25. Chapter 25
Chapter twenty-five
“Spyros is letting us take the Elena?” I gawk at the boat in front of me before turning my gaze to Dimitri, who is unravelling the ropes to drop the gangplank.
“He is. Right now, we run tours every second day until the high season officially starts which means that today…”
The plank hovers a few inches above the cement of the pier and Dimitri steps on it a couple of times, ensuring everything is secure and in place. He holds his hand out to me, his dark eyes dancing with excitement.
“Today is a private tour. It’s just me and you.”
I place my hand in his and step onto the plank, grabbing the line for support as I walk across and onto the sturdy deck of the Elena. I notice a couple of grocery-type bags tucked in front of the doorway to the hull of the boat. But other than that, everything looks the same: clean, shiny, and the perfect place to spend a day on the water.
“Is this ok?” Dimitri asks.
“Are you kidding?” I turn to look up at him, shielding my eyes from the bright sun above. “This is the best kidnapping ever!”
“Good,” he grins. “Let’s go then.”
I watch as he moves around the boat. Untying ropes here, checking lines there. I ask if I can help, as if I’d have any idea what to do but he tells me not to worry. So, instead I watch or, as Mel would say, ogle.
I take in the way his biceps tense as he pulls in the buoys.
I notice the tanned and toned sliver of his stomach that is revealed as he reaches up to adjust a line.
I imagine running my hand over his broad shoulders, visible through his t-shirt as he stands at the front, pulling up the anchor.
Yup. Definitely ogling.
I turn my gaze away before I get caught and instead, kick off my flip-flops, stuffing them and my bag in a secure spot under the bench where they won’t get wet but will be out of the way.
Dimitri finishes at the front and makes his way back to the steering wheel, grabbing a seat in the captain’s chair.
“Usually,” he tells me, as we pull out of the bay and into the open sea, “we go around the island from west to east. This is because the winds in the west pick up in the afternoon. This isn’t good for us, so we avoid it by going around the west coast in the morning.”
I nod.
“But today,” he continues, “the forecast is good. Very good. So we are going to go east first and west in the afternoon. Assuming all is ok, I should be able to take you to my favourite place for sunset. Sound like a plan?”
“Aye, aye captain.” I mock salute him. “But I do have one question.”
“Yes?”
I arrange my mouth into what I hope is an endearing smile. One he, hopefully, can’t say no to.
“Can I drive the boat?”
Our first stop is the famous Saint George Bay, the cliffside beach with no facilities. We passed it on the boat tour with Spyros and I thought it was beautiful, then again in the taxi boat where we made a quick stop. But this morning, in the bright sunlight, it’s nothing short of spectacular.
Turquoise waves lap the white-pebble shoreline of the wild beach which rests under the towering cliff, dotted with scraggly grass and tiny plants that somehow have found a place to latch on and grow. No facilities mean no tavernas and no beach chairs but I do spot a couple of goats on the shoreline.
Aside from us, there are two other boats in the bay. They are smaller than the Elena and look to be private tours. The people in both seem mostly interested in taking photos of Symi’s most famous beach, rather than actually using it.
“Most people come here in the afternoon,” Dimitri tells me. “There’s no shade and no water, so it can get too hot during the morning and midday. But I’m assuming you would like to swim here?”
“Yes!”
“Of course.”
Dimitri navigates the Elena a little closer to the shoreline before dropping the anchor. Once the boat is secure, he puts down the ladder and I strip down to my swimsuit and dive off the side, plunging into the water below.
Goose bumps erupt on my skin but I relish the feeling of the cool water after the heat of the sun. Kicking to the surface I wipe the salt water from my eyes and call out to Dimitri to join me. He finishes securing the ladder and I openly ogle him again as he yanks off his t-shirt, throwing it on the bench before he dives in after me.
“You know,” he tells me, as we tread water, “I don’t normally swim this time of year. It’s a little early for us Greeks.”
“You swam with me last time,” I remind him, thinking of the cave with the seals.
