Please Don’t Tell
By:Kelly Mooney
Chapter 1
I’ve always had a crush on Peter Watson and for the life of me couldn’t figure out how he didn’t know. There had been so many times that I’d thought he’d felt the same because of the things he remembered whenever we saw each other. Like how every time we stopped for Gelato he didn’t need to ask me what flavor I’d wanted. He’d just know. Or, if we’d been visiting his family in London over Christmas he would take me to Harrods to watch the live ice skaters grace the window displays. And, much to his dismay, he’d take me to watch the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace because he knew how much I’d adored it. It had been those special little things that caused me to justify falling in love with Peter. So, I convinced myself that he was completely to blame for arousing the hormonal teenage girl in me.
I began staging pretend wedding with my faithful teddy bear in the role of Peter at age five. I can still remember giggling at times about what I’d do if he ever caught me kissing Teddy or if he knew how many times I fantasized about being his wife. At sixteen, I still fantasized about being Mrs. Watson, only without the pretend nuptials.
We’d always been close friends, well as close as a six hour flight from London can get you. My mother and Peter’s mother grew up in the outskirts of London together. They’d lived next door to each other and had been best friends ever since. Even though she wasn’t my aunt, my mother insisted my brother and I call her that since their friendship had always been more sisterly. That bond afforded me several visits each year. When we were younger, we would spend all our vacations together. If we couldn’t go to them, they’d come to us. Now sadly, it had been chopped down to only one blissful week a year.
But last year had been finally different. All these years, so many dreams. We’d been on the beach for one of our nightly moonlit walks on our yearly vacation. It was our final night seeing each other for a whole year.The beach was mostly deserted as we strolled through the surf. I kicked up some water, splashing him and that’s when he grabbed my hand and spun me around into his arms. Then something magical happened. Peter finally looked at me like never before. He pulled me in closer and sighed, placing his hands on either side of my face. We stared into each others eyes for a moment. I was dizzy with anticipation. It was nothing like I expected. Peter was a far better kisser than Teddy Bear. I don’t know if he kissed me or if I kissed him, but either way, our lips found their way to one another. Despite my nerves, I let myself get lost in that moment, my hands started to roam through his beautiful brown wavy hair and I uncontrollably deepened the kiss. A minute later, he pulled away and smiled, but instead of kissing me again, he reached down and grabbed my hand, walking me back to the hotel. Not exactly the reaction I’d hoped for.
Peter acted like nothing happened the entire walk back. He’d rambled on about his studies for the upcoming year or about his dreadful cousin Ethan. Once we arrived to my room, he gave me an awkward hug and said goodnight. That was it. No lingering kisses in the hallway goodnight. The next day before we left, he quickly pecked my cheek, hugged me in the hotel lobby and promised to call soon. I stood there for what seemed like forever waiting for him to run back and say something...anything, but he didn’t. It wasn’t until the shuttle pulled away from the curb that I let myself cry knowing I wouldn’t see him for another whole year. And gauging on his reaction to our first kiss, this left me an entire year to worry about what would happen at our next vacation.
Last summer when Peter had kissed me, it was nothing like I imagined it to be and I was totally unprepared. That kiss changed everything last year. In that year I’d only received three letters from Peter. And, not once did he mention the kiss. This was not like him. We’d always found a way to reach out to each other. We usually talked on the phone, Skyped and wrote letters all the time. We have since I was ten and not once did he ever blow me off with lame excuses. I still reached out, but for some reason Peter seemed extremely busy this past year. The one time I’d managed to catch him on Skype, he’d been distant and rushed me off saying, “He was late meeting someone and needed to run.” That left a zillion assumptions reeling inside of me, but I convinced myself to push my nerves aside and believe that once he saw me everything would be all right.
So, this summer on our yearly trip to the Caribbean, I told myself to not fall completely into pieces like some idiot. Not this year. I was determined to not fall over my own two feet when he looked or spoke to me. The problem was not his to-die-for-good looks, but the adorable way he talked always seemed to make my heart melt. But, what girl didn’t love those adorable English accents? I was literally counting down the minutes until I would see him again. Spending ten whole days in paradise was simply going to be the icing on the cake. I couldn’t wait to get started.
Finally in the hotel room, I dumped my clothes out onto my bed and looked for my suit. It was early afternoon, which left me plenty of time to reconnect with Peter. I couldn’t wait for him to see me in my turquoise bikini, so itty-bitty it’s probably illegal in some states. But I figured what the hey: Europeans love this kind of stuff, right?
