Page 32 of Diving In

“Good afternoon, Sullivan’s Island. We are so glad that you’re here, and we can’t wait for you to be a part of our penguin feeding. This one is extra special because we get to celebrate our birthday girl! Happy tenth birthday, Samantha!”

I smiled.

For the first time in a long time, I was going to feel what it was like to be spontaneous.

It had been so long since I’d been in a wetsuit, like literal decades, that I almost forgot what a challenge it was to wiggle into. I was doing my best to hurry, but at this point, I was confident Cal assumed I wasn’t joining him.

When I erupted through the double doors leading into the exhibit, the look on his face was priceless. His eyes found mine, and there was a look of astonishment splashed across his face before his lips curled into a sinful smile. Playing it cool, he pointed in my direction and introduced me to an entire birthday party of ten-year-olds without skipping a beat. “And today, we have a special guest. Friends, this is Georgia Windsor, Jack Windsor’s daughter.”

Strangely enough, they all started cheering. I knew people on the island loved Jack, but I didn’t realize tothisextent.

Giving me his best wholesome look, Cal asked, “Georgia, could you help me out and grab that bucket by your feet?”

Following suit, I smiled and grabbed the bucket, making my way toward him. He was perched on top of a rock that sat half underwater and half above, located on the left side of the penguin enclosure.

Cal reached out for me, and we locked eyes as soon as I grabbed his hand. I couldn’t help but notice the grin growing across his face. I was thrown off by the softness of his palms and the electricity that was dancing between us, my eyes getting lost in his just long enough to make me lose my balance.

As I was falling over, I felt two strong hands grasp my hips, balancing me. I focused on the warmth that radiated from his fingertips, feeling the heat even through my wetsuit.

I didn’t know if it was the wavering in my voice or the fact that I couldn’t seem to stop shaking, but I knew Cal could feel the apprehension oozing from my body. I put on a brave face, standing as tall and proud as possible, but I wasn’t fooling him. He moved the microphone attached to his headset away from his lips, making sure he wouldn’t be heard by the eager audience, and whispered into my ear, “I’ve got you.”

Well, if I wasn’t steady before, I sure as shit wasn’t now.

Something about the way those three words rolled off his tongue made the little knots in my stomach twist a little tighter. Just three simple words were all it took for him to make me feel like I belonged in that enclosure. His voice was so at peace, so relaxed, so willing to comfort me.

He reached out his hand again and I firmly clutched his palm as he pulled me up onto the rock with him. I took my spot at the top and patiently waited for his next instructions while doing my best to ignore the building anxiety from hovering above the water.

I watched closely, eager to see what Cal would do next and hanging onto his every word. I managed to find the time to admire him in his wet suit too because… obviously. For as much as I despised getting myself into this thing, it was one hundred percent worth it for just a few seconds of gazing at this man.

The suit amplified every inch of him, and I meant every fuckinginch. His wet suit was a full body suit, meaning it covered his arms and legs, but trust me when I say there was little left to the imagination. I was basically salivating with every secretive glance I stole.

“These are our Gentoo Penguins.” Cal gestured while surveying the audience, engaging with each of them before locking eyes with me and finishing his statement without ever breaking stride. “A fun fact about these penguins is that when they mate, they mate for life.” He paused, and I swear he was making sure I was still listening.

A little girl’s hand shot up and she asked, “Does that mean that the daddy penguin loves the mama penguin until he dies?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what that means.” He laughed, his gaze never leaving mine.

I moved my attention to the audience, afraid someone was going to catch on to all the lust floating between us. I could still feel his eyes leering in my direction, penetrating my skin, doing his best to undress me right here.

Holy hell.

I never thought a man talking about monogamous penguins would turn me on, but here we were, hands sweating, heart fluttering. Thankfully my panties weren’t wet, but that’s only because I wasn’t wearing any.

He continued on as if he hadn’t just tried to seduce me with penguin knowledge. “We feed these penguins a special smoothie blend of krill, squid, and fish.” He used one hand to point toward the bucket while waving his other hand in front of his face, holding his nose.

All the little kids in the audience shouted, “Gross!” and “That’s disgusting!” and “That’s not a smoothie! My smoothies have bananas and blueberries in them!”

Cal acknowledged them all with a laugh before continuing. “I’m going to feed some of the penguins up here on the ice, and Georgia is going to hop in and sprinkle some of the penguin’s smoothie in the water. This ensures that all the penguins are getting enough to eat, including the ones that aren’t as comfortable with us being in their house.”

I was so busy appreciating the way Cal interacted with the tiny humans that it took me a few seconds to process what he’d said. As soon as it hit me, I was overcome with an unwavering sense of nerves.

Making eye contact with Cal, I mouthed, “I can’t do that.”

He came behind me, supplying me with the penguin mush I was supposed to be in charge of. Again, he took off his headset and gave me what should have been a few simple instructions. “Stay toward the front of the enclosure because it quickly gets deep the farther you go in, evenly scatter the food, and stay out of their way. You’ll only be about waist-deep, and you’ll be in and out in no time.”

He knew.

I didn’t know how, but heknew I was scared of the water. He knew what happened, knew where my fear stemmed from, so he knew this was going to be really fucking hard for me.

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