Page 19 of Examining Ella

“You ready for some fun?” he asked.

The sunlight shone on a vein of silver that ran through his dark hair. His smile was as rich and deep as his voice.

“Sure,” she said.

As if once again reading her self-doubt, he said, “You, little girl, look gorgeous.”

She reminded herself that he was just being nice. But to her shock she didn’t really pay much heed to that reminder. He meant what he’d said. He wasn’t the type to lie. She found his candor refreshing. And heartwarming.

“Thank you,” she said.

“You like water slides?”

“It’s been forever since I’ve been on one.”

“I say we rectify that right now.”

He took her by the hand and led her toward one of the swirling blue slides. They climbed the white steps and waited their turn. A couple of other Littles were in front of them, one of them a woman of about thirty. She was fit, tone, and rocked the pink bikini she wore. Based upon how she was acting—and the few bits of conversation Ella overheard—she’d guess the woman was a Middle more than a Little.

And she noticed Bryan.

She kept casting glances over her shoulder, her blond, shiny hair cascading down as she suggestively side-eyed him.

“Hey,” she mouthed.

“Hey,” he mouthed back.

They’d clearly met before.

That old familiar nervousness roared back. Ella was nearly overwhelmed by it. She was relieved, though, when Bryan didn’t seem intent on having a deep conversation with the woman.

“You know, they have more waterslides,” he said. “Besides this one and that one next to us, there are a few more scattered around on the other decks. Have you explored the whole ship?”

Ella shook her head no, but her mind went right back to that stunning woman who seemed to be vying for Bryan’s attention.

Okay, she realized, maybe vying is too strong a word. But she’s sure looking at him a lot, she noted silently.

She wondered if the anger and self-consciousness she felt was registering on her face.

“You ready?”

She was so lost in thought that she hadn’t even realized the other woman and her friends had gone down the slide. It was now her turn.

“Sure,” she said.

“You sure?” Bryan asked.

“Positive,” she said.

She was a tad nervous. But she wasn’t going to miss out on the fun. Without overthinking it, she sat down and pushed off.

She quickly forgot all about that other woman. And her fear of going down the giant slide. She was laughing too hard and loving the experience too much to fret.

The slide twisted and turned. Water splashed on her from all sides. She shot out into the landing pool, briefly going underwater before her head broke the surface and she was once again breathing the warm ocean air. She swam toward the exit ladder. She heard a splash behind her and turned to see Bryan popping up, wearing a huge grin.

“Did you have fun?” he asked.

“I loved it!”

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