Chapter 14 #2
There are a few people here, most of them couples who are taking pictures together.
Even I can admit that everything feels romantic in a way it shouldn’t.
Rob always went on the hunt for the best places in town, and if I could’ve gotten him here, he would have used it for some kind of sappy confession.
I wait for Nate to crack a joke about it like he always does. The tension I’m determined to ignore is waiting at the edges of my consciousness, and I can’t tell if it’s because of Rob or if it’s the way something feels like it’s missing from this walk.
Finally, we come to the most extravagant part. The arch above us is covered in purple flowers. The air smells sweet. Ahead of us, couples are taking adorable shots with it as the backdrop.
I watch, an uncomfortable feeling settling in my chest at the sight. At first, I think it’s because I know I won’t have those sorts of moments anymore, not after I dumped Rob.
But it’s something else. Something I can’t name.
Instead, I walk toward it. “Mom would love this,” I say.
I turn my phone on me, eager to get one photo of myself.
The purple flower glasses look cute when I have them on, but my hair is a mess from the wind of the island, baby hairs going everywhere.
I’m tempted to tamp them down, but a hand appears behind me, forming rabbit ears.
I still snap the photo before rolling my eyes.
“If you’re gonna photobomb, then at least be in the photo.”
“Hey, I only go where I’m invit—” He’s cut off when I grab him by the collar of his light blue shirt and yank him into the frame.
“Consider this your invitation. Smile!” He laughs right when I take the photo. His face is full of fondness, an expression I’ve missed. “There we go. One of us both. She’ll leave me alone now.”
“Us,” he reminds. “The last thing we want is for her to ask if we fought.”
He shakes his head and walks off. I follow, but bring the photo up on my phone.
I love the smile he has here. It’s wide, and I can see the goofy expression he always shares with me. It’s something I don’t see with anyone else .
“Berry?” he calls back. “You coming?”
“Y-yeah, sorry.” I jog to catch up, locking my phone.
“What’s got you so distracted?”
You, I want to say. I keep thinking about you.
But that’s not what friends say.
Instead, I only shrug and ask if we have a car to get back to port.
There’s a line to get on the boat back to the cruise ship.
“Here we go again,” I mutter.
“Feeling nervous?” Nate asks.
“Oh, you know me. I love standing over water while waiting in line to get on a tiny boat. My favorite.”
Nate’s eyes go to my hand, but he doesn’t reach out for it. “Let me know if you need me.”
I hope not to need him.
But I probably will.
People pack in together way too tightly.
I can tell most of them are eager to be back on the boat, and some have no issues cutting in line.
A few times I get shoved, but I’m determined not to reach for Nate’s hand, even as a few people get in between us.
I should call out for him, but he seems to hate being close to me so much that I don’t want to make him miserable.
I’m probably safe in the sea of people, and I can’t see the water as well since I’m short. I keep my eyes on the transporting boat, determined to make it through this.
And that’s when it all goes wrong.
“Hang on!” someone calls just before the crowd lurches. “I gotta catch up to my wife! She’s way ahead of me!”
Someone pushes my back and I lose my footing. I fall right in between two people who are at the edge of the dock. We’re near the boat, just where the water gets deeper. There’s nothing there to catch my feet as I tumble, feeling like I’m in free fall for all of a second.
And then there’s water everywhere .
It stings my eyes and gets into my mouth.
There’s no way to see, and both the water and my fear are choking me.
I have no idea which way is up and which way is down.
Panic claws at my throat and I don’t know what to do.
My feet and arms are useless as I flail around, desperately trying to get to the surface.
But just as quickly as I fell into the water, I’m out of it. I’m pulled against a strong body, their hand curling around my waist as I suck in air gratefully.
I’m a mess of coughs as I try to clear my lungs. My hands lock around whoever was brave enough to save me, and I know I won’t be letting go any time soon.
“I’ve got you,” a familiar voice says. It’s meant to be calming, but I can hear the tightness in it. “You’re not going back under.”
It’s Nate. Of course it’s Nate. He had to have been nearly at the boat, but the second he heard me fall, he came back for me.
