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Zeke opens a metal box affixed to the inside of the boat and extracts a camera in a waterproof housing. Photography upsells. Smart.
He drops to the water and starts taking pictures, leading each tourist to a stingray. They pat their bellies and run their hands along their backs.
“It’s amazing how tame they are,” I say.
“You ready?” he asks.
I nod. I stand and reach for the bottom of my cover-up, but Gabe moves behind me and breathes in my ear, “Allow me.”
I shiver as he bends down to grasp the bottom hem of the cover-up and lift it over my head. Even though the loose white mesh hid very little of the swimsuit underneath, it feels a lot like he is undressing me. My heart speeds up, and the low, heavy thrum in key places of my body starts to pound.
“Are you wearing that shirt in the water?” I ask.
“Wasn’t planning on it.” His voice is low and gruff, and I can tell taking the cover-up off me affected him, too.
“Then allowme.”
I take my time removing the shirt. His chest is deeply tanned, although possibly a shade lighter than his arms and legs.
His belly is a smooth, flat plane with well-defined abs. I really want to touch them. They’re so close.
The ground beneath me sways, though I’m not sure how much of it is the boat anchored in the bay, and how much is what I’m feeling looking at Gabe. I wonder how long this excursion will last. I want to be somewhere with him. Alone.
But we’re really far from that. We approach the ladder at the stern of the boat. I turn and take the rungs down carefully. Gabe’s eyes are all over me as I lower into the sun-warmed water in front of him.
Then he’s beside me, his arm on my bare waist. If he’s touching me, I’m touching him. I rest my hand on that flat plane I was just admiring. A rush of heat blasts through me, and I’m glad I’m in the water, surrounded by people. I am sorely tempted to do wild things with this man.
Zeke turns to us with his camera. “Mendo, get them some squid.”
Mendo tosses a pink bit of something at Gabe.
“What’s that?” I ask.
“To feed the stingray. Give me your hand.”
He lays the strip of pink meat in my palm and closes my fist, leaving part of it sticking out of the top.
An enormous stingray glides forward to us. He’s almost as wide as I am tall.
“I had no idea they were so big!” I exclaim.
Mendo runs his hands along the stingray’s back. “These are monsters. They tend to be much smaller when they are not fed so well.”
Gabe takes my arm and guides it beneath the creature. “Put your hand underneath him until you find his mouth. He’ll help you by shifting. Then he’ll—”
I gasp. “He sucked it right out of my hand!”
Mendo laughs. “That’s what she said.”
I slide my palm along the stingray’s dark-gray surface. It’s soft. So soft.
“Now pucker your lips for a kiss,” Mendo says. “Gabe, don’t get jealous. You got plenty of action today already.”
I lean forward with my lips puckered.
The stingray glides upward, and for a moment, his cool, gentle mouth is pressed against mine. Then he slides back.
“Thank you,” I tell him. Another tourist walks forward with squid, so we’re abandoned.
