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Hope: Nope, sorry to disappoint you.
Sara: Where you’re concerned, I’m used to it. You’re not working right now, are you?
Hope: A little
Sara: It’s like being pregnant. A yes or no question.
Hope: Then yes
Hope: Working, not pregnant!
Sara: lol. You had me worried for a second. I don’t like to be kept in the dark. Please tell
me you’re doing something fun there besides working.
Hope: Yes! I’m taking scuba lessons. It’s been a lot of fun.
Sara: Well, that sounds promising. Is your instructor devastatingly handsome, I hope?
Hope winced at that. “Oh, Sara. I’m not about to let you in on that little detail. I know you too well.”
Hope: Hardly. He’s only a guy who works here. Sorry to disappoint you.
Sara: You’re no fun.
* * *
Hope stood on the beach, the warm sand scrunching beneath her toes as she held the compass. Nearly two weeks had passed since she started her scuba class, and she was almost finished. But at the moment, her head might explode. “Wait, you want me to do what?”
“A reciprocal pattern,” Alex said.
Hope narrowed her eyes, one hand on her hips.
“An out and back.” He grinned and held his compass next to hers. “We’re on a heading of zero degrees right now, due north, so we’ll walk twenty paces, turn around 180 degrees, and walk another twenty paces at that heading, which is due south, to get back where we started.”
She gaped at him. “And I’m supposed to do this underwater? Without being able to talk about it if I screw up?”
“That’s why we’re practicing now, before we get in the water.” He paused for a moment. “Let me get behind you, and we’ll march in lockstep, so you can see what I’m talking about.” Putting his compass back in the pocket of his shorts, Alex stood right behind her. “Hold your compass out again.” She did, and he put his arms around her and placed his hands over hers. He pivoted them to the right. “See how the heading changes depending on our direction? Straight up the beach is a zero-degree heading because we’re going straight north.”
Hope tried to listen to his explanation, but she was hyper-conscious of his nearness and the feel of his arms around her. He had showered after the morning dive trip and had a fresh, clean scent.
Get your head in the game, for God’s sake.
She took a deep breath and tried to concentrate. “Ok, so twenty steps, right?”
“You got it. Go ahead.”
Hope walked in measured paces, with Alex immediately behind. After ten steps, she started laughing.
There was a smile in his voice when he asked, “You’re laughing? You think we look ridiculous or something? Come on, let’s turn around 180 degrees.”
Alex spun her around in the opposite direction, and like a lightbulb going off, she understood the heading at 180 degrees and walked back the way they had come. This time Alex let her walk alone and trailed a little behind.
“Try it again, only go out at a 10-degree heading and come back.”
She finished the pattern in front of him with a broad smile. “Ta-da! I think I’ve got it now.”
He laughed. “Me too. Let’s get changed into our wetsuits.” They walked toward a pile of neoprene and scuba equipment sitting next to the pier.