I quickly changed out of my “travel clothes” and into my bikini; tying the little strings to the suit tight around my neck and back. I wrapped my sarong around my waist and quickly did a once over in the mirror. After applying my pink petal gloss I smacked my lips together, I gathered my iPod with new songs for Peter that I was sure he’d love. Peter had always loved traditional Irish music. Bands like: The Sawdoctors, The Pogues and Flogging Molly. Even I couldn’t resist tapping my feet along to the sounds of the music. So before we left I searched ITunes like mad to download songs for him. I couldn’t wait to share the music, imagining lying next to each other sharing the earbuds. One sticking into his ear the other in mine. He would smile at me as we listened to the music and maybe even hold my hand.
I hurried into the foyer of the suite.
Standing in the vacant entryway, I hollered,“Mom, I’m going down now.”
My mom peeked around the corner of her bedroom. “Soph, could you please unpack first?
While holding onto the doorknob leading me to be within minutes of seeing Peter, I turned and said, “It’s already done.” This was a semi-lie. I had unpacked my bathing suit and make-up bag and left everything else inside my luggage.
She rolled her eyes and sighed. “Fine. Tell Anna I’ll be down in a bit.”
“Got it,” I answered as I cranked the handle to open the door.
My heart raced at the thought of seeing Peter. Would he look different from last year? I was positive his brown hair and perfect chocolate brown eyes would still be as intoxicating as ever. I never told him this, but I loved the retro glasses that he wore. Well, he had to wear. He was as blind as a bat without them. What I wasn’t expecting when I finally weaved my way through the crowd to the pool was the newest addition that he’d brought with him. I stood and hid behind the pool bar watching them from a distance, I felt like the moronic idiot I didn’t want to be. He laughed when she spoke. He grabbed her hand when she smiled. I couldn’t believe it. The guy that made up every one of my dreams was sprawled out next to a redheaded bombshell. And obviously crushing over her and not me. Did that kiss last year mean nothing to him? How could he do this to me?
“Sophie, sweetheart look at you?” Mrs. Watson (aka Aunt Anna) grabbed my shoulders spinning me around. Jeez, where did she come from?
“Hi Aunt Anna. It’s so great to see you.”
She snaked her arm into mine, covering my hand with hers. “Come say hello to Peter. He can’t wait to see you.” It didn’t look that way to me. My heart felt like it was shattering little by little as we continued to get closer.
“Mom said that she’d be down soon.” I paused briefly, the curiosity was beginning to kill me. “Um, who’s that with Peter?” I asked, shyly pointing toward them.
I watched as she tilted her glasses onto the tip of her nose. “That’s Claire. Peter didn’t tell you? She’s quite lovely.” She smiled and pulled me forward. “I’m sure you two will hit it off. Besides, my sister and her son came with us this year and I need you to keep poor Ethan busy for me. He keeps complaining that he’s sick of being the third wheel. You remember Ethan, right? I know it’s been awhile.”
“I thought that they lived in Australia?” I was absolutely positive they lived there, why the hell were they here? I hadn’t seen Ethan since his family stopped meeting us for our vacations years ago. Aunt Anna and her sister had some falling out was all I’d been told. I can honestly say I’d hoped to never see him again. The last several times I did, he teased me relentlessly. Even came up with a clever nickname for me. Or, at least he thought it was clever. Of course, Peter would always tell him to bug off and leave me alone.
“She did. They moved to London last year to be closer to the family. Didn’t Peter tell you?” I wanted to scream NO, Peter seems to leave a lot out these days. Like Ethan, or the redhead he can’t seem to stop gushing over.
Realizing that my chances with Peter had come to a grinding halt, I forced a smile. I wanted to look my best for him. I bought several new outfits, a new suit and I even tanned before I came. I know, I know, tanning beds are bad for you, but what’s a girl to do? I had been desperate trying to figure out why he’d been so distant on the phone. And I was desperate for another kiss. So, here I am left hanging out with Ethan, Peter and his newfound love.
Ethan, I sighed to myself. I remembered him. If memory served me well, he was the obnoxious little boy who would trip me in the park when I was little. He was the boy who thought it would be funny to hide an inchworm in my sandwich and laugh when it dangled from my mouth. He was the boy who thought it would be hysterical to give me a whitewash on a ski vacation. My face was cold and red for an hour after he’d done it. I can still remember Peter pulling him off of me, and shoving Ethan’s face down into the snow. Then he looked back to me and smiled, giving me a reassuring wink. I think that’s when I truly fell in love with Peter. Ethan also came up with a little nickname and starting calling me So-So. He told me it was short for Sophie, but also because I was only so-so good looking. Did I remember Ethan?
