"You know, I've heard that if you put a base sunscreen of spf 30 on, and then spf 90 on all the high points of your face, the sun will naturally contour your face as you tan," Syd says.
We're currently on a boat headed towards the coral reef, sitting beside each other and soaking up the rays of the early morning sun. The deck is spacious enough to fit two groups, so students from WestPoint and Oak Hills are taking the opportunity of being paired up on this ride to mingle and get to know each other a little bit more. The people who still have energy left from last night, are playing music on a loudspeaker and dancing to the rhythm. The rest of us just lay in the sun, recharging our batteries.
"I find that very hard to believe," I tell Syd, propping myself up on my elbows.
"It's true! I saw it on cosmo," she states.
"Oh then I'm convinced for sure. We all know magazines are where the facts are at." I roll my eyes.
"Well I don't care. Either way I'm trying it out and you'll be eating your words in a week, when I look like a bronzed goddess," she boasts.
"Or, you'll be eating yours when those tan lines show up and make you look like you went to the lowest rated tanning salon in town." I say, stretching my arms over my head and sitting up straight.
"We'll see," Syd ads and joins me, straightening her back. I shake my head laughing, catching a glimpse of Mason staring at me from across the boat. I lower my sunglasses, making eye contact and raising an eyebrow at him, which quickly prompts him to look away.
"Yeah, that's what I thought!" Syd says when Mason averts his eyes.
"I think he got it," I laugh, placing my hand on her shoulder to hold her back, "No need to bark, Sparky."
"You should be the one barking at that," Syd rests back on her elbows as she nods in Noah's direction, referring to the fact that he seems deeply engaged in conversation with Quinn, "I'm telling you, that girl is trying to steal your man."
"No she's not," I say, thinking that speaking the words aloud will make them true, as I see Quinn in my peripheral, laughing at something Noah said, "She's way older than him, it's barely legal." I point out.
"Still not illegal," Syd remarks.
"Either way, it doesn't matter. I can't be controlling who he talks to all the time. He's attractive, girls are drawn to him, it's a thing. And I've accepted it. What would it say about our relationship if I didn't trust him enough to just have a conversation with other girls?"
"You have a point, and I commend your confidence in your relationship. But I will say, if I were you I'd be chewing that girl's head off right about now." Syd says and I look back to the pair. Quinn digs in her bag and pulls out a bottle of sunscreen, handing it to Noah and noticeably holding onto his hand for a moment too long, he smiles at her. "Still not going to do anything about it?" Syd asks.
"Nope," I reply, pushing my sunglasses back up the bridge of my nose. Reclining, I close my eyes, trying to not think about my boyfriend putting his hands on another girl to rub sunscreen on her golden skin, going back to tanning instead. My attempt is futile though, as only a few seconds after I lay down, the sun is suddenly blocked and I shiver in the shade.
I open my eyes to find Noah standing over me, the bottle Quinn gave him in hand. "Your shoulders are looking a bit red," he says, crouching down to apply sunscreen on my burning skin. I glance over at Syd smugly, tilting my head and giving her a look that says «Told you». She raises her hands in surrender biting back a smile.
"I love you," I say to Noah, feeling like I haven't reminded him in a while.
He smiles at me sweetly and pecks me on the lips "Love you too."
"Listen up people," Quinn calls our attention as the boat slowly comes to a stop. "Everyone grab a pair of goggles from that pile over there and then I need you all to line up into two rows for the dive. You'll be jumping off into the water in pairs, and you'll have fifteen minutes to swim around the reef. When you hear the whistle blow, you'll swim around to the front of the boat and climb the ladder to get back on deck. Everybody clear?" she asks and gets a collective and bored "yeah" in response.
"Excellent, now get moving!" Quinn instructs.
"There's no way I'm doing that," I say as everyone starts standing up and gathering around to get their goggles.
"Why not?" Noah asks, offering a hand to help me up.
"I'm kind of afraid of deep water. I don't like not being able to see the bottom."
"That's what she...said?" Syd interjects, her joke falling flat. "I swear I had it," she shakes her head, disappointed in herself as she passes us by. I roll my eyes.
