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Oh it’s on.
I bite back a grin and take off after her, running as fast as I can and passing her easily. She shrieks and doubles her efforts to beat me, and her laughter is just what I needed this morning.
I was so worried about how she’d react to seeing me at the table this morning, but as always, she takes it in her stride and never ceases to amaze me. Her resilience is unparalleled, truly.
I just wish it didn’t have to be.
I stall at the water’s edge and roll up my trousers so that I can paddle my bare feet in the shallows.
I know that now the truth – at least about me – is out, the dynamic between us will shift. But I still want to be there for her. The one she emails and reaches out to when things get too overwhelming. I don’t know if she will though.
The trust is definitely damaged.
“Hey. Wow, you’re fast. Or I’m slow,” Malia pants when she reaches me. I flash her a quick grin and then turn back to the ocean.
“So…Doctor Jones, huh?” she says. Her tone is light, but I can hear her hurt beneath.
“Sorry.” I scramble for what else to say.
“Reef Jones?” she asks hopefully. I shake my head.
“Doctor Jones doesn’t exist.”
“Like in the song.”
“Huh?”
“You know,Doctor Jones? Aqua?” At my blank look she begins to hum a few bars, but I have no idea what she’s on about. “I’ll play it for you later.”
“Okay.”
“So, you’re not really a doctor at all then?”
I shake my head. “But my name is Reef. And wehavemet before.” I say this last bit hopefully, praying that she’ll remember.
Her face is blank, but surprised. “We have?”
“Yeah. At a party.”
“I don’t go to many parties.” She shakes her head like she thinks I’ve got the wrong girl. Doesn’t she know how memorable she is?
“You were at this one. It was at the beach. There was an inflatable and we danced together.”
“We did?” She blinks at me in disbelief. I nod.
“I never dance with strangers.”
Should I tell her that we kissed? I don’t want to freak her out but I do want her to remember…
I decide to keep my mouth shut for now.
“The water looks good.” I wiggle my toes in the wet sand. The tide’s going out so fast that it’s not catching my feet anymore.
“It does.” She sighs, backing up a few paces and sitting down on the dry sand. I join her, sitting close but not touching, both of us looking out to sea. “If I’m staying here I’m really going to need a costume.”
“A costume? Like fancy dress?”
She chuckles. “A swimming costume. Swimsuit. Bikini. Whatever.”
