‘Uh, sure.’
He doesn’t change, seeing as he wore his blue swim shorts aboard. We walk to the edge of the boat, looking down at the water where the rest of our boat party bob.
‘Shall we jump?’
‘Okay.’
Sam looks at my T-shirt, the shorts that are hiding my Speedos.
‘Going in like that?’
‘What? Oh, no.’
This is it, then. My sexy swimwear for Ollie, about to be seen by Sam.
First my T-shirt comes off. I take a breath before bending over to take off my shorts, and then standing before Sam in all my tight, red swim brief glory.
He drinks me in, painfully slow. Eyes linger on my arm, on my chest, on my clavicle. I’m certain he eyed my Speedos, the indentation in the fabric. He reaches out a hand.
‘On three?’
‘You were serious about jumping?’
‘Aye, off the plank.’ The pirate’s voice makes me jolt.
‘I guess we have to have an authentic pirate boat experience,’ Sam concedes. ‘Show us to the plank.’
Using the flimsy swords, they prod us to the far end of the ship, where a very real-looking plank wobbles over the water.
‘Ye must go together, scallywags,’ the pirate says.
‘What did you just call us?’ I say, mock-indignant.
Sam, gripping my hand with his strong yet soft one, steps onto the plank. As he pulls me with him, I let my fingers trace the indents in his skin around his knuckles. Feeling the brush of the hair on his hand triggers something inside me. What does my hand feel like to him?
‘If ye do not jump, ye shall lose your head,’ the pirate says, perched safely behind us, blocking our way back on board. All around us is air and calmly rippling sea.
The plank wobbles, making me sway, and before I can do anything to steady my nerves, the balance betrays me.
Sam, gripping tightly, yelps, and together we tumble into the ocean.
The shock of water on my warm skin almost has me gasping, but I hold my breath and breathe out of my nose. Sam’s hand leaves mine, an anchor severed from its ship. Slightly disoriented, floating in the ocean, feeling the cool water caress my skin, I wait until my body brings me to the surface.
With a gasp, I take a grateful lungful of air.
‘Argh,’ the pirate yells, before disappearing out of view.
Sam laughs, his hair slicked back.
‘That was fun.’
‘Super fun.’
Sam swims towards me, closer, all sea salt skin and golden hair. Now that the fall is over, there’s nothing but calm sea.
‘I like your Speedos.’
Oh God. So, he did notice.
