“You were,” he said, leaning back and letting the oars rest. He swallowed. “What were you thinking about?”
My lips parted in shock. Was he really asking me this?
“Or should the question be who were you thinking about?”
This time, my jaw hinged open. “Theo!”
“Oh, that’s right,” he said as he began rowing again. “You wanted to talk about me, huh?”
Theo winked, and I rolled my eyes, playfully splashing him with water as he steered us toward a small opening in the limestone cliffside. Part of me wanted to cover my red face with my hands or leap into the water to get away from his gaze, but he somehow made me feel… comfortable. I couldn’t explain it. He’d just asked me the most personal question anyone ever had, but it didn’t make me angry and I didn’t feel embarrassed, either.
If anything, I was starting to get turned on again.
What is wrong with you, Aspen!?
The closer we got to the island, the more I craned my neck to take it all in. There were stairs that led down to the water from what appeared to be a restaurant above, and Theo tied our boat to the railing before digging into one of the bags.
“Here,” he said, tossing me a pair of swim fins. “Put these on.”
“What is this place?” I asked as I strapped the fins to each foot.
“The Blue Grotto.”
“Really?!” I asked excitedly, eyeing the small cave opening in the side of the cliff. “Don’t we have to pay for a tour boat or something? I was reading up on it because I wanted to take some photos.”
“They run tours all day until about five or so,” Theo said, strapping on his last fin. “After that, everyone leaves, and the only real way to get here is if you have a boat.” He waved a hand over our little rowboat with a grin.
“Sounds like we could get in trouble,” I mused. Then, I held up one of my fin-covered feet. “Isn’t it also illegal to swim in the Grotto?”
His smile widened, but he didn’t answer. Instead, he stood, his eyes cast down on me as he stripped his white t-shirt overhead and let it drop into the boat at his feet. He arched a brow at me, something of a challenge sparkling in his irises, and then he dove over my head and into the water.
The splash of cold water made me gasp, but then laughter bubbled out of me, and before I could even think better of it, I had my t-shirt peeled off and I was jumping in the water, too.
“Ah!” I said when my head emerged again. “It’s f-f-freezing.”
“You’ll warm up,” Theo said, and there was mischief in his eyes when he added. “I promise.”
He nodded toward the small cave opening in the limestone, and then we swam that direction, and I was thankful for the fins because there was nothing to hold onto and no hope of possibly touching the bottom. I followed behind Theo with him checking over his shoulder now and then to make sure I was alright, and when we got to the cave opening, he paused, reaching back to grab my hand.
“Hold onto me,” he said, pulling my hand to rest on his shoulder. “Stay low in the water and watch your head.”
The opening was so small I couldn’t imagine sitting on one of the row boats I read tour guides brought people in with. And once we made it inside the cave, there was a split second where I wondered how more than just a few people fit inside.
Of course, that thought vanished in the next second, because I lost my breath at the grand wonder of it all.
The closer we got to the cave opening, the bluer the water seemed to get, and once we passed through and inside, it was as if the water was glowing from underneath us. It was crystal clear, a shade of blue so illustrious I couldn’t quite put a name to it. It was turquoise, but also robin’s egg, and perhaps a sky at dawn or a fresh fountain in the sun. The limestone stretched up and over us, and it was as if the ceiling was dripping down but had been frozen, the jagged edges caught mid-drip.
“Oh my God,” I whispered, because speaking at a normal level inside that beautiful cave seemed rude and uncalled for. “This is… I can’t believe this is real.”
Theo smiled, swimming deeper into the cave and pulling me along with him. “It’s even brighter when it’s midday and the sun comes in full force, but of course, you have to battle row boats full of tourists if you come then,” he said. He paused when we were in the middle of the cave, turning to face me. “I’ve always come here after hours. Shhh… don’t tell on me.”
I smirked, but something in my chest tightened at the thought. “I’m sure every girl you bring here just swoons right into your arms.”
Theo cocked a brow. “I wouldn’t know,” he said, smiling at my confused expression. “I’ve always come alone.”
My heart tha-dumped in my chest, a quick beat and then pitter-patters that left me feeling dizzy and short of breath.
“Does that surprise you?”
“Yes,” I confessed.
Theo smiled, leaning back to float in the water. “Oh, that’s right. You think I’m a big playboy, huh?”
“Are you not? I mean, I saw you with those French girls that first night I worked for you on the boat.”
Theo arched a brow. “You were watching me?”
“No,” I said quickly, cheeks hot again. “Well… I mean, I just saw you with them all night, the way they were hanging all over you. And then you all went up to your room…”
“And were you in there, to see what happened after?”
I looked away, not willing to admit that I had seen them through the windows before he drew the curtains closed.
Then
