Chapter Six #2
Two fins continued with us along our path, but the third troublemaker stopped and poked its head out of the water, whistling, clicking, and nodding its head. Elias stopped and splashed the dolphin, his brilliant smile shining like the sun, his eyes as bright as the sky.
“Lena! Come here!”
Nervous, but captivated by the beautiful creature bobbing its head above the waves, I swam to meet him, and he wrapped an arm around my waist. “Don’t be afraid,” he said and pressed me against his muscled torso. Adrenaline surged, but it wasn’t just from the wild dolphin within arm’s reach.
“Hey, buddy.” The dolphin lay on its side, waving a fin in the air as if it understood Elias’s words.
“Good swim today.” He scratched its belly.
The dolphin whistled and clicked, waving its fin and nodding its long snout like a dog.
“Yeah, you like that, don’t you. Go ahead, Lena. Give him a scratch.”
My hand shook as I reached out. I touched the dolphin, tentative at first, a brush of my fingertips against its smooth, almost slimy belly.
It waved its flipper while I ran my fingers along its slippery skin.
I giggled like a child, filled with the indulgent joy of the moment, and scratched in earnest. The dolphin bobbed its head up and down, whistled, and dove beneath the waves.
It disappeared for only a moment before launching out of the water in a graceful arc, the sun glinting off its sleek body.
It plunged back into the water, sending another wave crashing over our heads.
Joy sprung forth from my heart, a glowing point of light that erupted into a blazing sun, radiating bright, exhilarating energy.
I threw my head back in laughter, lost in the moment’s decadence.
Elias tightened his arm around my waist, and I wrapped mine around his neck.
I rested my chin on his shoulder, and he squeezed me tight in his arms.
Peace. Contentment. Happiness. Feelings I hadn’t experienced off my mat in what felt like an eternity. They all lived in the space between us.
He pulled back enough to look into my eyes. “See. Nothing to be afraid of.”
“Thank you,” I said, breathless, but from the dolphins or Elias, I wasn’t sure. “Thank you for sharing that with me.”
We floated, entwined in each other’s arms, faces mere inches apart.
The desire in his eyes burned hot, and his gaze once again dipped to my mouth.
My eyelids became heavy, each caress of his warm breath against my cool skin sending a luscious frisson of heat to my core.
Our lips crept toward each other as if pulled by the force of their hunger to touch.
My body wanted him to kiss me, to press his lips against mine and claim me.
But my mind, packed with painful memories of betrayal, won the battle.
I leaned in and placed a kiss on his cheek before he could make a move.
I lingered there, longer than necessary, desperate to prolong his closeness, but managed enough self-control to pull back.
Our eyes locked, and his lips parted in surprise as I wiggled free of his arms and started to swim for the shore.
I made it to shallow waters, scrambled to my feet through the break, and trudged through the sand.
Collapsing onto my towel, my breath came hard and heavy.
Swimming was not my forte, no matter how fit I was from yoga.
I flopped onto my stomach and shielded my eyes from the sun to watch Elias emerge from the water.
He strode up the beach, his powerful body moving with purpose, and when he reached me, he sank down onto the sand.
“That was fun.” His eyes sparkled in the light, a blue as bright and clear as the ocean in front of us.
I propped myself up on my elbows. “I’ve never done anything like that.” The words tumbled out of me in rapid succession. “That was incredible! I mean, dolphins! We swam with dolphins! In the wild! I can’t believe you do that every day.”
“Not every day.” He leaned back, resting on his elbows, and squinted under the sun’s brilliance. “But often enough. There aren’t many things I enjoy more than swimming. Sharing a piece of the freedom those dolphins have? Priceless.”
I rested my hands on the sand and my chin on my hands, letting the sun warm my body, cool now after the swim and from the light ocean breeze.
Elias’s eyes bored into my back, so I rolled onto my side and propped my head up on a bent elbow.
His eyes shifted to my sports bra, then my underwear, and then my face.
“We need to get you a proper swimsuit if you’re going to come swimming with us again.”
I sat up and slugged him in the shoulder. “I have a proper swimsuit!”
He mouthed an “ow” and chuckled.
“I hadn’t planned on coming this morning. Well, not so early anyway. Yoga was extra hot.”
