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I nodded and looked out again at the wide, blue expanse of ocean before us. Life wouldn’t be easy for Alicia if they found out we were seeing one another. The nicest thing about being able to come here to the beach was the anonymity. In my swim shorts, unbuttoned shirt, and pair of Ray-Bans, no one noticed me. I was just another ripped guy at the beach with a gorgeous woman, and it was … well, amazing. People tended to treat me differently once they found out about the money and power I’d acquired in my life. One of the reasons I enjoyed spending so much time with Alicia was that she didn’t.
“You’re getting sand on me!” she squealed, as I lifted up my legs a while later. We’d been enjoying sunbathing for an hour or so, but I’d put up an umbrella for us. Alicia was pretty fair-skinned, and I didn’t want her to get sunburned.
“Oh, relax,” I drawled, happily tanning in the hot sun. “We’re at the beach. Of course, there’s sand. Anyway, I’m gonna take a swim. Wanna join?”
Alicia seemed to freeze as I sat up and looked at her. “Uh … no, no, I’m fine,” she said. “You go on ahead.”
I frowned. I would have thought she’d enjoy a dip in the cool water after all that time spent lying in the sunlight. “You sure?” I asked. “It’s pretty nice.”
“No, I’m fine,” Alicia said hurriedly. “You go on ahead. I get a bit freaked out by swimming. All the pollution and stuff.”
“Oh, come off it,” I said. “It’s the Atlantic Ocean. It’s not that polluted.”
“Don’t they say swimming in the Atlantic is dangerous?” she asked.
“We’re on Miami Beach!” I blurted out. “People swim here all the time. There are lifeguards!” I pointed the towers out.
“I don’tfeellike it, okay?” she said, a little tense.
I looked at her for a little while. Along with my business sense, I’m equipped with a great lie detector.
“Alicia,” I said, slowly. “Can you swim? At all?”
Alicia growled. “Fine,” she said. “You got me. No, I never learned to swim.”
“You’re kidding,” I said. “You never learned? Not even as a kid?”
“My dad was a doctor!” said Alicia. “He was too busy to take us swimming. We went on vacations and stuff. I guess I just never wanted to—HEY! What are you—”
I’d lifted her up into my arms and was carrying her to the shoreline.
“Jake!” Alicia said. “You put me down right now, mister!”
“Relax,” I said. “I’m not gonna throw you in or anything. I just think it’s a little crazy to have gone your whole damn life without swimming. You need a lesson.”
“I don’t want a lesson!” wailed Alicia. “I want to be left to recline on my comfy beach chair.”
“Sure, where no sand will ever get on you and you can laze around all day. Well, I’m sorry, but you’re swimming. That’s it.”
It took a while to convince Alicia to even put a toe in the water, as the waves gently rushed in and out. But eventually, I got her to wade in a little while holding my hand. Finally, we moved on to teaching her how to swim.
“Okay,” I said, standing in the water, a little below chest height. “Let yourself float.”
“Float?” said Alicia, nervously. “I’m gonna float away!”
“I’m not going to let the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met—and the mother of my future offspring—float away. I’ll be holding onto you the entire time.”
Slowly, Alicia did what she was told. She was impressively brave, I thought, and it turned me on a little that she trusted me so much. Gradually, she let her legs off the bottom of the water, and within no time at all, she was floating on her back, with my hands around her waist and shoulder, supporting her in the water.
“Now, just let yourself float,” I said. “Remember, the more you spread out, the greater your surface area. So, the lower your surface density is. Then you float more easily.”
“I didn’t realize you needed a science degree to swim,” said Alicia, before a little seawater washed over her and she yelped.
“Calmdown!” I said, exasperatedly. “It won’t kill you. Just, you know. Don’t swallow.”
“Oh, you’re the worst,” said Alicia. “I know not to drink seawater, Jake.”
“Next step,” I said. “Kick your legs. Gently.”
