‘Like I just did, you mean? Yes! It’s very much deep enough. Completely safe.’And I was completely in charge.‘Are you ready? One, two, three, GO!’
I held my nose and scrunched my eyes shut, leaping out towards him. Anticipating ten seconds of ice-cold hell before I’d be allowed to wrestle myself back onto dry land. But I hit the water and it was… warm. It was bloody gorgeous, in fact. I’d been faffing about, freezing my tits off while Henrik had been luxuriating in a hot bath. I bobbed to the surface and took a deep breath.
‘It’s hot!’ I gasped, treading water like a happy Labrador, my skin tingling all over.
Henrik frowned. ‘Yes – obviously. I wouldn’t still be in here if it wasn’t.’
‘You tricked me!’ I splashed him and he laughed, a sound I was finding I couldn’t get enough of. The water felt warmer than it had been in Greece. Or maybe the temperature contrast made it seem that way. And it was so clean and fresh. That’d teach me to judge by appearances. ‘How did you even find this place?’
‘MorandPappaused to bring us here when we were little, if we were good.’
‘And were you good?’
He laughed. ‘We were very, very good.’
‘Yeah right. I bet you and Jonas were an absolute nightmare as kids,’ I said, closing my eyes and trying to float. ‘Your poor mum.’ There was silence as the water lapped around us, doing its thing.
‘Yeah,’ Henrik said, sighing.
My eyes flew open. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean…’
‘It’s fine,’ he said. ‘You’re not wrong. We were a nightmare.’
‘What would I know? I’m sure she was hugely proud of you both.’ He stared straight ahead then shrugged. ‘Has she been gone a long time?’
Henrik shook his head. ‘Three years in December. The 22nd, so Christmas is always difficult.’
‘Was it… sudden?’ I didn’t want to pry. Well, just enough so I didn’t keep putting my foot in it. And I wanted Henrik to know that he could talk to me, if he wanted.
‘No. Which I’m grateful for, selfishly. We all had plenty of time to say goodbye.’
I didn’t know what to say to that. The thought of saying goodbye to my mum and knowing it would be the last time I’d ever see her was heartbreaking. I paddled over and hugged him tight, in case that might help, then left him to his thoughts, swimming to the other side of the lake.
Patches of labradorite twinkled in the rock, and the birds were singing their hearts out as the sun began to appear. I practised my backstroke up and down the lake then made my way back to Henrik. The sky was vast and clear, and the stars were somehow still visible as I propelled myself through the water. A permanent reminder of how tiny we all were. Insignificant grains of sand on a vast beach of universe. The water was silky-soft, and I felt at one with nature as I cut through it, gliding back to Henrik, who was lying nestled in the rocks.
‘I’ve found a water jet,’ he said, taking my hand and reeling me in. Thermal streams were firing from all angles, and the more I tried to resist the flow, the more it pushed me into Henrik’s lap. I gave up and let it drag me in backwards, spinning me round at the last second so we were face to face.
‘Heyyy, smooth move. No need to jump on me though, I think we’ve established I’m interested.’ He watched in bemusement as I tried to back up, thrashing about and going nowhere.
‘It was… not… a move…’ I said, fighting against it for a few seconds before giving in. There were worse positions to be in than jacuzzi-ing with a Norwegian hunk.
‘Well, this is,’ Henrik said, leaning in to kiss me. Our bodies glued themselves together, and his kiss was slow and deliberate, making me tremble with anticipation. His expression turned dark with desire as his lips teased me, biting and kissing my neck.
‘Do you like that?’ he whispered as I quivered beneath his hands.
I moaned into his hair and wrapped my legs around him tight as we kissed deeper and harder, lost in each other as the jets gently gushed around us. We stopped, breathless, and swayed in each other’s arms. His hands had woken up my body and I was hungry for more, but the muffled bleating of a mobile phonedisturbed the peace. Henrik had an ancient Nokia, and the tune was straight out of the noughties. He didn’t move a muscle.
‘No interest?’ I asked as it started ringing a second time.
‘Not when I’m here with you. Tore is the only one who ever calls,’ he said dismissively. ‘Jonas sends a text.’
‘What if it’s an emergency?’
‘It isn’t. He’ll be confirming the boat for this evening. The one your man is on.’
‘My man?’ I said, confused. ‘Oh! You mean Mark? He’s not my man anymore.’
‘More yours than mine,’ he said, giving me a nudge.
