Page 19 of You Kissed Me First

Only tomorrow will tell.

I know one thing though. I’m willing to try and be peaceful as long as he is.

5

DAY THREE: PUERTO PLATA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

I should have said no.That’s all I can think as we stand in front of the boat watching people get on.

I hate open water.

No. I am deathly afraid of it. It’s not all open water that scares me though. I can go swim in the ocean as long as I can still touch the ground if I want to or if the land is close by and I know I can make it back to shore easily.

I knew when he said snorkeling yesterday that this was going to be a challenge. I thought maybe I grew out of it.

Yet, here I am. Shaking like a leaf, watching as everyone else gets on the small boat.

To make matters worse, Barrett is here with a chick on his arm.

“You okay?” Dominic asks, his arm wrapped around me, his hand rubbing up and down my arm.

“I’m not a fan of huge bodies of water.”

He nods. “It’s okay. I’ll be here with you the entire time. I won’t leave your side. I promise.”

As scared as I am, I feel better with Dominic here. He has been great.

Last night, he took me to dinner, not mentioning our little interlude in the afternoon. I thought he would press for more or tease me, but he was the perfect gentleman even if I made things awkward. Then afterward, he pulled me into the store to have me fitted for snorkel gear. He bought us both our own so that we wouldn’t have to use the provided gear.

I have to admit, I’m grateful. I’m already panicking about having to get into the water. I don’t want to think about how many mouths have been on the snorkel gear they provide or how well they actually clean them.

“It’s our turn. Do you want to go on first so I can catch you if you fall, or are you going to feel better by me being on the boat first?”

Glancing up at him, I can tell he’s being sincere. I give him a small smile, letting out the breath I was holding.

“I’ll go first. Don’t check out my ass.”

His answering smile is cheeky. “I don’t want to lie to you, babe. I’m going to stare at your ass the entire time.”

Shaking my head, I grab the railing. Dominic refused to let me carry anything, so the climb is easy. He hands some of his items to the guy helping load the boat, climbing right behind me. Once we are both on, his hand falls to my lower back as he guides me to the last open seats.

“Do you want to sit by the side or on the aisle?”

I swallow hard, looking at the water on the side. “Aisle.”

He moves in first, grabbing my hand to pull me down beside him.

“Why are you being so sweet?” I whisper to him.

He smiles, his fingers drawing a pattern on my hand as it lies on his thigh.

“I promised you the girlfriend experience. You’re nervous, so I’m going to do whatever I can to make you feel better.”

“That’s actually really sweet,” I murmur, staring at the way he is drawing on my skin.

The boat has started up and we are moving, but all I can focus on is his hand on my skin. Something about it is calming.

It’s a quiet ride for us, even though I can hear others talking around us. He focuses on me while I focus on him. When we stop, he pulls out his phone.

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