“That’s not possible.”
“It is,” I insist. “I’ve been so busy chasing the past and the future that the present’s absolutely slipped me by.”
And as if he can read my mind, Nico says, “You’re about to jump in, aren’t you.”
I grin. “You bet I am.” Before I can chicken out, and before it gets any brighter, I peel off one article of clothing after the next. I get down to my bra and panties and hesitate. What am I doing? Isn’t this exactly how I got myself in trouble last time? Except Nico is not Wes, not at all, not even close. Maybe it’s Italy, maybe it’s the water, or maybeit’s Nico and the fact that our moments together are so very fleeting.Fuck it, I tell myself.
I take it all off.
I unhinge my bra and peel off my panties, standing straight up on the back of the boat, completely naked. This new version of me is bold and confident and only a tiny bit terrified. I shoot one glance at a shocked Nico before swan diving into the placid water.
CHAPTER 41
The deep blue water isice the instant I plunge in. Oh myGodis it cold. I break through the surface and slick my hair back from my face, shivering as my body tries to warm up. Soon, though, the pins and needles subside to a full-body numbness that feels good. Rejuvenatingly fountain-of-youth good. “Are you coming in?” I shout.
“This is your thing, Soraya.” Nico looks amused, averting his eyes, despite all of my nakedness being fully concealed beneath the water.
“Come on,” I prod. “How many times can you say you’ve skinny-dipped in the Mediterranean with an American girl?”
Nico looks around at the vast and desolate sea. “Well, shit.” He hesitates for only a minute before he peels off his shirt, then his shorts and his boxers. I look away despite the darkness, but I still flush hot as his last article of clothing comes off. Nico does a somersault off the end of the boat, landing close enough to me that water sprays into my face. It’s intentional and show-offy in the same way asa second grade boy tugging on pigtails to get you to look at him, and I bite back a smile.
His head pops up through the surface and he’s so close to me I can feel the vibration of the water moving as he treads. “Well, you did it. You’re fully in the Mediterranean. Did it live up to the hype?”
“It’s pretty cold,” I say between chattering teeth. “But not in a bad way. I’ve never felt more alive.”
“Hmm.” Nico looks around. “If you really want to feel alive, you should follow me.” He starts swimming. “I have something to show you.”
He hasn’t led me astray so far. I follow until we’re right up against the large rock formation, bobbing up and down outside a curved hole in the stone, like the opening to a cave.
“Come in,” he says. “Watch your head.” He ducks beneath the entryway and is soon gone.
I’m close behind, lowering my head as I pass through the opening that can hardly be more than a few feet above the water. Behind Nico is an expanse so blue it nearly glows neon. “Oh my God. What is this place?” My voice echoes off the cave walls.
“The Blue Grotto,” Nico says. “Technically the laws state you aren’t supposed to swim inside. But it’s worth it, wouldn’t you say?”
“This isillegal? Do you not realize Ijustgot out of jail?”
“Eh. I know people.” Nico winks with a shit-eating grin. And, well, I did witness the truth of that statement mere hours ago.
“This can’t be real.” I rotate a full 360 degrees to take it all in. Somehow, in the middle of the Mediterranean, there is this magical pool of radiant blue water inside a sea cave. It’s a lot bigger on the inside, and it feels like we’ve stumbled upon a hidden wonder of the world.
“It’s even better in full sun, if you can believe it,” Nico says.
“What makes it such a brilliant blue?” I stare at my hand under the water and rotate it from side to side, marveling at how not only the water but even my hand looks like it’s been dipped in glitter.
“I’m not sure exactly, but it has something to do with the way sunlight reflects through that opening and some other openings in the rock beneath the water’s surface. One of nature’s little miracles. There are others like this too, some blue and others green. Can you imagine?”
“It’s breathtaking. I can’t even put it into words.” As the world wakes, this won’t be our own secret place anymore. We will have to share it with the tourists and the boat drivers who make loops through the cave for ten euro a seat. But for this one moment, just as the sun rises, all of this is just for us. I stare at Nico, and I don’t want to look away from the intensity of his gaze.
“You never answered me,” Nico says, his voice low and deep. “Earlier, on the boat.”
Nico doesn’t have to ask his question again. We both know what I left unanswered. A simple yes or no won’t do. It’s better, I’ve learned, to show people how you feelwith your actions instead of your words. I dive below the water, pushing through the steady rock of the waves to get to him. With all the light in the water I wonder how much of me he can see, and how clearly, but then I don’t have time to think about it for much longer because I’m breaking through the surface, gasping for breath, and grabbing on to Nico to steady myself.
He is close, so close—much closer than all the furtive touches and stolen glances, and much better than those had been too, because I’m wrapping the length of my legs against his waist so I can feel just about all of him when he snakes an arm around my waist. And then I take his face between my hands and kiss him right on the lips.
CHAPTER 42
It is admittedly a littleawkward. It’s not the easiest thing to make out while you’re treading water and completely naked. My arms are wrapped around Nico’s neck and he’s holding on to the side of the grotto wall with the hand that isn’t around my waist. But I’ve been waiting so long to kiss him. I realize now, a lifetime. And that makes it more perfect than any movie scene. His lips are soft and pliant and despite the cold of the water, there is warmth spreading to every part of my body, making my skin buzz and tingle with anticipation.
