Chapter 7
RAFFA
So, seabobbing is a blast.
I had no idea this activity even existed, but here I am, holding on to the handles of a large bullet-shaped water-scooter as it powers me through the ocean at what feels like thirty miles an hour, though our instructor tells us we’ll only be able to do about twelve miles an hour tops with it.
We’re heading for a nearby coral reef where we’re going to do some shallow diving and check out the fish and other sea creatures that live around it.
It definitely beats staring at a laptop screen, that’s for sure.
The sun is warm on my back – the water isn’t exactly cold either – and adrenaline fills my blood, rushing a pleasant high through my body.
It also helps that I’m doing this with Ida.
She was completely focussed as our instructor gave us a fifteen-minute run-down of how to work the seabob and what to expect, both on the journey with it and when we were diving down to see the marine life once we were at the coral.
There was something of a coiled-spring about her body language, like she couldn’t wait to get going with this adventure. It made my heart beat faster to see it.
I think she’s determined to do this better than me, after I won our dance-off last night. At least, that’s the impression I’m getting as she drives her seabob through the water at top speed.
She’s a quick study. It’s impressive.
Her determination to be the best at this only fuels my own, of course, and I lock-in and concentrate hard on my technique in order to keep up with her – the main aim being to beat her to the reef.
Not that we’ve openly discussed any kind of competition.
But the unspoken challenge is there anyway, I can feel it. Pulsing between us.
It’s exhilarating.
And a real turn-on.
Forcing my thoughts back to the seabob, I will the thing to speed up, even though I’ve pressed the accelerator button to the max.
Ida beats me there, though I’m still ahead of our instructor who’s come along with us to guide us towards the best parts of the reef to explore.
We wait, bobbing in the water, still clutching the seabobs until he catches us up a minute later.
‘You both did great,’ the guy says, giving us a nod of respect.
‘Thanks, man,’ I say.
‘That was so fun,’ Ida says.
We grin at each other and my heart does a slow flip at how cool she looks with her hair slicked back, her visor temporarily pushed onto her head to see better whilst out of the water, and her skin glistening with seawater in the bright sunlight.
Like some kind of siren.
‘The best place to start is over there,’ our instructor says, bringing my attention back to the task at hand. ‘There will be lots of fish.’
He moves off slowly in the direction he’s just pointed, keeping his speed low.
I wave for Ida to go next, not wanting her to know how much it’s bothering me that she’s such a natural at this.
Seemingly like everything else she does.
She’s so effortlessly cool.
This is the first time I’ve been envious of someone in a very long time.
Once she’s on her way, I bring up the rear, enjoying the sight of her gliding gracefully through the water in front of me.
When we get to the site, the instructor shows us how to dive with the seabobs and we both just go for it, taking deep breaths before dipping the noses of the jets into the water and pushing down whilst accelerating until we’re submerged.
We head incrementally deeper towards where the coral reef is waiting for our visit, keeping our speed steady and slow enough to take in everything around us.
The snorkelling visors we’re wearing means we can see everything underwater perfectly. The brightly coloured tropical fish flit between the gold, lavender and pink coral, giving this world beneath the ocean a cartoonish technicolour-like appearance.
We can see where large frames have been planted into the seabed and new coral is growing, bringing the reef back to life and attracting stingrays, parrot fish and butterfly and clown fish to come and live within it.
It’s great to see the project is having such a positive effect.
It makes me reflect on how little attention I’ve paid to the natural world in the last few years, chained to my desk, staring at a screen in an air-conditioned office.
I’m suddenly very grateful to Ida for persuading me to come and do this with her.
It’s reopened a world in my mind that I’ve shut out recently.
Perhaps I need to look at how much time I’m spending indoors. I mean, I’m aware of how little fresh air I get on a month-by-month basis, choosing to go to an indoor gym instead of walking or swimming outside.
Time to reassess that, maybe.
When I have a moment, that is.
Work, right now, has to come first.
I can’t drop the ball when I’ve worked so hard to get this new business venture to where it currently is.
I’ve lived and breathed it for too long to let it slide now.
And I’m not ready to hand over the reins yet to my CEO-in-waiting.
There’s more I can do to get it to where it needs to be before I step away and sell it, profitability wise.
