“What is wrong with you? I’m concerned by how unconcerned you are! Are you missing the fear gene?”
“Shark attacks in the Maldives are almost nonexistent.”
“Almost! You said, almost. What percentage are we talking here? Actually, why are we still in the water, talking?”
“I don’t know the exact percentage—”
“You know nothing.”
“Did you just quote Game of Thrones to me?”
“Not intentionally.”
“Sounds like you did.”
I sigh. “I’m from Yorkshire. Ygritte’s accent is Yorkshire. Everything I say sounds like I’m quoting either her or Jon Snow.”
West chuckles. “Look, Dillon, I promise you, it’s more scared of you than you are of it. You go near that shark, and it’ll swim away—I guarantee it. If it was dangerous, don’t you think I’d have gotten you out of the water already?”
“I don’t know. You could be one of those weird adrenaline junkies who likes to stare death in the face.”
He laughs low. It actually sounds really sexy.
Why am I thinking sexy thoughts in the middle of a shark-and-death situation? I need serious help.
“Nope. I quite like living. And I prefer to get my rushes of adrenaline in other ways,” he says.
“How?”
“Having sex.”
With me?
The thought just popped in, unbidden and uninvited. Thank God it stayed in my head and didn’t come out of my mouth.
What does come out of my mouth though is a croaky-sounding, “Oh.”
I feel one of his hands slide up my waist a touch. Teetering on the bottom of my rib cage.
He’s staring at me in that way again. The one where he looks like he’s hungry as fuck and I’m his next meal.
And it’s weird how much I like it.
Maybe it’s because of the hurt I’ve been feeling and still continue to feel that I’m soaking up the attention he’s giving to me. It makes me feel a little less shitty about myself for that brief period of time.
Then, I remember about the shark. “That shark is still down there, sleeping, right? It hasn’t moved?”
West pulls down his goggles over his eyes and dips his head into the water. He resurfaces a moment later, pulling up his goggles, wiping the water from his face. “It’s still in the reef.”
“Good. Now, I’m going back to the boat and getting out of this water before that seven- or eight-foot shark wakes up and decides to be brave.”
West laughs. “I’ll come with you.”
I give him a look. “I’d expect you to. I mean, who the fuck would want to stay out here to be shark food? Maybe we should warn the others?” I give a quick glance. They’re quite far away. “Nah, they’ll be fine.”
West chuckles and holds out his hand to me. “Come on. Let’s get you back to the boat.”
nine
Dillon
Offering his hand, which I take, West helps me down from the boat and onto the jetty. I notice how callous and rough his skin is. I didn’t notice it when I held his hand in the water earlier. I wonder if that’s from his job. Whatever that might be.
I should ask, get to know him. It’d be nice to have a friend here on the island for the next two weeks.
But we want to be more than just his friend, Dillon.
That’s just my vagina talking. I’m choosing to ignore her.
“Wanna grab a drink?” West asks as we start walking down the jetty.
“Yeah, sure. That’d be great.”
“Bar we were in last night or the bar by the pool?”
“Bar by the pool.” It has nothing to do with the fact that I got shitfaced in the bar I went to last night and that I’m planning to avoid it for a good few days, so the bar workers forget who the drunken girl from last night was.
“Cool. They serve food as well if you’re hungry.”
“I can always eat.”
“Good. I like a girl with an appetite.”
“Well, I definitely have an appetite. A big one.”
“You still talking about food here?” he says.
I look across at him. He’s already staring down at me, and I feel myself starting to heat under his gaze.
“Of course,” I manage out.
“Shame.”
I look away, a smile on my face. Because he’s definitely flirting with me.
We reach the bar a few minutes later and take a seat at one of the tables closest to the water. I put my bag down on the floor beside me.
“It’s bar service here,” West tells me. “Let me know what you want, and I’ll go to the bar and order for us.”
I grab the small menu off the table and give it a quick look. “I’ll have a burger and fries.”
“Drink?”
“Beer.” Maybe I shouldn’t be drinking after how much I drank last night, but I’m on holiday, and it’s an unwritten law that you have to day drink. Especially when you’re at an all-inclusive.
“No cocktails today?”
“Was that what I was drinking last night at the bar?” I ask. A lot of last night is still blurry.
“Long Island iced tea. Margarita. Then, you moved on to Fireball shots.”
“Ugh.” I groan. “I really have no control once I start drinking.”
“You were going for it last night. It was pretty impressive. I’ve never seen someone as small as you drink that much liquor.”
“Thanks. I think.”
He chuckles. “It was a compliment.”
“Yeah. I was … letting off some steam, I guess. Coming here and it was supposed to be my … and seeing the card and champagne in the room … yeah, anyway, I just needed to get drunk.”
“Well, you definitely did that.” He smiles. “Did it help?”
“Kinda. Not really. I don’t know.” I look away to the water.
“So, beer,” he says, stepping over the awkwardness in the air that I put there. “Bottle or tap?”
“Bottle.”
“What brand?”
“I’m not fussy.”
“Okay.” He stands. “I’ll be back in a few.”
“Thank you,” I say as he walks over to the bar.
While he’s gone, I pull the tie out of my hair and give it a spray with my detangling-and-conditioning spray. I love having long, thick, wavy hair, but it’s a bitch to take care of at times. After being in the seawater today, it’ll need another wash when I get back to my villa. I brush through my hair, getting out the tangles, and then I tie it back up into a bun. Then, I get out my sunscreen and apply some to my arms, face, and neck. A little protection if I’m going to be sitting out here in the sun while I eat.
I’m just putting my sunscreen away when West puts down a beer bottle in front of me on the table and sits down in his chair.
“Food will be about fifteen minutes,” he tells me.
“Cool. Thank you.”
“So, Double D, I’d ask if you enjoyed losing your snorkeling virginity, but I think I know the answer.”
“Ugh. Are you going to call me that the whole time I’m here?”