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Neri: That was an accident. The Bunsen burner was totally at fault.
Me: Only because you put it on the windowsill instead of blowing it out.
Neri: I’m never telling you my secrets again.
Me: I have a pretty big secret...want to hear it?
I glanced around the sun-sparkling deck of The Fluke. Jack and Anna were about to appear from down below, ready for the last tray of lab-grown coral that they were planting. Sapphire and her pod of dolphins had played in our wake and even a shark had cruised on by, its fins slicing silently through the water.
Five years, and I still hadn’t forgiven the sea, but I had learned to appreciate its merciless beauty.
Neri: Oh, tell me. Better yet...show me.
Me: I’m not sending you a picture.
Neri: Why? Is it a picture of how hard you are for me?
Me: We’re deleting these messages the moment we’re done here, but yes, if you must know.
Neri: Now who’s misbehaving?
Me: You’re a bad influence on me.
Neri: Pretty sure you’re the one who started this. The moment you kissed me at the bar....
Me: You’re fully to blame for calling me your boyfriend...I liked it far too much.
Neri: Do you want to be my boyfriend, Aslan?
Me: No.
Neri: No? What the hell is that supposed to mean?
Me: It means I want far, far more.
Neri: God, if I was there, I’d show you how far you could have me.
Fuck.
I shuddered.
Pain flashed through my cock as it bruised itself against my zipper.
My shorts had been a torture device all day. Every inch of this boat carried memories of Neri, and I couldn’t stop thinking about her. Couldn’t stop remembering her in skimpy bikinis. Couldn’t stop myself fantasising about smearing her perfect skin with suncream or the way she’d glitter with seawater as she climbed from the sea.
Biting my bottom lip, I shoved my palm over my painful erection. Fuck, if it didn’t deflate before Jack and Anna resurfaced, I’d have to wrap a hoodie around my waist.
Neri: SENT A PHOTO
I swallowed hard as I stared at the most gorgeous girl I’d ever seen. Taken quickly, probably as the teacher had their back to the class, the focus was a little blurry, but Neri’s smile made my stomach hurt with just how much I fucking loved her. Students milled behind her on long desks, beakers and test-tubes littered the tables, and she blew me a kiss, her shirt slightly gaping, her necklace twinkling.
Fuck.
Me.
I shouldn’t be this obsessed.
I shouldn’t feel this level of need.
I was destroyed at twenty-one.
Utterly ruined by an Australian girl in a country where I wasn’t permitted.
The sound of bubbles and the woosh of oxygen escaping a mouthpiece wrenched my gaze to the side of the boat. Jack shoved his mask to his forehead, staying afloat with well-practiced kicks of his fins. “Hey, mate. Got that final tray of coral for me?”
Shit.
“Yep, of course.” Keeping my hips averted as much as I could, I marched to the table where the specialised tray of baby coral waited. Spiky ivory, subtle pink, and soft greens of new coral looked so innocent in their carefully sealed seawater capsules.
Neri would’ve loved to have been here, helping.
Stop thinking about her. For once in your damn life.
Doing my best to keep my hands steady, I secured the main lid so they wouldn’t float away, then carried the coral to Jack. Dropping to my knees, I passed the tray carefully, my hands dipping into the ocean before he claimed it.
“Cheers.” He grinned but then studied me a little closer. “You okay? You’re a little flushed.”
“Am I? I feel fine. No problems.” I sat back on my heels, hiding what his damn daughter had done to me. “Everything all good down there?”
“Yep, going swimmingly.” Studying me a little more, he frowned. “Get in the shade, Aslan. You don’t look so good.” Yanking down his mask, he balanced the tray on one hand, inserted his oxygen mouthpiece, and sank beneath the surface.
I fell back onto my ass, breathing hard.
Pulling my phone from my pocket, I typed.
Me: Delete this thread as soon as you read this and stop sending me photos. I was seconds away from coming in my shorts, and your bloody father appeared. I must look insane. He told me I’m flushed. That’s your fault, Nerida. Your fucking fault that I really, really need to come. Your fault that I’m going out of my mind with lust for you.
Neri: So come. They won’t know.
Me: I am not jerking off over the side of the boat. With my luck, your parents would see my goddamn sperm floating past them.
Neri: OMG, you just made me laugh out loud in class. How about this...next time we’re on the boat together, I’ll get on my knees and you can come on my tongue. I’ll swallow all your evidence and lick my lips while doing it.