Hell, yes! How could I forget him?
I hadn’t seen Ethan since I’d been around thirteen-years-old and visiting London with my parents. We had all gone to Scotland for a few days to go skiing. The day before our trip ended, we’d all been back in London hanging out in the park. It had been sunny one minute and then it rained down on us the next. I ran through the wet grass with my shoes off and Ethan fell a step behind before catching up to me. Once he did, he had twirled me around causing me to lose my balance and I fell. I had turned on my back when he landed on top of me, both of us panting; we were out of breath. His eyes grew serious for a moment when I suddenly thought he would lean down and kiss me, but instead he pushed off and stood. He reached for my hand, but I had just pushed it away. He avoided me the rest of that day. That was the last time I saw him and had hoped to never lay eyes on Ethan Chapman again.
As we approached them lounging poolside, I stared down at the three of them. In that one quick moment I knew I had two options. I could go with plan A or think of a plan B. I knew I would be sinking to a whole new low by continuing with plan A, since he’d brought someone. I could do a Plan B if I wanted to, but I didn’t want to be stuck hanging out with Ethan...heck, I didn’t even want to look at Ethan. I wanted Peter. It also didn’t escape my attention that Peter was not wearing his glasses. The glasses that I’d loved so much. Yes, Ethan had grown into someone surprisingly as adorable as Peter, but different. Not different in a bad way--just not my Peter.
In fact, Ethan was the complete opposite. His light blonde locks had gotten darker since the last time that I saw him, with a few sun-kissed streaks running throughout. A very noticeable scar that ran through his left eyebrow that made him somehow more sexy. I quickly studied his physique, obvious long legs that hung down from the lounge chair which meant he grew. Grew a lot since I’d seen him last and he definitely looked like he belonged to a gym. There was no way you could get a body like that without putting in some serious hours. I couldn’t help but wonder if he remembered our last time together.
I watched as Peter placed his drink down, then stood up. “Sophie, you’re finally here,” he smiled. He grabbed me by the waist, pulling me into his arms. My feet dangled as he held me. I snuggled up as close as I could, my face lingering at his neck. The embrace didn’t last as long as I hoped. He placed me back down. “I have someone I want you to meet.” Was he serious? The last person on the planet I wanted to meet was someone who he’d been shacking up with. Every hope and dream I’d ever had was being crushed right in front of me. How could he not care? How could he look at me and not realize how much he was hurting me by bringing her.
I could have stood there all day with his arms wrapped around me. Would people notice if I hadn’t let go of him? I’m sure the redheaded-bikini-wearing model type lying in front of me would notice.
“Sophie...Claire. Claire...Sophie.”
She jumped right out of the blue lounge chair, grabbing a hold of me pecking each one of my cheeks. “Sophie, it’s so good to finally meet you. Peter and Anna have told me all about you and your mother. Peter says you’re like the sister he never had.” Did she just say Anna? Hmm, I guess she’s on a first name basis. Whatever happened to respecting your elders? Wait, back up...did she just say sister? Yeah, if kissing your sister on the beach is normal. This trip had disaster written all over it with a capital D.
I felt Peter’s hand grab mine. “It’s been awhile, but you remember Ethan right, Soph?”
I nodded as I looked over in Ethan’s direction. His eyes roamed my body in a way that made me extremely uncomfortable. He had a funny grin on his face like he was picturing me naked or something. Which made me nervous and caused me to shift needlessly. Was he happy to see me? Was he nervous? Was he actually picturing me naked? I couldn’t tell. I forced another fake smile as Ethan stood, towering over both of us. “Hi, Ethan. It’s good to see you.” I lied.
He grinned and winked. “It’s really good to see you too, So-So.”
And there it was.
And, why did he emphasize the really part?
He clearly remembers how he tortured me by calling me that and did he seriously just wink at me like we’ve been friends all along? I studied him as he plopped back down, resting his arms behind his head. “Brilliant, she’s here so we can finally head off tomorrow to Yost?”
I looked back at Peter who didn’t seem the least bit bothered that I was standing in front of him and like nothing happened last year. The whole year I prepared for my next kiss with Peter, obviously he hadn’t been preparing for the same thing.
I threw my bag onto the lounge chair. “Where are your glasses, Peter?”
He smiled his sweet little smile. “Contacts, and Ethan is referring to the island, Yost Van Dyke. It’s a little island over by Tortola. We all went over there last week for a day trip.”
I couldn’t believe he was wearing contacts. He’d adored those glasses as much as I had. Claire had been my only guess as to why the sudden change.
