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“Oh my god,” I hear Anna breathe. She pulls her snorkel mask down and plunges into the water face first. She floats parallel to the sand, surrounded by stingrays, their wings waving all around her as they skim over and under, in and around her legs, and circle her torso. She flips onto her back underwater, letting the currents from the rays spin her around. She holds her hands out like little stabilizers, letting the rays bump her and move her along. Before I realize what’s happening, the creatures have taken her. She undulates among them till she’s ten feet away from our group, and it’s been way too long for her to hold her breath.
“Is she okay?” I catch Jamie’s eye, and suddenly we’re both rushing through the water towards Anna.
“Don’t forget to do the stingray shuffle,” shouts a crew member, watching from the boat. “Those rays hide under the sand and you don’t want to startle one of them!” We slow, dragging our feet across the bottom as we plow towards Anna. But before we get to her, she pops to the surface with delighted laughter.
“I have to hand it to the cruise people,” she says. “On my own, I’d never sign up for something as touristy as this, but these rays are insane. So pure and smart and beautiful.”
I snap on my snorkel mask and sink underwater because I need a minute. Anna is so much more than I’d expected. Giving and determined, unselfish, and magically able to find excitement everywhere she goes.
Under the water, the stingrays seem even more immense. One thrusts through the water, its blunt nose aiming straight towards my face. I pop back to the surface, jumping out of its way.
“Holy shit.” I’m out of breath from the surging adrenaline.
“Try swimming with them, Sebastian,” Anna says. “They’re gentle if you let them play.”
“How did you get them to push you through the water?”
“I don’t know,” she says, shrugging. “I tried to tune in. This is their turf. So I let them lead and waited to see what happened.”
Goosebumps rush over my arms. I’m not sure I can let go. I like a plan. Training and preparation. Intel before action. And I know nothing about stingrays except for what little the guides shared.
“Come on,” Anna says, grabbing my hand. My pulse thumps. “Take a deep breath.” She nods at me. I breathe in alongside her, our chests rising in unison. She raises her eyebrows at me as if to ask if I’m ready. I give her the slightest of nods, and then we dive together, still holding hands.
The rays are all around us. Anna’s limbs go limp, and I try to relax too. As soon as I do, it’s like the rays can feel our surrender. They bump and jostle us. And then we’re flying with them, gliding over the white sand as they slip all around us, velvety and smooth, propelling us forward with gentle nudges and the occasional harder wing whack. Anna’s fingers squeeze mine.
Looking over, my face must reflect every bit of the unadulterated joy in hers. I will never forget this moment. Together, Anna and I glide back to the surface, still holding eye contact. I’m gasping for air, but she’s howling with glee, pumping both her arms overhead. I don’t know what comes over me, but I grab her around the waist and lift her out of the water like she’s won an Olympic medal. She squeals and laughs before we both topple down into the water together, the rays still spinning around us.
If there is any way Anna and I can be friends back home, I’ll take it. I’ll go work for Mike, and he and I can pass off our connection as a fluke - a coincidence. And then, maybe we can all hang out. I’m suddenly certain that having her in my life, even as a friend, will change how I see everything.
* * *
ZOEY
“Are you ready to take a sexy photo for the gram?” Oscar and Jamie are back from the bar with more Piña Coladas, and Oscar smiles at me with a knowing look I haven’t seen before. I glance at Jamie, who gives me the slightest of shrugs.
“Did you tell Oscar about me and Anna?” I ask under my breath. Jamie hands me my cocktail with an apology written on his face.
“Jamie!”
“He was asking a lot of questions. I couldn’t lie to him.” He and Oscar exchange the cutest of adoring glances. But Jamie’s words are like a knife in my belly. Jamie couldn’t lie, but apparently I can.
I look over at Sebastian, who’s deep in conversation with a couple of older women we met today. Their gray-haired husbands are both asleep beside them, like sunburned whales on the deck. The women are flirting while they have the chance. He’s used to married women flirting with him. It’s not so horrible that I have been too.
“Do it,” Jamie says, reading my mind. “He likes you. I’m sure he’d get over the Anna thing.”
“I dunno.” I take a long gulp of my frozen drink till my forehead burns with the cold. “It’s not like that.” I sigh, frowning back at Sebastian. Could it be like that?
“Alright, Cinderella.” Jamie says, shaking his head. “Be sure to leave a glass slipper when you disappear on the prince at the end of this cruise.” I whack Jamie on the arm, and Oscar snorts.
“Photo time, girl,” Oscar says. “Jamie told me you need some Blue Steel for your sister’s Instagram.”
“Oh my god, please explain to him I don’t have any,” I say to Jamie. “You want a car chase? That I can do. But sultry eyes? Think again.”
“Don’t worry, we’re going to help you,” Oscar says. “Copy what I do, and Jamie will take a picture.” He lies on his belly, pushing himself up into a backwards arch and then glancing over his shoulder.
“You want me to do that?” I say. “Have you seen the size of my sister’s bikini bottoms?” That would be an ass shot for the record books.
“Yes, that,” Jamie says, first snapping a photo of Oscar in the pose.
