Page 46 of One Week in Paradise
She joins him at the jetty, and David quickly gets them both into life jackets and settles them on one of the jet-skis. Lacey and Danny are up next, followed by Meera and Sara.
By the time our turn comes around, I’m almost shaking with nerves.
‘We don’t have to do this,’ Cash says. ‘We can just chill on the beach all day.’
‘No, I want to.’ And I do. It looks like fun, and I know my fears are irrational. These waters aren’t filled with sharks (I know because I asked Penelope), and my life jacket will save me if I do happen to fall in. Still… ‘Just – Just don’t let me fall in the water, okay?’
Cash grins. ‘I won’t.’
He takes my hand and doesn’t let go as we climb onto the rickety jetty. David suits us up quickly and directs us to the last jet-ski. Cash hops onto the front, and David helps lower me onto the back end. As soon as my butt touchesthe wet seat, I wrap my arms around Cash’s waist and hold on tightly. He reaches an arm behind and gives my thigh a squeeze.
Lacey and Danny are on the jet-ski next to us, and I can feel her burning gaze on me. I don’t look at her. I only have energy for one thing right now, and that’s holding onto Cash as he begins to slowly inch us forward.
We all keep our speed quite low until we’re far enough from the shoreline to avoid accidentally bumping into any swimmers. As soon as we hit that sweet spot, Marcus zooms forward, sending a spray of foamy water into the rest of us.
‘You ready?’ Cash asks.
I squeeze my eyes shut. ‘Just go.’
Cash grips the handles tightly, and then we’re off, gliding through the choppy waters. My shriek gets stuck in my throat as we hit a particularly bumpy patch and soar into the air I grip Cash even tighter, but he doesn’t seem to mind.
Cash is in his element. His cheers are so loud, I can hear them over the sound of the engine and the roar of the waves. I feel a pang of desire as he glances back at me, a wide grin on his face.
‘How’re you enjoying it?’
To be honest, I’m terrified. Even without my irrational fear of sharks to keep me on edge, hurtling through the water at ridiculously high speed is not an activity that’s highon my to-do list. But with Cash, I feel safe. I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that he won’t do anything to put me in harm’s way out here.
‘It’s not as bad as I thought it would be,’ I tell him. Tentatively, I throw an arm into the air and mimic Cash’s delighted cheer.
We swap positions halfway through, and Cash lets me take the lead.
He’s incredibly patient as I slowly navigate the jet-ski and work up the courage to go faster than a snail. He doesn’t mind how jerky and nervous I am, and his compliments flow freely whenever I do something right.
We zoom around for another half hour or so, and by the time we make land again, you never would’ve guessed that I’d been so apprehensive about the whole thing in the first place.
We split up with the others once we’re done with the jet-skiing. Meera and Sara and Bea and Marcus head down to the other end of the beach for scuba diving lessons. Lacey doesn’t say a word to me as she flounces past us and heads back to the resort with Danny hot on her heels.
Once it’s just the two of us, Penelope directs us to a more secluded area of the beach away from the bustling crowds. She leads us around a corner and shows us a patch of glorious white sand with an umbrella of lush-looking plants and flowers hanging over it to keep the space separate from the rest of the beach.
Cash and I set up camp underneath a particularly leafy palm tree. The sand here is cool, a welcome change from the unrelenting heat blasting down on us.
Cash has shed his cheesy Hawaiian shirt, and it takes more effort than I’d like to admit to keeping my eyes off him. He’s tanning nicely, his olive skin now a shade darker than usual. He stretches out in front of me, his long legs digging into the golden sand, and my gaze dips below his navel.
Those shorts he’s wearing should be illegal.
It’s not fair.
They show off his large, strong thighs and leave way too much room for my incredibly horny imagination to run wild.
‘I’m going to get in the water,’ Cash says, pulling me out of what are rapidly becoming extremely dirty thoughts. He’s standing up now, wiping the sand off his body. ‘Try and cool down a bit. Do you want to come? Iknowyou can’t swim,’ he adds quickly, already knowing what my next words are going to be. ‘But we won’t go in too deep.’
I remember how safe he made me feel on the jet-ski and decide to continue to put my trust in him. ‘Okay. But as soon as it hits my knees, I’m turning back.’
Cash grins and offers me a hand to pull me up. He keeps a hold of my hand as we approach the shoreline. As anxious as I currently feel about wading into such a large body of water, I’m suddenly filled with a sense of awe and wonder.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything so beautiful before.The crystal-clear water laps against the white sand, and the gentle sound of the waves drowns out the laughter and music coming from the beach around the corner. It’s like we’re in our own personal little bubble. And there’s nowhere I’d rather be right now.
I squeeze Cash’s hand as we approach the water’s edge. The cool water hits my toes and sends a shiver up my spine.