Even though my heart was breaking inside I refused to let Peter see me tormented. I was determined to not let him see me break. After a long day poolside and dinner with everyone, I excused myself and spent the first night alone--crying on the beach. Suddenly, my version of paradise had taken a depressing turn for the worse.
Chapter 2
Two days later, after I’d eyed up Peter every heart wrenching chance I had, we’d all made our way via Ferry to Yost Van Dyke. Once we arrived, our Moms went ahead to secure two bungalows for the day. This was a small island. A very small island. The first thing I noticed when I stepped off the boat, were beach bars along the shoreline. One right after the other. The one place that stood out, only because it was packed with swaying patrons to the beat of some reggae, was a bar called Foxy’s. I glanced around, Peter and Claire had already started walking off, hand-in-hand. Fabulous! Ethan started ahead, but turned, like I was an afterthought. “You coming?”
“I’ll catch up in a minute,” I yelled out. He turned, hoisting his bag even farther up his arm. Once it rested on his shoulder, he moved forward this time without looking back. Flopping onto the beach, I kicked my flip flops off and let the sand filter through my toes. The last two days hadn’t been complete torture. I managed to avoid Ethan, since he spent most of his time on the beach with a six pack of Red Stripe both days, and I conveniently spent mine poolside with my iPod. Listening to everything except what I had downloaded for Peter.
The problem with being on such a small island was that there was nowhere to hide. There was no chlorine filled pool with splashing kids and little umbrella drinks being delivered. There was an ocean--a huge ocean and that was it. Not that I was complaining. The water had been impeccably clear, so clear I saw little Nemos swimming everywhere. The problem with this so-called island is that I could’t get away from Peter and Claire. Ethan hadn’t paid me any mind, thank God. Other than the occasional stare and nod gestures. But, I truly thought I’d get sick if I had to watch the lovebirds flaunt themselves any longer.
I’d been sitting in the sand, staring at the ocean when I felt someone watching me. I leaned back casually, placing my hands behind me and wedged them into the sand. With one quick glance over my shoulder my eyes met his. Ethan was staring at me from a white plastic chair sitting at the edge of the bar floor. He had on these God awful bright orange board shorts and tipped the beer in his hand in my direction. My breath hitched momentarily and then I forced my eyes down the beach and stared at Peter and Claire curled up on a blanket together. I was so lost in watching the two of them that I didn’t notice Ethan had moved until he was suddenly behind me.
As he plopped on the ground next to me. He nudged my shoulder. “Hey, So-So feel like going for a ride?”
I rolled my eyes and scooped up some sand, letting it sift through my fingers. “Not if you’re going to keep calling me that.”
“Fair enough,” Ethan said. “I just thought maybe I’d give you a break.” He nodded his head toward the happy couple. “I rented a small boat for a few hours.” Ethan pushed himself up and held out his hand. “I have something I want to show you.”
Glancing back down the beach I realized he had had a point. No sense in staying here. I might as well try to have a good time so, I hoisted myself onto my feet. “Sounds great.” I dusted off the sand, grabbing a hold of his hand and let Ethan lead me to the dock.
“This is going to be the best trip ever.” I must have said this sentence quietly and sarcastically to myself a thousand times as I stared into the water that surrounded the creaky little dock we stood on.
I hopped into the little boat that Ethan rented for the day. He already sat in the back revving up what sounded like a pathetic engine; if you could even call it an engine. We began our trip to the Amex Island that I apparently had to see or my life wouldn’t be complete. The sky was a crazy shade of blue and the water matched the same crystal-like hue. When I glanced back at Ethan I’d adjusted my wrap a little tighter over my bathing suit. He had been apparently enjoying the view. And, when I say view...I didn’t mean the ocean. He quickly glanced away and shifted the boat to full throttle. I could swear as he turned his head, I saw his mouth curl up into a smug grin. I glanced toward the ocean taking in as much as I could. I had never been over to this remote section of the British Virgin Islands before and had to admit Ethan had been right. It was amazing.
“So what’s so great about this island we’re going to?”
Ethan smiled at me and I had to admit, it was one hell of a smile that he flashed before he spoke again. “I can’t believe you’ve been coming here all these years with Pete and you haven’t seen The American Express Island. You have to see it, it’s so beautiful,” he paused, looking back at the dock we’d just pulled away from. “Besides, I thought it might give you a break from all the senseless flirting you’re doing with Pete.” Ethan paused then added, “I thought Claire was going to kill you when you started rubbing lotion on his back.” He laughed out loud.
