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"Just keep breathing." Cayman’s voice was encouraging and without the slightest trace of judgment. "Now, I’m going to get you to lean forward and place your head into the water. I’ll hold you by your midsection so that you will float. That’s it. Easy-peasy, right?"
I kept breathing through the mouthpiece and tried to echo "easy-peasy" back to him, but it came out all weird and muffled.
His lips swerved up in a smile. "If anything goes wrong, or you feel uncomfortable, or you just want to stop for any reason"—he really emphasized those last three words—"just give me a tap, okay? I’m right here next to you."
In lieu of words, I gave a totally cheesy thumbs-up instead.
Super smooth move.
But I didn’t care. I was happy and about to do something I’d never done before in my life. And if Cayman didn’t care what people thought, then I was going to do the same and allow myself to enjoy the experience.
And that’s exactly what I did.
I leaned forward, and true to his word, Cayman’s strong hands gripped me just above my hips. My head dipped just below the surface of the water. It took only a few moments for the weight to even out along my body, and there I was, snorkeling.
Floating.
Drifting.
Soaring
With Cayman’s strong fingers pressing into my flesh. I summoned all my willpower as I forced thoughts of fingers pressing into other flesh out of my mind and took in the ocean floor.
In all honesty, there wasn’t anything to look at since we were literally only about ten feet out from the shore. This wasn't the Great Barrier Reef, but I could see the sand as it skimmed underneath the gentle waves above it. More interestingly, I spotted a small tattoo on Cayman’s left ankle, but I couldn’t make out what it was. I’d have to ask him about it later.
But for now, I was thrilled with the fact that I. Was. Snorkeling!
And the best part?
Despite wearing a thick wetsuit and being submerged underwater, the feeling that coursed through my body was unmissable and unmistakable. My skin was practically on fire, prickling with the sweetest heat I had ever felt.
And in that moment, while I was floating there with him gripping the sides of my body and keeping me safe, I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that I was falling for Cayman.
9
CAYMAN
"You really didn’t have to do this," I insisted for the fourth time since we’d arrived at Elysian’s fine dining restaurant, perched overlooking the sea.
"I know, but I wanted to say thanks. I had an amazing time with you today, Cayman."
My heart spun in cartwheels as I let Mitchell’s words wash over me like a waterfall.
He looked out into the gorgeous view of the Gulf of Mexico that proved to be the most spectacular backdrop for our evening date and the perfect culmination to a truly wonderful day with him. The ocean breeze swooshed the air around us lightly, making the moment feel even more heavenly.
I could see by the tension written all across his face how nervous he had been about snorkeling. Never in a million years did it even cross my mind that he didn’t know how to swim. I supposed I just assumed he could since we had met in a pool.
But then, as he assessed me mentally and decided to take the plunge—both literally and figuratively—trusting me to hold him in the shallow water while he snorkeled, it did something crazy to my insides.
I’d always chased the unattainable. Guys who were aloof, mysterious, heck, even kinda shitty, really. I did it because their walls let me hide behind all of the shields I had set up around my heart as well. But when someone broke through one of their fears in front of you—because of you—well, that right there was some next-level goodness.
Miguel had been right. Now that I’d have my first taste of a nice guy, there was no way I could ever go back to chasing bad boys. And the tiny taste I’d had of Mitchell left me wanting a whole lot more of his niceness.
With maybe a dash of naughty thrown in for good measure.
"I had a good time with you, too, Mitchell." I paused as the server returned with our appetizer (we’d decided to share the scallops). "And let me say thank you for this amazing dinner. For the fifth and final time, you really didn’t have to go to all this trouble for me."
"And for the fifth and final time, I know. I wanted to."
