An idea occurs to me. I have always made my own luck, haven’t I? I pull my shirt off in one fell swoop and with a little satisfaction, I am pleased when I see her gulp the second I start to unbutton my jeans.
I want to impress this girl.
“What are you doing?” She raises her voice a little and crosses her arms in front of herself defensively.
I grin as two pink clouds appear on her cheeks. “I told you I was going to treat you to fresh lobsters, so I’m going to get fresh lobsters.” I kick off my shoes and step out of the heap of my jeans.
Without warning, I leap out of the boat and dive into the watery depth below.
I’m surprised that I can still hold my breath for that long. It has been years since I dove for lobsters and crabs. I used to trawl these waters with Dad and Uncle Pete. They used to joke that I could swim like a fish. The ocean still feels like home to me. I can be myself here. There are no investors, board meetings, and paparazzi down here. I can just swim and fish as I like.
Lucky for me, I spot a family of three lobsters lazily crawling on the seafloor. I realize a little too late that I have nothing with me but a net. I should have brought some proper tools with me. However, with deft fingers and the net, I manage to capture them after several tries. I can’t wait to see Amelia’s face when I hop back into the boat with my booty in tow. She must think that I’m crazy.
Without a hitch, I rise to the surface and climb back into the boat. I triumphantly show her the lobsters in my net. I haven’t felt this happy in years. Pride swells in my chest. I want to show off and impress her. Come on, how many Fortune 500 CEOs can free dive lobsters for their dates?
She is unwilling to give more than a cursory glance to my trophies. “What took you so long?” Long? I couldn’t have been gone for more than a few minutes. Otherwise, my lungs would burst! Her outrageous accusation drives me crazy.
“What?” I was hoping for at least a hint of admiration and praise, and she doesn’t need to get so angry. I haven’t worked this hard to impress a woman in years. I push down hard my rising anger. “I wanted to get all three of them. It took a while.” I reach for her shoulder with my hand, hoping that the light touch would soothe her and end this ridiculous conversation.
She slaps my hand away. “Why did you take so long?”
I clench my jaw. All I wanted to do was to show her a good time. Now she is hounding me like I just stayed out all night with a pair of cheap floozies. Also, what right does she have to talk to me this way? We barely had one kiss. I realize this was all just a big mistake.
“I just told you,” I answer coldly. Why is it that no matter what I do, it is never good enough for other people? Feeling defeated, I toss the lobsters into the cooler at the stern. “Let’s just head back,” I say as I shut the door on the doomed creatures.
Instead of more accusations and yelling, she sobs. For a second, I stand there, confused. Somehow, I have upset her. Waves of guilt wash over me. I thought she was just trying to control and manipulate me like the other women in my life. She turns her face away from me, but I can still see tears pooling in her beautiful green eyes and rolling down her soft cheeks. Her shoulders are shaking uncontrollably while she buries her face between her knees.
The heart that I didn’t know I still have breaks into a million little pieces. I want to wrap my arms around her trembling shoulders and take all the sadness away from her. I want to take all of her sadness away forever. I realize I was just having fun, but I hadn’t given a thought to how she might have felt. I have scared the poor girl. I feel like a jackass.
I slowly get down on my knees and put my hands on her shoulders. She doesn’t flinch away this time. I gather her into my arms. Her small body is warm and supple as I press her tightly into my chest. Her shoulders convulse with each of her silent sobs. I embrace her and she clings tightly to me as if to make sure that I hadn’t really drowned and am not just a figment of her imagination. She cries into my chest and I hug her soft curves tighter. My chin rests on her soft hair as I gently rock her body. I realize how delicate and precious she feels in my arms.
“Hey, hey.” I brush the hair away from her forehead and ask softly, “What’s wrong? What’s the matter?”
“I was so worried! I was so scared!” she blurts out. Her bluntness and honesty touch me. I am elated to hear that she cares so much about me.
No one has ever worried about my wellbeing like this in a long time. Warmth spreads from my chest into the rest of my cold, damp limbs. “I shouldn’t have just jumped off like that. I’m sorry. I’m here now. It’s okay.”
With my finger, I trace the soft slope of her cheek and lift her chin. I lower my head and bring my mouth to hers. It tastes sweet and warm, mixed in with a bit of sea salt