It’s true. Yesterday, he’d been lying on the lounge chair and Claire had been God knows where. He looked like he was starting to burn and I was not about to be responsible for him getting sun poisoning. Then, Claire rounded the corner, shot me dagger eyes and jumped into the pool. Peter just looked at me wordlessly and shrugged following her into the pool.
“I am not flirting with Peter. Why would you even say that?” I demanded.
“Well, do you normally take a walk on the beach all dolled up? And, please, what about all the bending over to pick up the sunblock, or your drink, or your iPod. You get the picture,” he teased, smiling again.
I turned, hugging my arms around myself. “I’m not going there. And, what’s with the beer? I know you’re not eighteen.”
“Well, eighteen is the legal drinking age in England and it’s right around the corner.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “So, why not?”
I looked back out into the water and decided it was none of my business if he wanted to drink himself into a stupor. “So... American Express owns an island?”
He laughed. “No. They call it that because they filmed an advertisement there.”
I kept repeating over and over in my head the words my mother said to me one week ago. This is going to be the best trip ever. Yeah, right. I was sitting on a crappy dinghy with the wrong guy. God how I wanted to be sitting here with Peter instead of his know-it-all cousin Ethan.
As we moved further along he revved up the engine a little more. I counted at least ten boats not too far away. In fact, the water teemed with speedboats, huge yachts slowly moving their way to wherever they had been going. I secretly wished I was on one of those instead of trapped out here with him. The sun beat down on us, so I whipped out my sunblock and slathered it all over. I held out my hand. “Do you want some?”
He shook his head. “Already lubed up.” He hesitated, then grinned. “Unless you want to do my back for me too?”
I rolled my eyes. “Wow! You’re so funny, I almost forgot to laugh. I knew he was making fun of the day before. I refused to let him get to me.
We had been out for a good half hour when I glanced down. “Hey, I can see the bottom,” I warned. “You need to go out more.”
He revved up the motor and pulled us farther from the shoreline. “No problem.”
Out of the corner of my eye I saw a speedboat heading toward us. “Umm, I think we need to get out of the way.” After realizing that they weren’t slowing down or turning, I yelled, “You need to look out.”
“We’re fine, Sophie...they’ll see us and move,” he spoke calmly.
He was right. They did see us, however it didn’t matter. They’d blown by so fast, they didn’t bother taking notice of what had happened. Within seconds the waves started to flow toward us; which didn’t help the rocking and teetering of the crappy little boat we were sitting in. I was about to be sea sick for the first time ever. I hunched over holding my stomach trying to keep everything in and trying not to make a complete fool of myself. Oh, god why did I drink two cups of coffee with goat milk this morning? I thought. When I looked over my shoulder, I saw Ethan cupping water into his hands and throwing it overboard. I hadn’t even realized that my feet had been sitting in several inches of water. The waves crashed into the dinghy that I swore up and down was a death trap to begin with. And, boy was I about to let Ethan have it for putting me on this piece of shit boat. But, I didn’t have time. Because it all happened so fast. The little boat we rented from Abe, who by the way, owned everything on this little crap island--was now sinking.
And, then I heard the scream come out of my own mouth as the water rushed past my knees, as I watched my own body lift out of the boat, our little dinghy started to make its descent to the bottom of the Caribbean Ocean.
Oh, God. Oh, God, NO. Okay, don’t panic, Sophie. Oh, God!
We’re sinking. Oh.My.God.
I looked back over at Ethan who was grabbing the only life vest and oar floating next to him. I could feel his arms touch me and I heard his voice, but at that point I couldn’t understand what he was saying or doing.
My heart pounded in my chest. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t do anything. My legs started fluttering underneath me as fast as they could because the only thing I could think of was sharks and fish....and more sharks. I felt his arms grip me as his feet nipped at mine every few seconds.
“Stop. Bloody Hell! Stop flopping about. You’ll attract certain things that trust me, you don’t want to attract,” he said in a stern voice. I suddenly felt his hand touch my waist, then my thigh. Sinking beneath the waters surface he disappeared below me. I felt his hands run down my thighs, then lower and then his hand grazed my ankle. What the hell was he doing? What was he thinking? This was so not the time for foreplay.
“What are you doing?” I yelled out, smacking him as he rose in front of me. His face was so close that I thought he looked as if he was going to kiss me. Just my luck. The wrong face was staring back at me. His eyes held mine for a second then looked back down.
He pulled his hand out of the water, smiling. “Sorry, but we needed this off your ankle. Major fish attractor. They’ll see this sparkling down there from a mile away.” Ethan winked at me like it was no big deal. This guy had some serious issues.
