Page 13 of Tequila Lime and Sunshine

The place is only a ten-minute walk from the resort, so we’re right on time. I take a picture of the building for my blog before going inside.

I walk up to the front desk. “Hi, I’ve got a reservation for four under Summer Leonard.”

The lady at the front smiles. “Sí, sí. This way.” She has us all sign a waiver before selecting our life vests, fins, goggles, and snorkels.

The way this tour works is that each group has its own speed boat, and we follow the guide until we get to the spot where we snorkel. Holden and Hawke listen to the guide go over how to drive the boat before we pile in.

When Hawke jumps in the driver’s seat, Carly and Holden get in the back, so I guess I’m sitting up front with Hawke.

He looks like a natural behind the wheel of this boat. He takes off after the guide and increases the speed once we’re away from the port. I can tell he’s enjoying this. Taking out my phone, I start recording a video of the ride to post to my stories later. I capture the mangrove trees as we move through a national park. My camera pans around to the other side of the boat. Hawke has a huge smile on his face as he whips us around a bend. His hair is blowing in the wind, and he lets out a loud whoop as the boat flies over a wave. It’s kind of adorable, and I smile as I watch him.

He notices me videoing him, turns to me, and says, “You like what you see?”

I laugh, but I don’t answer. The truth is, I do kinda like what I see. He’s very attractive. His tanned muscles are on display, his chiseled jaw perfectly fits his face, and his lips look thoroughly kissable, which is a scary thought. This is my childhood friend turned egotistical womanizer. My ex-boyfriend’s brother. My current roommate. I need to keep my attraction to him pushed down. Nothing good can come from it.

I stop the video and put my phone down to enjoy the rest of the ride to the reef.

When we finally stop, we suit up in our flippers and snorkels. Carly and Holden slide into the water first.

“Hawke, would you mind grabbing a picture of me before we get in?” I don’t know why I feel silly asking him to do it.

“Of course, Sunshine.” The nickname he gave me years ago comes out so easily, and I hate that when I hear it, my stomach fills with butterflies. He offers me his crooked smile before taking my phone. I sit on the front of the boat in the black one-piece suit I got from a sponsorship, my flippers and goggles on. The open ocean is behind me, which I hope makes for a picturesque background. Those shots get the most likes and traction on my social media pages. He takes a few pictures and tosses my phone in my bag.

Not even a second after I’m done strapping my life vest back on, Hawke barrels into me and takes me into the water with him. I scramble around for a minute to get my bearings, and when I pop back up, Hawke is already waiting for me. I tear my snorkel out of my mouth.

“What the hell was that?” I ask.

“I wanted to get you wet.” His eyes roam my body, which is completely visible in this crystal-clear water. “You were looking a little hot up there. You know, because of the sun.”

Yeah, I’m sure that’s what he meant. I roll my eyes. “You’re such a child sometimes.”

“Just making things exciting, Sunshine.”

We put our snorkels in and head underwater. I swim towards the reef where the other groups are and feel Hawke behind me. He swims up next to me as we start to explore. It’s beautiful out here. So many colorful fish swim right up next to us, like we’re not bothering them at all. A few jellies swim by my head, which makes me a little nervous, but I keep swimming, and they pay me no mind.

Hawke grabs my ankle and points to a sea star a few feet away. I turn to get a better look, and as I do, his hand moves up my leg until his palm is gripping my inner thigh.

The gesture makes my core tighten. He’s never touched me like this, and I’m not sure why he’s doing it now. Normally, I would push his hand off me, but right now, I don’t think I want to. Which is stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Just because he’s showing me attention—something I wanted from him all those years ago—doesn’t mean I should fall for his antics now.

We stay where we are, watching the sea star for a few minutes. I don’t even think about moving until Hawke squeezes my thigh before releasing it. I instantly miss his touch, but then I remind myself who he is and that I shouldn’t be letting him touch me at all. Surely, he’s just being friendly with me. He never showed any interest in me romantically while we were growing up, so it doesn’t make sense that he would suddenly be attracted to me.

I shake the thought from my head. I need to stop making something out of nothing. We explore every piece of the reef we can until the groups start making their way back to the boats.

We pull ourselves back onto the boat and take off our gear.

“Oh my god. That was amazing,” Carly announces as soon as everyone is in their seats. I smile back at her. Traveling is my passion, and I truly love it when something I plan or suggest is an awesome experience for someone. Even if that someone is my ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend.

“I’m so glad you enjoyed it,” I tell her.

“It really was awesome,” Holden adds. “Is this what you get to see all the time when you travel? Amazing things like this?”

I nod. “Yeah, most of the time. I try to explore the cities I’m in as much as possible. This snorkel tour is owned by a local family and has great reviews. Those are the things I like to experience. Things that might not be mainstream or have the ability to promote on a larger scale. I use my platform to bring exposure to small businesses. It’s something I love doing.”

I feel Hawke staring at me. Looking over, I see his hazel eyes filled with something like pride. I’m not used to getting that look from people. Usually, when I tell people I’m a travel blogger, I get responses like, “Must be nice,” or “I wish I had the time and money to do that.”

Most people don’t know I saved my entire life to do this job. I worked two jobs during college on top of getting my feet wet with blogging. I’ve worked my ass off to get where I am today, and I still work hard. I’m on an actual vacation with my family for the first time in years and still working. I don’t mind it, either. I love my job, so most of the time, it doesn’t feel like work.

“I can see why you like it so much,” Holden says, breaking me away from Hawke’s eyes. His statement is a far cry from what he said when I told him my plans for after college. I remember him saying he didn’t want to live out of hotels or not know where our next check was coming from. He couldn’t picture a life like that when it was the only thing I could picture.