”
She nodded. “It was best that we stopped exploring the relationship. He felt like I didn’t have room in my heart for him, and he wasn’t sure if he had room for me either.”
I ran a hand through my wet hair. “What did he mean by your heart not having room for him?”
She sighed, staring back at the ocean. “You’re not the type of guy I’d usually go for.”
I choked on my breath. “What?”
“For starters, you’ve got black hair, and I've always liked blonds. I lust after brown-eyed men with a handle on the world of business. You’re a blue-eyed player that saves lives in the ER.” She twisted her wet hair up in a bun.
I scoffed. “I’m not a player.”
She side-eyed me. “You played me.”