I looked down into his hands and saw my gold ankle bracelet wrapped between his fingers.
“Just hold on to the vest and swim slowly.”
My eyes searched for the beach, but the only thing I could see were rocks and more rocks.
“Where the hell are we supposed to swim to?” I asked, panicking in between breaths.
He smiled and pointed to the exact spot I desperately hoped he wouldn’t suggest.
“Are you insane? It’s a cliff of rocks and there are pelicans diving all over the place,” I yelled out.
His hands gripped the front of the orange life vest pulling me with him.
“There’s a little bit of sand mixed in. Come on. I won’t let anything happen to you. Trust me.”
How could I not trust him? Something inside of me told me Ethan Chapman had finally grown up. This was an Ethan Chapman I could see myself becoming friends with. I oddly didn’t mind being alone with him for the first time ever. My life was in his hands.
“Okay. I trust you.”
Chapter 3
“I can’t swim there. I just can’t,” I whimpered, as fear gripped me. I imagined what all those pelicans were diving for; dead slimy things, fish, water snakes and I didn’t want to find out. The cliff looked so far away. I blinked quickly, hoping it would change the distance between us, but it didn’t.
Ethan grabbed my chin forcing me to stare into his green eyes. “You just have to, Sophie. The boats aren’t going to see us treading water, so, we need to swim...okay?” His eyebrows rose waiting for some kind of confirmation that I was on board with his plan.
Tears started to fall down my cheeks and they mixed with the warm ocean water that splashed onto my face. I tasted the mixture of salt and my tears as they trickled into my mouth.
I pulled my right hand out of the water, wiping the tears away as best as I could and nodded.
His hand reached down tugging at mine. “Start swimming as soft as you can. If you get tired I’ll pull you the rest of the way. I promise to stay right next to you, I won’t leave you, okay?”
I continued kicking my feet underneath trying to take everything in that he instructed me to do.
“Sophie, can you nod or something so I know you understand me?”
Somehow I managed to move my head up and down. It was like some lightbulb turning on and I finally understood what he was telling me to do and I started to swim. The life vest scrunched under my arms as it held me above water. Kicking my feet out I started to make my way to the jetted rocks and cliff ahead of us.
As we swam, several different thoughts swirled inside my head. Would we make it all the way over there? Would someone find us? What if this was it? What if sixteen years was all I got on Earth? As all these different thoughts crept into my mind, I pushed myself forward trying not to let them take me over. Sand came slowly into view; black rocks poked out at all different angles. I don’t know how long it took us to get there, but it felt like forever.
“Sophie, whatever you do...don’t look down. Just keep swimming and push yourself through this,” Ethan said, grabbing onto my hand.
I looked down after I felt the warmth of his hand. Okay, I know he said not to, but that’s like a dare in my book. “Oh. My. God!” I cried out.
I stopped swimming and started to tread water. Stingrays swished through the water, their bodies nestling against the sand. Ethan’s hands tugged at the life vest, pulling me closer to shore.
“I told you not to look down. They won’t hurt you. They’re harmless okay?”
I shook my head. “Ethan, I can’t do this.”
Ethan stayed true, he never left me side. He treaded water right next to me. “We’re there, just slowly place your feet down into the sand. They’ll move. Most of them have already taken off.” He pointed a few feet away. “Look.” He was right. Most of them were gone.
Even though we had been somewhat safe, I started to panic, shock taking a hold of me. My heart rate skyrocketed. I couldn’t believe how calm he was. Why was this happening? Why couldn’t I be sitting on a beautiful lounge chair back at the hotel with Peter? Ethan’s hands suddenly wrapped around my waist, tugging me forward, and then in one fell swoop he picked me up, carrying me onto the sand. He placed me down softly, tucking the wet strands of hair behind my ear.
“You all right?” He asked, as he pulled the life vest from my death grip.
My breathing started to slow as I gripped the sand beneath me, squishing the wet sand between my fingers.
“Yeah, I’m okay. I just...I don’t know what happened,” I whispered as I laid back into the hot sand.
He sat down beside me and leaned back propping himself up with his elbows.
He held out his hand. My anklet was wrapped around his fingers.“Well, that didn’t go according to plan.”
Propping myself up on my own elbows, I grabbed my ankle bracelet. “You think? What are we supposed to do now?” I hooked the bracelet around my ankle. “How is someone going to find us?”
His brows furrowed. “Let me just think for a few minutes.”
