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Alicia gave her a snide look as she pulled her shorts on over her swimsuit. “So you’re going to swim in the great, big, scary ocean. Well, don’t go where I am because I don’t want you to embarrass me by screaming bloody murder if you have one of your panic attacks.” Hurrying out of the room, Alicia slammed the door behind her.
Taking a deep breath that didn’t settle her nerves, Caitlin soon joined Levka and his friends who all acted as her moral support for her swimming excursion. Or at least attempt at swimming.
She still wanted to know what was going on concerning Petroski, but today she wanted to put that concern aside as she tried to suppress the way her skin pebbled up in tiny goose bumps all down her arms and legs.
The white sand was warm and silky between her toes as ivory-shelled crabs ducked into holes that disappeared immediately afterwards.
The rolling aqua waves beckoned her to come and play. Having loved the ocean since she was very small, she hated how afraid she was of it now.
She waded out to her knees, then turned back and motioned to Levka. “Come in. Water’s nice and warm.” She wanted him nearby. Something about him gave her an inner strength when she couldn’t seem to conjure it up herself, and she could definitely use some of it now.
The only thing that helped her slightly was the fact she could see through the crystal clear water all the way to the sandy white bottom. No sharks. Just pretty blue and yellow fish swimming in schools around her legs, some attempting to nibble on her.
After Levka surrendered his T-shirt, he walked in up to his knees in his denim shorts.
She smiled. “Sorry. I didn’t think about you wearing shorts, not swim trunks.”
“They’ll dry.” He took her hand and strolled in the water along the beach for a little way.
Then she pulled him to a stop. “Okay. I’m going to get in. It’s shallow up to our chest a ways out. Do you want to come with me?”
“As long as you promise to rescue me if I get in over my head.”
“Absolutely.” She tried to tamp down the edginess that threatened to unravel her resolve. Wading deeper, she watched for any signs of fins.
When she was waist deep, she stopped, trying to bolster her waning courage.
“Did you want to go any farther?” Levka asked.
She nodded and headed farther out.
When she was up to her neck in the warm water, the tide reached Levka’s chest, and he pulled her close. She wanted to pretend the ocean didn’t terrify her, that she could manage this all on her own, but the longer she stood there unable to see what was all around her, the more her fear got the best of her.
Tamping down her panic, she tried to reason with herself, but Levka’s next words made her realize she just couldn’t push her recovery any faster.
“You’re trembling. Are you cold?”
“I’m ready to go back in,” she said, disappointed in herself. Did Levka realize she wasn’t cold? She hoped not, the water and air were warm.
She cried out when she saw a silvery fish with a torpedo-shaped body and dagger-like teeth. “A tiger of the sea!”
“What?”
“Barracuda and their jagged teeth can rip your skin to shreds.” She grabbed Levka’s hand and tried to rush into shore, but the wall of warm, salty water she pressed against slowed her retreat. She glanced back to see the barracuda following them.
The water tugged at their legs, and the sand sifted beneath their feet, impeding their movement. Small waves pushed them toward the shore, then the tide pulled them back out, as Caitlin’s heart picked up its pace
But he suddenly lifted her out of the water and seemed to move so quickly it was a blur. Squinting her eyes, she wondered if she’d had too much sun. She cleared her throat, tasting of fishy seawater. “Here I was mad at you about Petroski. You’re such a hero in my eyes. Did you know?” she said softly.
He smiled down at her, his dark eyes sexy and intriguing. “You’re the only one for me.”
When they reached the beach, he still held her tightly.
She smiled. “I can walk now, and thanks.”
He set her down and they looked back at the water, but there was no sign of the barracuda.
She shook the sand from her shorts and pulled them on. “And here I thought I was about ready to go back in the ocean.”