“Had to keep an eye on the tourist, protect the investment.” Dimitri flashes me a teasing grin and I can’t help but notice how much more relaxed and easy-going he has become. No longer the broody grump I thought he was that first day on the boat.
“Well, you better keep swimming with me then.”
“Why?” He moves in closer to me, close enough that I could reach out and loop my arms around his neck.
But I don’t. Instead, I watch as a bead of water slips from his inky dark hair and down his face, coming to rest above those very perfect, very kissable lips. Tearing my eyes away, I flick water at him playfully.
“I’m still an investment, aren’t I?” I call over my shoulder as I swim away, aiming for the white pebble beach and the two goats watching us from the shoreline.
After exploring the beach, we swim back out to the Elena and I snap a few photos before we leave. Dimitri offers to take some of me but I decline, telling him I prefer just the scenery of the beach.
My plea earlier in the morning obviously worked though because Dimitri sits me down in the captain’s chair and gives me a quick lesson on how to drive the Elena. I don’t do much other than steer her, but it’s still thrilling and I immediately decide I should get my boating license. Oh, and a boat. But, you know, one thing at a time.
We cruise down the coastline, passing Nanou, the beach I visited where I got the terrible sunburn. Dimitri points out Marathounda Beach and Panormitis Monastery. I take a few photos from the water before we continue on to another wild beach in a secluded bay. When the anchor is dropped, I reapply my sunscreen, asking Dimitri if he’ll do my back. I pass him the bottle and turn away, dropping the towel I keep wrapped around me so he can coat my back.
He squirts the sunscreen directly in his hands before applying it onto my skin and I inhale sharply at the contact.
“Sorry, is it cold?”
My reaction has nothing to do with the temperature of the sunscreen and everything to do with the feeling of his touch on my bare skin.
“It’s fine. You just startled me.”
His calloused fingers run deftly along my shoulders and up my neck to my hairline before swooping down between my shoulder blades. He carefully lifts the back tie of my bikini top, ensuring to cover the skin underneath before running his hands slowly down my lower back, then above the waistband of my bikini bottoms. My skin heats under his touch, craving more and I can’t help but wonder what those calloused hands would feel like on other, more sensitive places.
Dimitri clears his throat huskily. “All done.” But he doesn’t move. He stays behind me.
I think of how easy it would be to just lean back into his chest. To feel his warm skin on mine. To tilt my head up and tell him to kiss me and let the sparks between us fly.
But I don’t.
Instead, I turn around and thank him, asking if he wants me to return the favour. He pulls his shirt off and turns his back to me and I do my best to keep my thoughts innocent as I rub the sunscreen into his olive skin.
When my sunscreen dries, I jump in for a swim. Despite his claims that the water is cold, Dimitri comes with me. We talk and laugh as we swim in the clear sea water and walk along the rocky beach but it’s all flirty smiles and coy looks. Aside from the sunscreen, neither one of us makes a move to touch the other. Part of me wants him to grab me and kiss me as passionately as he did the other night. But I also realize that every time he comes close, I dance away.
I’ve never been the instigator in romantic relationships. I always wait for the guy to make the move. Afraid that I might be misreading the signs. What if he doesn’t feel the same spark or pull that I do? What if he rejects me? I chalk it up to a big girl fear. Something residual from growing up thinking that I wasn’t worthy of feeling pretty or being desired because I have a larger body. So, I talk and tease but despite the obvious attraction between us, and that amazing kiss the other night, Dimitri doesn’t push for anything. He just follows my lead.
When we climb back onboard, Dimitri surprises me again with an incredible picnic spread for lunch. He has the essentials like fresh pita, tzatziki, tomato, olives and cucumber. But he also has a variety of local cheeses and some cured meats.
“It’s not a barbeque but…”
“Are you kidding me?” I exclaim. “This is incredible! Wait, let me take a photo.” I snap a couple of shots of our boat picnic, including one with him in it, before we sit down and dig in. As we eat, I ask Dimitri more about life on the island. Of growing up. Of his family.