I pushed myself up, standing with my hands on my hips. The sun beating down on me, sweat formed on the rim of my upper lip. I slowly licked the salt away, placing my hand onto the brim of my eyes and searched for anyone passing by. “No one is going to find us are they?” My eyes focused on the few passing speedboats as they zipped by hundreds of feet away. Not sure how long we’d been gone I huffed. It had to be well over a couple of hours since we pulled away from the dock. Everything that I brought with me in my little knapsack was somewhere floating in the sea: my cell, my sunblock, my Chapstick.
“Hand me that vest will you?” He asked.
I bent down and threw it directly at him and he caught it. “Please tell me you’re not swimming somewhere?”
His eyes squinted as he looked down at me. “I’m using it to attract attention. I already told you that I wasn’t going to leave you. Relax and get some sun.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
He smiled as he stood and started waving the vest into the air at the boats passing by.
“Over here!” He yelled out, waving it over is head more forcefully than before.
“They can’t see us. They’re too far out,” I said, defeated.
“They’ll find us, Sophie. Peter or one of our parents will eventually realize that we’re missing. We just need to hang for a bit.”
I skimmed my lips with my tongue trying to moisten them.“My lips are starting to burn.”
At least another hour dragged by without anyone discovering us. I clutched his hand, trying to ease my doubts of being found, but it wasn’t helping.
“Stay calm, Sophie.” He laced his fingers into mine, then added, “It hasn’t even been that long.”
Stay calm? I can’t even breathe or think, let alone stay calm. Are we supposed to just sit here and rot in the hot sun? What are we going to do now? We certainly can’t swim anywhere, let alone flag someone passing by. That obviously wasn’t working. I couldn’t stay calm. Everything I’d ever done and kept secret kept suddenly tumbled out of my mouth.
“I have a crush on Peter. We kissed once. I don’t know who kissed who but we never talked about it again. I killed my little brother’s pet bird. He followed me into the bathroom and I accidentally stepped on him when I jumped out of the shower. I blamed it on the dog. I hate thong underwear even though all my friends wear them. I still like my Monday through Sunday undies; way more comfortable.”
Why was I telling all my little secrets to Ethan of all people? But I’d started and I couldn’t stop myself. “My best friend’s boyfriend kissed me and I never told her. What kind of friend am I? I can’t stand when Valerie wears too much pink. She looks awful in it. I literally know everything about sex because my mother watched a Dr. Phil episode when I was ten. Ten years old and she thought I could handle it. I’m still a virgin even though people assume I did it with Jason at a party. I don’t even know why or what happened. I felt his hand in my pants and I freaked. So technically, I’ve only really ever made it to third base.”
He looked at me. “What?”
But I kept on going. “He’s been trying to get me into bed ever since.”
I had to stop rambling. A stingray swam up and nestled into the sand not five feet from us, reminding me that I was stranded, possibly forever. I looked toward Ethan, making sure he was still there and I wasn’t alone. He grinned, and for the first time I appreciated his broad tanned shoulders, his tousled streaked hair, and his presence.
And then my mouth started again and more of my past spilled out. “I secretly love to still watch Full House when everyone else is watching soaps. I once got my belly button pierced only to take it out a month later. My mother would kill me. I cheated in English last year by paying Andy to write my term paper. Valerie and I went on a road trip last summer with two boys and we lied to our parents by pretending to sleep over each other’s houses. Don’t know what we were thinking. I’m a total sucker for all of John Hughes movies.”
I can’t believe I’m telling him all this. I’m losing it and telling him all the things that nobody knows about me.
“I’m sorry,” I said, as I took a deep breath. “My life is pretty boring.”
He chuckled softly. “It’s okay, Sophie. And your life is not boring.”
“We’re going to fry out here like some bug getting caught in one of those contraptions.”
“We’re not going to fry.”
I couldn’t stop rambling. I ramble all the time to Val, my best friend, but why couldn’t I stop now? I never ramble to a guy.
“I hate Seattle. Still not sure why they divorced. I think someone had an affair. When I drink at parties I throw most of it out. I hate feeling out of control.”
“Sophie, look at me,” he said, calmly as he pulled my chin and pointed in straight out into the ocean. “Let’s play a game?
“You want to play a game? Right now?” I asked, as I pulled my knees up to my chest.
He grabbed my hand. “Sure, ask me a question? Anything.”
My mind was a complete blank, a zero. I looked at him like he’d been crazy, when he started. “What’s your favorite ice cream flavor?”
“You’re serious?”
“Answer the question.”
“Fine,” I said, as I rolled my eyes. “I love Friendly’s Butter Crunch.”
“Grand! And, I like sorbet. Hate ice cream.”
“Who’s your favorite band?”
“I don’t have one.”
