Page 17 of Tropical Heat

Her squeal was so loud, several heads turned in our direction. “Are you serious? I've heard so much about the reef. I can’t believe I’m finally going to get to see it up close.

It was the reaction I hoped for and was feeling rather good until she asked, “What if I didn’t know how to swim? What was your back-up plan?”

“We would have gone down to Key West to see Hemingway’s house and the aquarium.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Good thing I know how to swim, then.”

She took a bite of her taco. Not wanting the conversation to lag, I asked. “Have you always been a Pirates fan?”

I could tell the question confused her for a second. “Oh, you mean the shirt. Not really. I did an internship with them when I was still planning to go into sports medicine.”

“That must have been cool,” I enthused. “What made you change to emergency medicine?”

“It's a long story.” Her smile faded, and she set her beer down. I waited for her to continue, but she changed the subject. “Did you grow up on Turtle Key?”

“No, I've only been here the last few years. I was born in Fruitville, about an hour south of Bradenton. After high school, I enlisted in the Navy. When I finished boot camp, I trained as a corpsman and was assigned to a Marine unit in Afghanistan. My enlistment ended shortly after we evacuated, so I came back to the States and took a while to get my head on straight.”

“One of my instructors in med school was a former field surgeon.” She reached out and touched my arm. “I can only imagine the horrors the two of you must have seen.”

“Yeah, it was pretty rough. Eventually, I got certified as a paramedic and moved down here.” There was more to the story, but it was not first date material.

I looked at my watch. “We better get a move on, or we will miss the boat. The captain claims I saved his life last summer when he had a heart attack, but that won’t keep him from leaving without us.”

Morgan looked stricken at the thought and quickly gathered up our trash. I asked if she needed to get anything out of her car before we left. “Nope, I’ve got sunscreen in my bag and I already have my bathing suit on.” She flashed me a smile and pulled down the waistband of her shorts, revealing the bottoms of an incredibly tiny black bikini.

We hopped into the Jeep and made it to the dock with time to spare. Captain Kip greeted me with a hardy slap on the back and gave Morgan an appreciative glance when I introduced them. There were four other couples making the trip with us. All of them tourists.

It wasn’t the prettiest boat in the fleet, but the price was right and Morgan seemed happy just to be on the water. When we got to the reef, she was the first in line to get outfitted. I knew she had an amazing body, but my jaw dropped when she stripped down to her bathing suit.

To call her curvaceous would be an injustice. Although she had incredible curves in all the right places; her arms, legs, and waist were as toned as any professional athlete. Morgan seemed totally oblivious to the stares of the other men on the boat. Instead, focusing on Kip’s instructions before entering the water.

Together, we explored a small part of the third largest reef in the world. Although the water was only eight to twenty feet deep in that section, there were plenty of mini canyons and sea cave arches to swim through. Behind her mask, Morgan’s eyes grew wide every time we encountered a new species of coral or fish.

We had been in the water for nearly two hours when I tapped her on the shoulder and pointed at the sea turtle to my right. She squealed so hard she dislodged her snorkel. When we surfaced, there was a huge grin on her face.

“That was fantastic.” Her hug and even more so, her kiss surprised me. “Thank you for bringing me out here. I can't believe there is so much beauty under all this water.”

Arms still around each other, we treaded water, eyes locked on one another. She leaned in for another kiss, but stopped when Kip yelled. “All right, you lovebirds. It’s time to head back.”

Reluctantly, I released her from my arms, and we swam to the boat.

Parking was tight around the dock, and Morgan's hand on my thigh was not making it any easier to maneuver around the other cars. But I thought it would be rude to ask her to move it.

“So where to next?” She licked her lips, and I offered her a bottle of water.

“It's a surprise.”

She stroked my leg higher and told me she loved surprises. But when I turned left onto Highway One, her hand clamped like a vice. “We're not going over the bridge, are we?”

“Yeah, unless you know another way to get the Pine Key.” She let go of my leg and set up straight, then tightened her seat-belt. “Is something wrong?”

“I just know how dangerous that bridge is. A deputy sheriff got run over there the other night. I was among the staff who treated him. He didn’t survive.”

“I heard about that. It must have been difficult losing a patient. I’m sorry.” She was clenching her fists, and I said, “If it makes you too nervous, we can do something else.”

“No, I'll be fine. Besides, I want my surprise.” Her smile was not as wide as before.

As we neared the bridge, I asked who her favorite musical artist was. Without even having to think about it, she turned to face me and said Beyonce. “I really respect everything she accomplished.”

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