Page 37 of The Pairing

I haven’t wanted to ask. I didn’t want to hear him lie to save my feelings, but he’s brought it up now.

“Do you ever miss California?”

“Oh, yeah,” he says, eyes closed to the sun. “All the time.”

I don’t know what to say, so I don’t say anything. We sit in companionable quiet for a while, just us and the cherries and the ocean.

“I wish I brought something to swim in,” Kit says, as much to himself as to me.

I think of our talk about experiencing places—swimming in it, he said. I can hear the Ravel piece he played for me, the flute trills and strings rushing in and out like sea-foam. If he can give me that, I can give him something back. That’s what friends do, isn’t it?

I spring to my feet and face the rocks, my back to him.

“Stand up.”

A surprised laugh bubbles out of him. “What?”

“Stand up and turn around. Face the horizon.”

Over the whoosh of the waves, I hear the crinkle of paper, the rustle of leather, a zipper. Kit, tucking our things safely away before he does whatever ridiculous thing I have in mind. I’m glad only the rocks can see me smiling.

“Okay,” he says. “Now what?”

“On three, we take off our clothes.”

I can’t see his face, but I know the exact velocity at which his brows just shot up.

“Sorry?”

“I won’t look at you, you don’t look at me. We take our clothes off and jump in as fast as we can.”

A pause. The waves roll in again.

“Specifically how naked am I getting?”

“As naked as you want to get, I guess.”

“How naked areyougetting?”

“Underwear only.”

Another pause.

“Underwear only,” he repeats, his tone neutral. “Okay.”

“Ready?”

“I hope so.”

“One, two, three!”

I rip my shirt off over my head, drop my shorts, and leap.

The water is cool, but not the shocking cold I expect from a lifetime swimming in the Pacific. It swirls around me in smooth, strong whorls, and I stay down for as long as I can, letting it hold my body and push up on the bottoms of my feet. I kick to the surface just as Kit splashes in.

“You hesitated!” I yell when he comes up.

“No, I didn’t!” He pushes wet hair away from his face. “I just didn’t know if you meant it.”

---