All I can do is hold onto him as I try to catch my breath. My arms wind around his neck as I let him get us to the edge of the dock.
“Take her first,” I hear Nate say, and suddenly, I’m being pulled. I make a noise, trying to keep Nate with me, but the arms grabbing me are too strong, and I’m out of the water and on the dock a moment later.
Nate is hoisted up next, and I’m reaching for him before I can think twice about it. Instead of flinching away, I’m the first one he runs to.
His hands are on my face, rubbing my cheeks as he checks me over. “Are you okay?” he asks.
I don’t know how to answer. My body is hopped-up on energy I didn’t know I had. My eyes hurt. I can’t catch my breath.
And I also can’t let go of Nate .
“Are you on the cruise?” someone asks. A crowd has formed around us. “There’s a nurse’s station on board.”
“We are,” Nate says. “That’s where we’re going.”
I yelp as he hoists me up, but I don’t mind.
The ride to the medic is a blur. I can’t panic about the boat because all of my energy was used when I was underwater. Nate hovers like a mother hen. Dimly, I wonder if I should fall into water more often.
“What happened?” the nurse asks.
“She fell off the dock. She may have inhaled some water. Some idiot ran right into her.”
My eyes widen at the sound of his voice. Nate doesn’t get angry.
Until now, I guess.
The nurse turns to me. “What a day. Is all that true?”
Slowly, I nod. “I think I’m fine. Unless I’m in some form of shock.”
“It can happen. Let’s make sure your breathing is okay and check for anything else.” She gives me a smile. “Luckily you had someone there to get you out.”
I glance at Nate. “Well, he said he would be there to save me.”
“Always will.”
The words fill me with a warmth that chases away the last bits of fear.
After looking me over, the nurse gives me a clean bill of health and says I can leave at any time.
My fists have been clenched. I know that the feeling of water invading my nose is going to haunt me, and he’s going to witness every bit of it.
But the second we’re alone, Nate slumps.
“Fuck, that was terrifying.” He shakes his head. “I can’t even imagine what it was like for you.”
“Yeah, it wasn’t my favorite way to spend an afternoon. ”
“God, when I heard you fall, I—” His eyes close. Then he does the last thing I expect.
He pulls me into a hug.
I’m pressed against his chest and he’s got me in a tight grip. I don’t think about what could come of this with my newfound feelings. I just know he’s here and he’s the only thing I need.
My arms wrap around him and I hold him as tight as he’s holding me. I have no idea how long he’ll tolerate this, but I’ll steal all the seconds I can.
It ends too soon.
Nate pulls away, and I expect to find the usual distance. But instead, he hovers just away from me, his hands on my shoulders.
“Talk to me,” he says. “How are you feeling? Are you okay?”
I take it all in. “I’m cold and I smell. I still can’t swim and might have sunken into that nasty water ...”
Nate lets out a harsh breath. “I wouldn’t let that happen to you.”
“I know. Thank you.”
“Still, maybe I shouldn’t have pushed you to come on this cruise.”
I frown. “What? Why?”
“You’ve been miserable this entire time, and then you got pushed into the damn water by an idiot.” He shakes his head.
“ I was the one who originally planned this whole thing. And you were right. We need this time together. That wasn’t fun, I’ll admit. But it didn’t ruin anything.”
“You just had to relive your biggest fear and it didn’t ruin anything?” He raises an eyebrow. “Are you sure about that?”
I am. I know it immediately. Falling into the water doesn’t erase the moment in the ruins from the day before, where we simply existed in each other’s space, or the photo I now have that I want to print out and put on my wall.
But if anyone had asked me a few months ago, I would have said falling into the water would’ve ruined anything .
I was a different person then. Hell, just a week ago I was. That version of me hadn’t dumped Rob, hadn’t gotten on a boat with Nate.
I always thought fear ruled me, but I’d just fallen in the water. I’d lived.
What else could I do?
“I think I am. But I’ll feel even better when I have a shower.”
He looks down at me and then himself. “Yeah, we’re both really gross right now. Who knows what was in that water anyway?”