“That’s it, after these drinks I’m telling Jake to go back to Gili T. This date’s a dud. We can find our own fun.”
I can’t pretend to be disappointed. After chugging their beers, Jake and Gavin start talking about a backflip contest down on the beach and Eva breaks the news.
“No sweat, Gav and I might hit up the pub crawl then.”
“It’s even bigger than the one in Koh Tao,” Gavin says confidently, as if this information will mean something to us. “In Thailand,” he adds.
“Text me if you change your mind.” Jake pulls Eva in for a deep kiss while Gavin and I look away awkwardly. “And let me know when you get your ferry tickets. I want to see you off at the airport.”
“That’s pretty romantic,” I sigh as they leave. “He wants to sit through several hours of traffic just to kiss you goodbye.”
“He’s a sweetheart.” Eva’s small smile says it all.
“He only lives a few hours away. You guys could make it work.” I nudge her with my elbow. “If it’s really love, the distance won’t matter.”
“Listen to you, becoming a hopeless romantic.” I blush. “At least we know he’s got his passport.”
I groan. “Too soon.”
The crowd in the bar has thinned out some. Steven has disappeared along with the dozens of trash bags we’d filled, not that I’m purposely keeping tabs on him. I just have this awareness of him like something stuck in my tooth—I can’t quit tonguing it.
In the corner is a table of blue shirts—volunteers from the Sanctuary. I think I recognize Thomas’s orange curls.
“Can we go chat with them? I want to hear more about the sanctuary.”
“And more about a certain somebody?” She raises her eyebrows.
Eva and I join the table where Thomas is three beers deep and ranting about the logistics of waste removal on a tiny island with a charming slur to his words.
“Steven organized another clean-up dive in the morning, are you on it?” At the sound of his name, my head whips around. Two volunteers in their mid-twenties, a handsome dark-skinned boy and the French girl from earlier, are sitting at the far end of the table pouring beer from a pitcher.
“Yeah, 5 AM start, so this has got to be my last one.” The boy grins, clinking his glass against the edge of hers.
“Oof,” the girl winces. “I do not envy you. I am teaching Open Water at 10.”
A little tipsy myself, I scoot closer, curious about what sort of work the volunteers do, and shamelessly desperate to hear more about Steven.
“Are you both scuba divers?” I ask, inserting myself into the conversation with a tilt of my foamy beer. They clink their cups against mine.
“Yes, we’re training to be instructors. I am Juliette.” The girl shakes my hand.
“I’m Mason. California.” He takes a long sip of his beer. “Steven, the Master Diver here, is amazing. He knows so much about the local fauna and his work on restoring the coral reefs is impressive.”
“He’s an inspiration,” Juliette sighs.
She’s clearly into him. Maybe she’s the reason he wants nothing to do with me. “What does it take to get certified?” I ask, an uncomfortable feeling twisting in my gut.
“It’s a three day course. There’s some reading, some quizzes, and we do some training in the pool before the actual dives. Have you ever been snorkeling?” Mason asks.
“A few times. But I’ve always been curious about scuba. It seems complicated.”
“It’s like nothing else in the world,” Mason says, brown eyes wide with wonder, if a little glazed from alcohol.
“How long will you be on the island?” Juliette suddenly grabs one of my hands between her own.
“My friend Eva and I are taking the ferry back to the mainland on Thursday,” I say, pointing to where she and Thomas are sharing their love for applied statistics. It’s only four days away now.
“You simply must join my class tomorrow!” Juliette gives a little hiccup as she bounces excitedly. “Diving will change your life! I swear it!”