He tells me he was raised by a single mom, who sadly passed a couple of years before he moved to Athens. His mom grew up with Spyros and Yiannis’s mother, so he and Yiannis were friends since day one. Spyros, as the single uncle with the boat, was always the fun one for the boys. He never had children of his own, so he formed a strong relationship with the two of them. That close relationship has continued throughout the years.
“Growing up on the boat was amazing,” Dimitri admits. “Not just because it was fun but it was good to practice our English and meet different people.”
“Like girls?” I tease.
Dimitri barks out a laugh, “Honestly, no. Not really. I was always too shy as a teenager. Yiannis wasn’t, but he had Angela.” He shrugs, “But it is how I met Arthur and Anne. They always had the most incredible stories of the things they did and the places they visited around the world. I looked forward to their stay every year to get the latest stories. They even sent me a few postcards. I still have them in a drawer somewhere.”
“Arthur told me a little bit about their adventures. They sound like quite the travellers.”
Dimitri nods, “Anne especially. She had this incredible thirst for adventure and all these ideas. Even in her later years. I was sad to hear she had passed.”
“It must be hard for Arthur,” I muse. “Coming back to a place with so many memories of her. Of them. He told me he’s been coming to Symi for thirty years.”
“Yes, for as long as I can remember. But I think it’s good too. To have all those memories in a special place.”
“Well, this is a special place.”
“You think so?” Dimitri turns away from the waves and the beach we’ve both been watching to face me.
“Definitely. I already have so many amazing memories here.”
“Will this be one of them?”
A smile pulls at the corner of my mouth as I look over at Dimitri, effortlessly sprawled on the cushion beside me. Dark hair pushed back by his sunglasses, blue and black swim shorts slung low on his hips. His tanned, olive skin a stark contrast to the whiteish rocks and cliffs around us. There’s not a chance I’ll be forgetting him or this anytime soon.
“Hmm. Maybe,” I tease, “but we’ll have to see how the rest of the day goes.”
Dimitri sits up, slapping his hands on his knees.
“Well, I guess we better move on then.”
I hop up beside him and together we clear the remains of our picnic lunch. Trailing Dimitri to the back of the boat, we head down the stairs into the interior of the Elena. It’s small with a tiny desk in one corner and a kitchenette in the other, complete with a sink, cupboard full of dishes, and small fridge. There’s a tiny bathroom to the right and another doorway to the left.
“What’s in there?” I ask Dimitri as I pass him the rest of the cheeses to put in the fridge.
“Hmm?” he looks up to where I point, “Ah, that’s the cabin. Go take a look if you want.”
I head over and push the door open, peeking inside. It’s a small space, only enough room really to stand, then a bunk bed built into the wall. The bottom one is larger, like a double, while the top is a single.
“Wait, you can sleep on the boat?”
Dimitri glances up at me from his crouched position. “Yes. Of course.”
“Have you ever slept on the boat?”
“Sure. But usually on the deck. I prefer the open air and the stars.”
He reaches his hand out for me to pass him the remaining tomato and cucumber but it takes me a few seconds to notice. Too caught up in imagining how magical it must be to sleep on a boat in the sea, under the starry Greek sky.
Once we’ve cleared the food and washed the dishes, Dimitri lets me play captain again. We don’t have to go too far to find another cove with another beach. As Dimitri predicted, we’re the only boat on this side of the island in the afternoon. We’ve passed several tourist boats throughout the day, but they have all been going in the other direction. It’s been just us for the last couple of hours.
We swim again, floating in the glassy sea until we are covered in goosebumps. Then we lie at the front of the boat, letting the Mediterranean sun warm us back up. Every so often, Dimitri checks the weather apps on his phone to make sure the wind is still in our favour but so far, we’ve been incredibly lucky with relatively clear blue skies, calm waters, and only a gentle breeze.
“Ready for our last stop?” Dimitri asks me.
I’m lying on my back beside him, eyes closed, face lifted to the sun. Not quite asleep but not quite awake either.
“The magical sunset spot?” I turn my head to the side to look at him. His position mirrors mine except, where I’m wrapped in a towel, he’s still bare-chested in the sunshine.
