“Oh, come on, Jules,” Lacey murmured to me between giggles. “It’s kind of cute. And he’s not wrong.”
Eli was already moving on, outlining buoyancy control techniques with a series of exaggerated gestures that hadthe group in stitches. Despite myself, I found the corner of my mouth twitching upward.
“And remember,” Eli added. “If you start to feel overwhelmed, just channel your inner Captain Nemo. Though maybe skip the part about battling giant squids.”
I couldn’t hold back a snort. “I’m pretty sure we’re fresh out of krakens in the resort pool.”
“Never underestimate the perils of the deep end,” he shot back, grinning. “You never know where a rogue pool noodle might be lurking.”
As Daniel and Randy burst into laughter, a smile raised my lips. Eli’s enthusiasm was infectious, and even I couldn’t maintain my professional façade in the face of his ridiculous antics.
“All right, all right,” I said, turning to my disassembled scuba kit lying on the pool deck. “Fewer squid jokes, more actual instruction. How do you actually breathe off this thing?”
He moved over to demonstrate how to put the contraption together, making it look easy. All four of us just gaped.
I folded my arms. “You’d better go over that again. Slower this time, Coleridge.”
I slippedbeneath the pool surface, the water enveloping me as I tried to focus on Eli. We settled on our knees in a semicircle around him in about six feet of water. The regulator felt alien in my mouth, a constant reminder that this wasn’t my natural element. But I couldn’t suppress the thrill—I was breathing underwater!
As Eli demonstrated the proper technique for regulator recovery, I felt a spark of the old rush I used to get from trying new things. He let the mouthpiece fall from his mouth to his side, then made a long sweeping stroke withhis right arm to lift the long hose up, following the tube to the mouthpiece with his hand. Tapping it deliberately, he pressed the purge button to dispel the accumulated water with air from the tank before placing it in his mouth and taking a breath. His entire ballet of movement looked as effortless as… well, breathing.
Eli motioned for me to give it a try. I took a deep breath, steeling myself, then deliberately let the regulator slip from my mouth. Panic flared instantly as I fumbled to recover it, my fingers clumsy and uncoordinated. My lungs immediately reminded me I was in water, not air. Just as I was about to surface in defeat, a strong hand grasped mine, guiding the purged regulator back to my mouth.
Eli’s eyes met mine, crinkling at the corners in a reassuring smile. There was no trace of his usual cockiness now. He gave me an okay signal, his touch on my shoulder somehow reassuring and not irritating. I nodded, my heartbeat slowing as I took a few deep breaths.
As we surfaced, I couldn’t help but laugh, the tension dissolving as I pushed wet hair from my face. “Well, that was graceful. I think I just redefined flailing. Time for a new nickname, I guess.”
“Nah.” Eli grinned, standing before me. “You should’ve seen me when I first started. I looked like a cat trying to escape a bathtub.”
I snorted, picturing the image. “Now that I’d pay to see.”
“Sorry, Jules.” He winked. “That footage is locked in the Coleridge family vault, never to see the light of day.”
As I laughed in response, I realized with a jolt that I was actually enjoying Eli’s company. The charming troublemaker act was still there, but beneath it, I caught glimpses of genuine passion and expertise. His teasing andjoking were reassuring and put us all at ease, and his competence was obvious. It was intriguing.
“Ready to give it another shot?” Eli asked, his voice gentler than I’d ever heard it.
I nodded. “Might as well. Can’t let a little water get the best of me, right?”
“That’s the spirit, Captain Nemo,” he said, his smile warm. “Trust me, you’ve got this.”
And as we submerged again, I was surprised to find that I did trust him, at least in this.
When the group surfaced after the next skill, Eli moved to work with Daniel. A splash and a muffled cry drew my attention. Lacey was flailing to find her feet, her mask askew and the regulator bobbing just out of reach. Her eyes were wide.
I swam over, my own nerves forgotten. “Hey, easy there,” I said, steadying her. “You’re okay. Let’s fix that mask.”
Lacey clung to me, gasping. “I-I can’t—Jules. I’m not so good at this.”
“Shh, you’re fine,” I soothed, adjusting her mask. “Deep breaths. Remember what Eli said about the mask? Just get used to the water in it, exhale through your nose, and clear it.”
She nodded. I pantomimed the motion, and when she nodded again, this time it was a little more confident.
I smiled. “You’ve got this, Lace.” As Lacey calmed, warmth spread through my chest. I caught Eli’s eye, who was watching carefully from afar, and he gave me a subtle nod of approval.
The rest of the session flew by. Before I knew it, Lacey, Daniel, and Randy were climbing out of the pool as I stood in the shallow end in the heavy gear and inspected the second stage of my regulator more closely.
“So,” Eli said, shaking the water out of his wet hair. “How’d it feel?”
