AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Sabrina wiped her eyes, trying to catch her breath. “You buried yourself in the sand?”
“What else was I supposed to do? I was naked!” I exclaimed, throwing my hands up for emphasis as another wave of laughter rolled through our group. “There was a shark, and I had to get out of the water, but then Veronica had run off with my trunks!”
“With all the people with their phones out, I’m surprised there’s not a viral video of you floating around,” Daphne said, then smirked. “I’d pay to see that.”
“Me, too!” Sabrina said, taking a bite from a falafel that was as big as her face.
“I would pay for you to not see it!” I replied, laughing with them. “Plus, it was a ghastly endeavor to get all of the sand off—and out—of me!”
I leaned back and grinned, not minding at all that they were all being entertained at my expense, since Veronica was by my side, looking more relaxed than ever. The ambience of the night market was perfect for such a moment, the park by the pier coming to life with countless chefs, clad in white hats, working their gas grills, fryers, and rotisseries, and offering the best Swahili cuisine imaginable. I had already enjoyed grilled octopus, a kebab of tandoori lobster, Zanzibari pizza, and fresh-pressed sugarcane juices with ginger, but I was in the mood to sample something else.
“I’ll be right back,” I said, pushing my chair out and standing.
“Here he goes again,” Simon commented. “What are you going for this time, August?”
I grinned. “I guess I’ll find out when I see it.”
“Hang on!” Caleb said, returning with a tray of drinks and setting it on the table in front of us. “Everybody has been saying we had to try these, so I couldn’t resist getting a round.”
I sat back down. “You won’t hear me complaining.”
As we passed the drinks around the table, Simon said, “Are those the spiced drinks?”
Caleb nodded. “Yes, sir. They’re called Spiced Zanj Madafus, or something close to that.” He laughed. “Fresh pineapple juice, madafu water—which is the young coconut, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, and a few other things I can’t remember. Just drink it.” He laughed again as we all toasted.
“Cheers!” everyone said in unison.
I leaned closer to Veronica, lowering my voice so only she could hear. “Have you noticed anything different about Caleb and Daphne? They’ve been unusually quiet tonight.”
She whispered back, “I have. And they’ve been sneaking glances at each other all evening. Something definitely happened during their snorkeling trip.”
Intrigued, I turned to them. “How was your day out in the ocean? See anything interesting?”
Caleb cleared his throat, his gaze flicking to Daphne before answering. “It was great. The coral reefs are amazing ... and, uh, we saw some pretty incredible marine life.”
Daphne nodded, her cheeks tinged with pink. “The giant turtles are such beautiful creatures.”
Their vague answers only piqued our interest further.
Veronica probed further when she said, “Sounds like there is more to the story. Anything else we should know?”
Daphne finally broke into a shy smile. “Well, we might have shared more than just a snorkeling adventure, but we don’t need to get into it.”
“She kissed me,” Caleb blurted out.
“What?” Veronica said, her head whipping toward Daphne. “You kissed my brother?”
“It was an accident!” she defended with flushed cheeks.
I chuckled. “And just how do you accidentally kiss someone?”
Daphne hastened to explain, her voice filled with nervous laughter. “It happened on the packed local bus coming back from the snorkeling. We were standing, because there were no seats left, and we were both holding onto the same pole, just inches apart. Then the bus driver took a corner way too fast. I lost my balance completely and fell into his mouth.”
I couldn’t help laughing. “You fell into his mouth?”
Daphne shrugged. “Pretty much, yeah. Like I said, an accident.”
“If you say so,” Caleb said with a grin, playfully bumping her arm with his.