“Everybody has one. I like Coldplay, The Beatles, technically just Paul, and The Stones.
“What do you do for fun?” He asked.
“Do we really have to do this?”
“Yes, now answer the question.”
“My friends and I like to go to the mall.”
“Right. Okay, and I like to read in my free time.”
“Who likes to read in their free time?”
He laughed. “Me. You should try it sometime.”
I gasped. “I read. I read a lot--well, really just when I have to for school.”
“So, Pete tells me you haven’t been back to London for quite some time.”
I shrugged.“Yep, kinda been busy. My mom has gone back a few times, but with school and all.”
“Remind me...weren’t you born over there?”
I know he knew all of this, but I answered anyway. “I was. We moved right before I turned one.” I shrugged. “My parents met over there, but since he was an American citizen we moved here.”
“That’s a shame. It might be fun having you over there.”
“What?”
“Nothing. Pete tells me that your parents got divorced.”
“Gee, what didn’t Peter tell you?”
“Well, he didn’t tell me the things you just blurted out. That was merely a bonus,” he chuckled.
“How do you know so much about the ocean? I mean like taking off my ankle bracelet and staying so calm?”
He shrugged and smiled. “Ah, that’s nothing. Lived in Australia for a long time. Me Dad and I use to fish and swim a lot together.” He looked down, but then winked at me. “But, this was just...well, you were really scared.” He gave me a long lingering stare before he spoke again. “So how have you really been? It’s been a long time.”
Just as I was about to answer him a speedboat had stopped fifty feet or so out. A man yelled out to us. I couldn’t make out what he was saying, something like. Wait, I heard him this time.
The man screamed. “Sending help.” His engine revved and the waves splashed up as he pulled away.
“Where’s he going? Why the hell is he leaving?” I yelled, picking up a large black pebble and throwing it into the water. “How could he just leave us here?”
I braced my hands into the sand, pushing myself up, climbing the small rock next to me. Ethan rose and stood next to me. He ran his hands through his hair, but didn’t say anything. He just stood there, staring out into the water. When suddenly I realized what I’d just done. I told him things that I swore I’d never tell anyone. Things I’d intended on taking to the grave.
“Why didn’t you stop me? You just let me ramble on and on...”
He looked down his smile still present. “Right, well, you were kind of a roll. I thought I should let you finish.”
I looked away, fighting the tears back. “You’re not gonna say anything are you? I mean, please...don’t tell anyone.”
I felt his arm cross over my shoulder and I stiffened. “It’s okay that you got scared. You’re secrets are safe with me, Sophie.” He then surprised me as he leaned over and pressed his forehead to mine, kissing the tip of my nose.
Chapter 4
Glancing down at my now water logged watch, I couldn’t tell how much time had passed since we left our families behind. Of course, they probably assumed we were off having a fabulous old time. Little did they know, we were stranded on some God-forsaken island. Ethan on the other hand took everything in stride like he’d been in this exact situation before.
Soon after, another boat crept around the bend of the cliff and pulled close to the shoreline. Two men stood waving for us. The one who was driving had his hands on his hips, and did not look pleased. The other scooted to the back of the boat and dropped a small anchor. We both watched waiting for it to hit the floor of the ocean.
Ethan looked over at me. “Well, Abe doesn’t look too happy. Guess I’m not getting that deposit back.”
I placed my hands on my hips. “Abe doesn’t look happy? Well, screw him for letting us pull away on this piece of shit he calls a boat. Look around Ethan, we’re the ones that shouldn’t be happy.”
He exhaled. “Sophie, relax we’re fine now.” He waved at Abe.
Abe yelled out, “You two need to swim out to us. We can’t get in any closer.”
My mouth dropped open, my lips cracked from the sunburn. “He can’t be serious. There is no way I’m swimming to that boat. It’s like thirty feet out.” I looked over at him. “I’m too scared, Ethan.” The tears started dripping down my face, wet and hot as they flowed into the corners of my mouth.
Ethan reached down and slipped his hand into mine. “Just walk out a little and jump on my back. I’ll swim you out.” He shrugged. “It’s no big deal.”
“You can’t swim with me on your back.” I looked up at him and my eyes landed on his biceps. “Wait. Can you?” I asked, and relaxed at the thought.
“Have you seen yourself Sophie? What are you barely five feet and maybe a hundred pounds?”
I retorted. “FYI, I’m five four and it’s not that short.”
“Even so, I think I can handle it. Come on.” He pulled me into the water, which felt good against my burnt ankles. He bent his six foot and then some frame down as he knees skimmed the water. “Right, jump on.”