Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 89324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 447(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 298(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 447(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 298(@300wpm)
The instructor got us suited into lifejackets before the boat took off.
“Now is probably not a good time to mention that I get seasick,” I yelled over the motor.
“There’s a lot you keep under wraps until inopportune moments,” Tate shouted. “What made you go helmet diving if you have a tendency to get seasick?”
“I wanted to challenge myself. That, and it was the only available excursion. I was sort of looking for a distraction after a botched hookup with some old dude earlier.”
“You shouldn’t be hooking up with older men who want to take advantage of you anyway.”
“You’re basically warning me against men like yourself?”
“Yeah.” He nodded. “I am.”
“That’s great.” I chuckled.
“What the hell are you doing here alone anyway?” he asked.
“I’m nineteen, not twelve.”
“That’s beside the point. Most people go on vacation with a group.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Why are you here alone?”
“I needed to get away and reevaluate my life. This isn’t about excursions or adventure for me. It’s about taking time off from the daily grind to figure out my next move.”
I tilted my head. “And you came to the conclusion that a one-night stand with me was the answer?”
“That was a moment of weakness and boredom, and thankfully, in the end I used the right head when determining what to do with you, which was walk the fuck away.”
I rolled my eyes.
He crossed his arms. “I told you why I was here… Now you have to tell me why you’re here.”
“I just went through a bad breakup and needed to get away from the scene of the crime.”
“Pretty expensive getaway.”
“A friend gifted me the trip.”
“That sounds like a nice friend you got there.”
“I needed to get as far away from home as possible for a week.”
“Where’s home?” he asked.
“Western Massachusetts. You?”
“Texas right now,” he said. “Has being away helped you?”
“I think it has, actually.”
“But you found yourself feeling lonely earlier?”
I looked into his eyes. “Lonely isn’t exactly the right word for what I was feeling when I went on the app.”
“I see.” He grinned mischievously. “Well, probably wasn’t a good idea looking for a solution to loneliness on a hookup app.”
“Yeah, it’s a good thing the old man I chose turned out to be a fuddy duddy,” I teased.
Tate shook his head. “Who uses words like fuddy duddy at your age? You’re not very cool, Doris-Delores.”
I laughed, and he smiled. Tate’s white teeth gleamed, his eyes almost glowing beneath his baseball cap. I sighed. The hat really worked for him. But almost anything would look good on that chiseled face.
I can’t believe how close I came to having it between my legs. My mind was not a team player. Stop it, Blair. He’s not into you, and you have to get over it.
The boat stilled, and Pete turned to face us. “Okay, folks. Given that it’s just the two of you, I’m gonna suggest that you stick together down there and try to put your bickering aside long enough to enjoy the dive.”
“This should be interesting,” I muttered.
He then geared us up, placing the gigantic helmets over our heads.
“I’m a little scared,” I told Tate.
“Well, you’re lucky I’ve done this many times before. Stick with me, and you’ll be fine.”
“You guys have underwater mics built in to the helmets so you can communicate,” Pete said.
“Oh joy.” I rolled my eyes. While I was pretending to be annoyed, I was certainly grateful that I wasn’t doing this alone.
My pulse raced as I looked down into the great unknown. As I lowered myself into the water, the helmet felt overwhelming. But once the water helped manage its weight, things got better. By the time we’d reached the bottom, I’d begun to forget my worries as dozens of colorful fish surrounded us. It was unlike anything I’d experienced before.
“Oh my God. This is so freaking amazing.” My voice sounded kind of robotic under here.
“It is,” Tate agreed, his tone muffled. “Gets me every time.”
“Clearly there are plenty of fish in the sea, Tate. You don’t have to resort to picking up women you deem too young.”
“Sadly, I still find you the prettiest.”
Well, well, well. Could you see someone blush under water? “Are you actually complimenting me?”
“You’re a lot of things, Doris-Delores, but unattractive ain’t one of ’em. And I’m positive I don’t need to tell you that.”
I waded over to the reef. When I turned, I found Tate right behind me, smiling beneath his helmet. We were surrounded by colorful fish that wove in and out of the space between us.
One of them swam over to Tate and looked like it was trying to kiss him through his helmet. It wouldn’t leave him alone.
“What the fuck?” He laughed.
“She likes you. She has poor judgment, like me. She’ll find out soon enough that you’re a curmudgeon.”
He spat. “Oh my God. It’s aiming for my mouth. Imagine if there was no barrier?”