“Oh, now you’re scared?” Othello teases from beside me.
“Shush! Give me a minute,” I scold him playfully. The wind whips through my locs, and I feel Othello take my hand, his fingers sliding between my own.
“We jump on three,” he says. He squeezes my hand. “I got you.”
And suddenly I’m transported back to the plane when Othello held my hand during takeoff. A flutter moves through my stomach, and it has nothing to do with my nerves or this jump. I shiver as we both look out at the rippling aquamarine water.
“One…two…”
On three, we jump. I scream a blood-curdling scream. My stomach drops from the fall, but Othello never lets go of my hand. Not even when we hit the water.
We resurface laughing hard. He’s still holding my hand when he pulls me against him while everyone on the yacht cheers overhead.
We swim to the ladder on the side of the boat and pull ourselves back up onto the deck. A deckhand is waiting there for us with oversized towels. Othello takes one and wraps itaround me, rubbing my shoulders up and down and kissing my forehead.
“You good?” he asks.
“Yeah, I’m good. I want to do it again.”
And we do. Over and over. Until I finally wear myself out. I take my towel and lay it across the seat on one of the empty lounge chairs situated between Carina and Danielle before lying back in it. My canvas bag is already placed right beside it, and I pull out my sunglasses and perch them on my nose.
“You swim like a mermaid,” I tell Danielle.
“I was on the swim team for 10 years,” she says confidently. I watch her lather her sepia-colored skin with more suntan lotion.
“Nice.”
Another crew member brings over a tray of frothy peach drinks, and I eagerly grab one, ready to quench my thirst. I look over and see Othello talking with the guys, but his gaze keeps drifting back to me. When he catches me looking, a slow smile spreads across his dangerously handsome face.
Carina scoffs. “That man has been watching you like a security guard all afternoon. What did you do to him?”
An uncomfortable laugh escapes me because I didn’t realize anyone else had noticed the way Othello and I were ogling each other.
I realize Danielle is peering at me over the rim of Versace sunglasses, waiting for my response.
“Oh, nothing,” I shrug my answer.
“I love a fresh, brand new relationship. It’s always like being bitten by the love bug when it’s new,” Danielle says.
“New relationships really are the best,” Jayla beams. “Which is why I give it three months tops before I fizzle out and make up an excuse to end things.”
Lety looks over, disgusted. “Why would you do that?”
“Because relationships are boring when you get comfortable.”
Carina grunts. “When me and Othello were new, he never looked at me that way.” And then, as if she’s in a daze, she says, “He really likes you, Marley.
“Yeah, so now you can stop saying their relationship is fake,” Danielle quips, settling back in her lounge chair and looking up at the sun. I almost choke on my drink.
“What?” I gag.
“Yeah, she thinks Othello is doing shit to get back at her and Gavin. As if he gives a shit. Clearly, he’s moved on.”
“Why would you think it was fake?” I ask. The question comes out strangled and wavering. I suddenly feel nauseous, and it has nothing to do with the boat's sway. Did we not look convincing enough? Or did Carina simply know Othello well enough to recognize when something between him and another person was real?
“Because Carina is conceited as fuck and thinks everything is about her,” Danielle answers.
“Yeah, well it was just so odd. Sure, Othello is private and keeps to himself, but relationships?” She blows a raspberry. “He doesn’t get out much to have them.”