“Ah, yoga. I knew you had to be an athlete.” His eyes traveled the length of my body before settling back on my face, his hungry gaze as palpable as if he’d used his hands. “You have great muscle tone.”
I raised an eyebrow and put every ounce of effort into not blushing, but failed, my insides heating to a boil.
“What? You’re in your underwear!”
I swatted at him, and he chuckled again. “I’m serious! I noticed your arms the other day. You don’t get arms like that unless you’re an athlete.”
“Thanks.”
I did my own once-over of his magnificent body. Woof. “You’re not exactly a slouch yourself.” He shrugged like that was obvious, and I snorted at his ego.
“So, you do yoga?”
“I do. I’m an instructor. I own a studio in Charleston.”
“An athlete and a business owner? Right on.”
My pride swelled. “Thanks. It’s a lot of work, but it’s rewarding. And I love teaching.”
“Must be nice to take some time off and be a student for a change.”
“It is, I guess. I hadn’t thought about it that way, but yeah.” Thinking about this as a break to enjoy my own practice hadn’t even occurred to me. I used to be like Elias, focusing on positivity and fun in any situation. When had I lost that?
“What about you? You mentioned last night you’re not a musician. So, what do you do?”
“I help run the family business. I teach swimming, open diving, sailing, water sports. I run charters. Basically, anything that involves the ocean.”
“That sounds very you.”
“It is. A new adventure every day. I never know what the next week will bring, but I always know I’ll be on the water.”
I hesitated, worried that asking about his family might reopen wounds and cause me to spiral, but I was too intrigued not to ask. “You work with your family?”
“Yeah. My family owns the Ocean Explorers Club here in Sea Pines. My papa and his brother started a fishing company when they emigrated from Greece. Then my dad and Niko’s dad turned it into what it is today—a tourism company. Charter sailing, open diving, general water sports.”
That explained Elias and Niko—their names, their Mediterranean tans, their piercing blue eyes.
“I can’t believe your family owns the Ocean Explorers Club. My grandma used to take me on the dolphin cruises when I was little.”
“Right on. We still do those, and a lot more. It’s funny we both grew up on this island and never met until now.”
I couldn’t help the mischievous grin that took over my face.
“Well, I do think you’re a few years older than me.
” He snorted and rolled his eyes. “But maybe not so surprising. I went to Montessori until high school and spent most of my summers with my grandma at her herbalism shop learning about Ayurveda and natural healing. I’m sure you spent your summers on the water. ”
“Yup. Helping the family business as soon as I was useful. And I went to high school in Greece, so…”
“Ah. There you go.
“I envy you having such a big family and getting to work with your parents on your family’s legacy.”
“I’m lucky, for sure. But our parents are much older now and largely out of the day-to-day business.
Niko manages the office, the finances, all that stuff.
” Elias made a face like he tasted something sour.
“And I run the charters and classes. With the help of a few of my cousins, of course. Everyone chips in.
“Like I said last night—my family means the world to me. My family and the ocean.”
He turned his gaze to the water, and his eyes filled with longing. If Elias ever looked at a woman like that, she’d be lost to him forever.
I propped myself up to sit, bent my legs, and wiggled my toes in the sand. I rested my forearms on my knees and clasped my hands in front of me. Elias scooched forward, and we sat side by side in comfortable silence, watching the never-ending expanse of ocean perform its slow, rhythmic dance.
“Whatcha thinking?”
“About my studio,” I said, wistfully.
Out of the corner of my eye, he tilted his head to face me, patiently waiting for an explanation. A good listener, too. Great. The reasons for resisting a friendship with this man were dwindling fast.
“It’s silly.” I looked down at my feet, embarrassed and wishing I hadn’t said anything.
But his eyes remained steady and penetrating, and I sighed in concession, resting my cheek on my hands to look at him.
“Your family business. It sounds like a community, everyone doing their part and supporting each other. Everyone’s needed.
“The way things are going with my studio right now, I’m not sure it needs me anymore. Candace—my office manager—she runs such a tight ship. And we have enough instructors even without me there. Losing my only family, not feeling like I’m needed at my own studio…”
My husband leaving me for another woman.
“I want to feel like I belong. Like I’m needed.”
Like I’m important to someone. Like I’m loved.
“And right now, I just feel alone.”