He shakes his head at me, but there’s laughter in his eyes, “Yes, Calla. The magical sunset spot.”
“Ok!” I grin. “Let’s go.”
Dimitri navigates us down the coastline, pointing out a cute little beach with a scattering of beach chairs and a small taverna. I notice a single car in the parking lot, the first sign of people that we have seen in hours.
“Toli,” he tells me. “Good for sunset views on the island, but by boat, I like to go outside the bay a little more so the land doesn’t block any of the view.”
Toli Beach disappears from sight as we round the tip of the bay and I see what he means. From here, the view is unimpeded by the landscape. It’s just the waves of the sea, a scattering of clouds in the sky, and the giant yellow orb that is the sun.
Golden hour is in full effect and the rays of the sun cast a beautiful warm glow on the island and the waves. Tiny sparkles of light dance on the water with each swell, disappearing into the sea only to pop back up again on the crest of another wave. It’s a bit rougher out here without the shelter of the bay, but I don’t mind.
Dimitri disappears down below, returning with a bottle of wine and two glasses. A final surprise.
“Sunset drink?”
I hold the glasses as he pours, not spilling a single drop even though the boat sways a little beneath us. We toast each other before laying out on the cushions at the front, watching as the sun starts its descent into the sea.
The clouds soon take on a golden-yellow hue, slowly turning pink and then purple as the sun sinks lower in the sky. It’s more of a cotton candy sky than the windmill sunset, but it’s just as magical. The pastel colours are reflected in the water, creating a landscape that almost looks like a painting. I pick up my phone to take a couple of photos.
“Why don’t you go up there, I’ll take one of you and the sunset?” Dimitri offers.
I hesitate for a second, but agree. I should probably have at least one photo of myself here in Symi.
Setting down my wine, I pass Dimitri my phone and walk up to the front. I turn to face the camera and as I do, the wind picks up. Unravelling the towel that I have wrapped around me.
“Oh, wait a second.” I reach down to adjust it. Tucking the edge of the towel into my bikini top where it can’t blow away.
“Ok, ready now.” I look back up towards Dimitri with what I hope is a natural smile on my face, only to see that he’s put my phone down.
“You know you’re beautiful, right?”
My smile drops.
“What?”
“You are beautiful,” he repeats, his voice low, almost raspy as his eyes pin mine in a stare. “All of you. I’ve watched you cover up, hide yourself, and say no to being in any photos but I need you to know that I think that you are absolutely beautiful.”
I look at him, frozen. Watching as his Adams apple bobs in his throat as he swallows nervously.
“I have since the first time I saw you,” he pauses, “in Rhodes.”
His eyes meet mine and I swallow, remembering the first night we actually saw each other. The night he found me with Niko. In all of our conversations in the time since, seeing each other before that first day in the boat hasn’t come up at all.
Until now.
“Then again on the ferry,” he continues. “And the bakery. Definitely sitting here on the boat, rubbing sunscreen onto your legs. I couldn’t keep my eyes off you all day. I knew you could swim just fine at the seal cave, I only got in to be closer to you.”
My lips begin to involuntarily curl into a smile. He notices and presses on.
“You just kept appearing, everywhere. After the day on the boat with the others, I thought that would be it. That I’d never see you again. But then, there you were the next day in Chorio. I couldn’t believe it when you told Arthur that you were staying longer. How lucky I felt when you agreed to go see the sunset with me and the way you kissed me the other night?” He sighs, running a hand through his hair to push it back off his face but his eyes stay glued to mine.
“Calla, I think about you all the time. In the morning, I wake up hoping I’ll get a chance to see you. When I close my eyes at night, I dream about you. Your smile. Your laugh. The way you scrunch your nose when you’re thinking. The way you greet everyone with a smile and treat them all with kindness…everything about you is beautiful and I wish you could see it. I wish you could see yourself as I do.”
Beautiful.
Not hot.
Not sexy.
Dimitri thinks I’m beautiful. And not just my body. All of me.
His eyes stay locked on mine, waiting for me to say something. But he stays where he is. He doesn’t make a move.
So I do.