"I'll tell you what's at the bottom, pretty little fish, coral, and sand. Now come on, I'm not going to let you miss out on this." he says, grabbing me by the hand and dragging me to stand in line for the dive.
As people start jumping off the boat and the line gets shorter by the minute, I begin to feel a bit anxious. I've never swam in open water before, and for some reason the idea of looking down and seeing a bottomless pit of deep blue underneath me, terrifies me. "Relax," Noah says, noticing my shaky hands and taking them in his own, "It'll be fine. I'll be right beside you the whole time."
"Do I really have to do this?" I ask.
"I won't force you. But wouldn't it be cool to conquer one of your fears?" he asks.
"What are you afraid of?" I avoid the question.
"I don't know. Death?" he shrugs.
"I mean something you can't conquer'"
"Hmm," he thinks with his arms crossed, "I guess clowns, they kind of freak me out a bit."
"Okay, then I'll cut you a deal. If I jump into the water, then you have to dance with one of the clowns on circus night." I propose, "And it can't be a sexy girl clown, it has to be a scary one."
"I don't think there's such a thing as a sexy clown," he laughs, "But you have a deal. I like to be pushed out of my comfort zone." he states and I raise my eyebrows, "Not in that way though, don't get any ideas." I laugh and take his hand as we step onto the platform to jump off the boat.
"You ready?" Noah asks as I stare down at the turquoise water splashing against the side of the boat.
"Not really," I reply nervously.
"Leap of faith, Maddie."
"Yeah, I seem to take a lot of those when I'm with you." I say, stepping back and away from the edge of the boat.
"On the count of three," Noah says, "One," I close my eyes, "Two," I take a deep breath and Noah's grip on my hand tightens, jumping off the boat and taking me down with him.
I sink into the warm water quickly, hearing the muffled sounds of the bursting bubbles of air coming out of my nose. I scrunch up my face with closed eyes, trying not to think about what lays below. I suddenly feel a force pulling me upward, and I take a deep breath through my mouth as I break out to the surface. Noah is still holding my hand and wears a huge grin on his face as we float side by side. I splash water in his mouth and his amused expression drops.
"You didn't say three!" I complain.
"I had to catch you off guard, otherwise you wouldn't have jumped," he explains, but I'm distracted, looking down and trying to see what is brushing against the bottom of my feet.
"We can go back right now if you want," Noah says, noticing my nervousness.
"No," I refuse, "We already made it down here, I'm not chickening out now," I say.
"That's my girl," he pulls me close to his chest and gives me a quick kiss.
We dive our heads under the water and start swimming side by side, which is a struggle when our hands are glued together, but we push through because I refuse to let go of Noah. We explore the coral reef together, swimming alongside small, blue and yellow striped fish which reflect the colors of the rainbow as their scales catch the sun rays breaking through the water. The seaweed tickles my feet and my belly as we swim over it, and I almost get stung by a sea urchin, but I'm still glad I didn't stay on the boat.
Once we get tired of swimming in circles, and our hands start getting wrinkled, we decide it's time to get back on the boat. Noah holds me by the waist, helping me up the little ladder, and once I'm back on deck I offer him my hand to pull him up with me. He grabs my towel and wraps it around me, drying me off and allowing me to snuggle up to him, as the breeze on my wet skin makes me shiver.
"I found you something," he says, digging into the pocket of his swim trunks and pulling out a little pink sea shell that he places in my hand, "Just a trinket to remember the experience," he smiles.
"Thank you," I kiss him, "Not just for this, but also for not letting me miss out on that." That's one of the things I love the most about Noah, he challenges me, he makes me feel stronger, more confident, and capable of doing anything I put my mind to. I know it's a bit ridiculous to say that in this context, it's not like going swimming is a big feat, but I've spent all my life living inside a bubble, scared to step outside. I love that Noah brings me out of my comfort zone, even if it is in small ways like this.
He smiles at me sweetly, hugging me tightly. With my head against his chest, the soft and rhythmic beat of his heart in my ear, and the pink sea shell tucked inside my fist, I find myself wishing I could freeze time and stay in this moment forever.