Once we’ve spent a while exploring the seabed and enjoying swimming amongst the fish, the instructor gestures for us to head back to the hotel. The seabobs only hold their charge for about an hour and I definitely don’t want to have to swim all the way back to where we started.
Just as the instructor sets off back in the direction we came from, I hear Ida say beside me, ‘Okay, race you back. Last one to shore is a loser.’
I catch a flash of her wide grin before she speeds off in front of me, whooping her delight at the look of bewildered frustration on my face.
Right.
The game is on.
I accelerate hard, hot on her tail.
The water slaps at my face as I bounce through the gentle waves back towards our destination. I’m determined to win this. I get the feeling I’ll never hear the end of it from Ida if she gets there first.
Not that I’d blame her. I’ll probably be exactly the same if I win our race.
I actually like this about her. She’s not scared to compete with me and it makes me feel like we’re well matched. As friends, that is.
It occurs to me that I’m at a disadvantage though; her seabob is carrying a few stone less of bodyweight than mine, not that I’m about to use that as an excuse if I don’t win this.
But as we’re heading in pretty much a straight line back to the hotel, there’s very little chance for me to get ahead of her now.
She makes it back before I do and is already standing on the sand by the time I reach the shallows.
I wade out of the water, letting the instructor lift the seabob out of the ocean and put it next to Ida’s and his own.
It feels weird to be last.
But all I can do is suck it up.
‘Well done,’ I say, pressing my mouth into a smile as I walk up to her on the beach. I’m not pissed off with her, more with myself. Though I’ve no real reason to be.
I guess I just really wanted her to see me being great at this and respecting me for it.
Not that I need anyone’s approval.
I’m happy with my status in the world.
But it would have been pleasing to win.
‘Thanks,’ she says, clearly trying to suppress a grin of superior satisfaction.
She folds her arms in front of her and I can’t help but notice how it pushes her amazing breasts higher.
I’ve been trying very hard not to look at her in her swimming costume and keep my gaze on her face at all times, but this manoeuvre breaks my resolve not to look.
She has an incredible body. Fit and curvy. Beautiful.
My pulse picks up and I feel myself get hard.
Why is this turning me on so much?
I really need to rein in these feelings and pull it together.
‘Let’s get back and change, shall we? I’m hungry,’ I bite out, acutely aware of how rough my voice sounds.
I wonder if she’s speculating about exactly what I’m hungry for.
I hope to God I’m not being that transparent. The last thing I want is for her to feel uncomfortable around me.
A small frown of confusion passes over her face, but she quickly rearranges her features into a smile. ‘Sure. Me too. Let’s go.’
Letting out a covert breath, I turn to thank our instructor, then head with her back across the hot sand towards our villa – and more alone time together.
* * *
Ida
I’m ridiculously pleased to have beaten Raffa at the race back to the shore.
I know it’s kind of childish, but the look on his face when I sped off in front of him was an absolute picture and it kept me smiling all the way back to the beach.
He’s clearly not used to losing at anything, and this small win has left me with a buzz of adrenaline which is making my heart leap about in my chest.
For the first time, I feel a sense of dominance over him.
We walk in silence back to our villa, his arm swinging close to mine as we stroll along the narrow wooden decking across the water. My skin prickles at our close proximity, sending crackling little currents of need along my nerves.
The noise from the seabob’s engine and the rushing of the water has left a ringing in my ears, but this quietens as we get closer to the villa.
Once there, we walk inside and Raffa shuts the door behind us then turns to look at me.
I’m standing in the middle of the living area, waiting for him.
I’m not entirely sure what I’m waiting for, but it seems important not to just escape off to my room.
My pulse beats hard in my throat as we look at each other, both seemingly trying to read the other’s expression.
But we don’t know each other well enough yet.
He walks towards me, every step bringing with it a rise in delicious tension in my chest, but stops a foot or so away, the corner of his mouth lifting in a challenging grin.
The air feels charged between us. At least I don’t think I’m imagining that.
I also don’t think he’s going to make a move.
He’s too controlled.
Or is he?
He’s certainly not moving now. Just standing there, looking at me, his piercing gaze roving over my face like he’s searching for something specific in my expression.
‘Well done,’ he murmurs, his voice sounding rougher than normal. ‘I seem to have met my match.’