Page 27 of Fear of Intimacy

“We aren’t going to see sharks, right?” Mila asked.

Johnno hesitated for a split second.

“Fuck no.” Lydia said with a shake of her head.

“Don’t worry, we don’t typically see any around here. But with the ocean, we never know so keep your eyes open and shout if you do see anything.” Johnno was quick to explain.

“Don’t let the sharks come up and bite you.” Trevor’s voice sounded right beside me as my side was pinched. Jerking, I sent a wave of water toward him.

“Don’t. You’re gonna jinx us!”

“I’ll protect you from the sharks.” The others around us started swimming, cuing Trevor and me to follow.

“Great, I’m going to die.”

“You have such little faith in me. I’m hurt.”

“You think you can fight off a shark?” I asked, swimming after the others.

“I mean, there’s a good chance I could die.”

“No, you would die.” I hurled back.

“Don’t tear me down, Sunshine.” The grin on Trevor’s face grew.

“I’ll say a heartfelt eulogy at your funeral.”

“Gee, thanks.” He deadpanned.

“You’re welcome.” I flashed him a grin. “Now try and keep up, shark boy.”

We only swam for a moment before Johnno told us to put our breathing tubes on.

With all my stuff in place, I put my head in the water, making sure to keep my eyes peeled. I hadn’t realized we were so close to the bottom. Right below us was the sea bed. If I could have squealed, I would have.

One second, the ocean seemed barren, and the next, it was filled with sea life. Fish of all different colors and sizes swam around below us. Some darting around really fast and others slowly swimming along.

Trevor was closest to me as I reached out to tap his arm, pointing at a fish that looked like Dory fromFinding Nemo. It was even cuter in person.

Swimming around, I marveled at everything I saw, including the different types of rocks and algae. With the water being so blue, everything seemed crystal clear, perfect for snorkeling. The sun shone through the water, lighting it up in a way that was breathtaking.

The next little bit was a blur. I completely lost track of time as we all swam around the reef, pointing at all kinds ofthings: starfish, crabs, and even an octopus that swam by us. But my favorite was the giant sea turtle that slowly swam directly below me. It was the most incredible thing I'd ever seen.

Once we all got more comfortable, the guys started swimming deeper in the water. We swam close enough to the shore that diving deeper made it possible to see even more things on the floor bed.

As time went on, my arms and legs tired but I kept swimming around, wanting to soak up every last minute.

“Would you guys like a group photo before we head back?” Johnno asked as all of us came back up to the surface, taking our goggles off. He barely got the words out before Josie was yelled out a yes. I watched, surprised, as he lifted up what looked like a big camera from the water.

Had he been taking pictures the whole time?I made a mental note to ask when we got back to see if he took anything good for us to keep.

Gathering around each other in the water, I bumped into Trevor’s side. With my arms getting more tired by the second, I immediately attached myself to him. Throwing my arms over his shoulders, I practically climbed on his back, feeling the hard muscle beneath my hands.

“And what do you think you're doing?” His head tipped back a bit to look at me.

“I’m tired,” I simply said, facing Johnno for our picture. With a shake of his head, Trevor looked forward. Trying my hardest to ignore the feel of Trevor’s wet skin on mine, I grinned at the camera.

After our picture, we all tiredly swam toward the boat which was thankfully not too far away. And by “we all swam,” I meant I held onto Trevor the entire time and made him swim me back. I occasionally kicked my feet but Trevor did all the work while I laid my head on his shoulder. Athousand thoughts ran through my head as we returned to the boat.

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