“So I’ll see you later,” I throw out, my voice rising in pitch at the end, then turn on my heels and flee.
Perfect. I’m desperately thankful I kept my mouth shut all day. I have no idea where we stand on tonight, but I can’t ruin our working relationship—I’m looking forward to Sweetie’s release tomorrow morning, and the last thing I want is for things to get awkward between us. If it ends up only being one night, then so be it.
God, I realize,he’s the only man I’ve been with besides David in years. No wonder I’m having problems keeping it cool. I’m not a one night stand kind of girl, but I’m not sure if I can be a casual island girl either. This is a bigger mess than I thought.
Walking into The Local feels a bit like coming home. My friends greet me with shouts and smiles and a bucket of Bintang. Iswallow half a bottle in one gulp. I need a distraction from sexy Aussie dive instructors or I’m going to lose my mind.
But if I thought I’d find peace with my friends, I was sadly mistaken.
“So where were you last night?” Mason asks with a mischievous grin.
I shoot Juliette a look, but she throws up her hands. “I said nothing!”
Everyone laughs and I take another big sip of beer, nearly draining the bottle.
“Nowhere! Just enjoying paradise. A month feels like a long time, but it’ll be gone in the blink of an eye. I’ll sleep when I’m dead,” I say, and everyone clinks their bottles to that.
“She’s right. We’re almost done with our internship. Next week, we’ll both be certified dive instructors!” Juliette grins, punching Mason playfully.
He rubs his arm as I fish another beer out of the rapidly melting bucket of ice.
“It won’t be official until you pass the snorkel test though,” Victoria says knowingly.
“What’s that?” I ask.
“You’ll see next weekend.” Thomas winks. “The party should be great.”
“Better or worse than the pub crawl on Gili T?” Juliette asks.
“Oh, I’ve heard of that!” I say. “I think I saw some flyers for it around the island.”
“I keep forgetting you’re so fresh.” Mason says. “I’ve been here almost three months, and it just feels like you’re part of the fam.”
I feel warm all over. I surreptitiously dab at my eyes. Here I am, obsessing about more boy-drama. It touches me deeply that I fit in here and they accepted me so quickly.
“We’ll hit up the pub crawl after the Divemaster ceremony. It’s an unofficial requirement for certification. It takes a few months and a lot of dives.”
“Including a naked dive,” Juliette winks.
“What?” I shout, laughing. I try to imagine being underwater in my BCD, strapped to my tank, completely naked.
“It’s a tradition for your 100th dive.” That rough, gravelly voice makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Before I can turn and take him in, his arms are around my neck and he presses a rough, scratchy kiss to my cheek. I turn as red as a tomato as the faces around me become wide-eyed in surprise. “It’s a rite of passage.”
“Mine is coming up, but I’m a little nervous,” Juliette says, clearly keeping the conversation moving to give us a moment. My heart swells in gratitude for her as Steven claims the bench beside me.
“Hey.” He captures my lips with his. He tastes of salt and sun and when his tongue pushes gently against me, my lips part, drinking him in. “I’ve been waiting to do that all day,” he says when we finally break apart.
I feel it all the way to my toes. I feel at home here. Safe, accepted, wanted. Part of the family. Part of his life. I would have been content to remain his dirty little secret and not upset the fragilebalance of our small island life, but that kiss felt like a claim. And I feel like a prize.
The tension falls from my shoulders as I relax against him and rejoin the conversation. My friends are obviously surprised but they’re tactful enough to bite their tongues. For now. I’m sure I’ll hear all about it later when they aren’t afraid of pissing off their grumpy boss. I wonder if Victoria can relate to this feeling of being in the spotlight. She and Mike often disappear around the same time.
Over the next two hours, Steven is never out of reach. His hands rest on my thighs or tangle with my fingers. He laughs loudly and unselfconsciously and it makes my core burn hot to see him so animated. Where is the surly, silent man of the past week? It’s like yesterday and last night, we pushed past some wall he’d put up to hold me and everyone out. Now that he’s free, it’s like sunlight breaking through the clouds. He’s beautiful.
Maybe I should be annoyed that a man is publicly staking a claim to me so soon after my break up with David, but tell that to my heart. I feel treasured.
I’ve never put it into words before, but being with David felt normal. Inevitable. Just like every step in my life has been carefully planned.
But Steven feels spontaneous. Surprising. He treats me like someone he’s proud to be seen with. Someone he doesn’t want to lose.
