The Forbidden Fruit Always Tastes Sweeter

Madison automatically pulled me over to sit next to him for dinner. “Don’t even think about it,” he smiled, not letting me sit off to my self any longer. He was really sweet, making sure conversation was never awkward.

Dinner was early tonight for those diving so the pressures wouldn’t cause us to be nauseous. I couldn’t keep still, excited for this dive.

“Think we’ll see sharks?” He wiggled his eyebrows and snapped his jaws, imitating the deep-sea creature.

I laughed at him, “I hope so.” I wiggled into my wet suit, still damp from this morning. “I emptied my card so I’m ready for some good shots.”

“I’m jealous,” he pouted, slightly envious of my waterproof camera. “You better share the wealth and send me some pics.”

I smiled shyly, “Is this your lame attempt to keep in touch.”

“You bet it is,” he grinned, not bashful at all of his lame moves. “We’re dive buddies after all. It’s a trusting bond that can never be broken.”

I rolled my eyes, but smiled none-the-less. “You’re lucky I’m not one to be selfish.” I turned so he could zip me up. He turned so I could do the same. We both turned to listen to the instructors, discussing the seriousness of this dive.

Fully submerging under the water, I welcomed the darkness. Madison turned on the lanterns, handing me one. He briefly grabbed my hand pulling me towards the edge of the reef, similar to the last location we were at this morning.

I could feel the soft pressure of the water as we went deeper and deeper towards the reef. We swam around the edge looking at the different species that were out during the night than what we usually saw. We went towards the middle, hovering a safe distance above.

Madison held his arm out, preventing me from going any further. I scanned the area, looking for what he saw to make us stop. He held his lantern, and pointed to a few meters in front of us.

There ahead were two agile gray reef sharks. Its large eyes reflected in the light and their white bellies peeked out from underneath. And, its large snout looked to be hiding hundreds of sharp teeth.

My heart sped up in anticipation as they grew closer. I held my breath as they swam around us, curious of the divers in their territory. Though they seemed to have easily lost interest in us and went back to their hunt along the shallow part of the reef. We followed them at a safe distance, making sure that we never got in between them and their food.

I nearly gasped as one of the sharks grabbed an unsuspecting eel. I turned to see Madison holding his neck animatedly, making me laugh. I followed him carefully as we explored what else we could find.

We walked back to our room, laughing about the dive. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Madison frowned at the scarf on the doorknob. We still in our bathing suits and our bodies were tired from the dive.

“Come on,” I tugged on his hand. “Let them have their fun.” I chuckled, hearing him continue to complain behind me. I didn’t stop once we reached the deck and stood up on the railing. The cruise was anchored near the drop-off, in the shallower parts of the water, near a small deserted island.

“Lucy, what are you doing?” He laughed.

I shrugged and smiled shyly. “I feel faint,” I said dramatically with a breathy air. I held my hand to my forehead, leaning back off the boat, letting my body fall head first into a dive. “Aren’t you going to save me?” I asked, teasingly from the waters.

He sighed, playing along. “If I have to.” He kicked off his flip-flops and jumped over, making a big splash.

“You suck at rescuing,” I laughed, splashing him back. I took off towards the shore. I laughed out loud at how heavy my body felt, once I reached the sand, tripping over my own feet.

“So graceful,” he teased as I resorted to crawling. He grabbed me around the waist and pulled me back. I rolled onto my back, looking up at his blue eyes. I watched as he glanced at my lips. I licked my own in anticipation, not making any attempt to stop him as he leaned down. He tasted salty as his tongue danced with mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck as it intensified.

We pulled back, catching our breath. “We totally probably shouldn’t have done that,” he said softly.

“Probably not,” I agreed.

We both threw out our morals as he leaned down and kissed me again. It just felt good to have someone want me. We poured all the hurt and frustration into it.

It didn’t go any further than kissing. We laid back against the sand and looked up at the stars. He took the camera from around my wrist and began to take silly pictures of us and random ones of things around us.

“So why did he end it?” He asked breaking the silence.

I rolled on my stomach and looked up at him. “I honestly don’t know. He’s a musician and getting ready to go on tour. I have my own surf tour coming up too. We had planned a few stops where we would be in equal distance to visit each other along the way. And, then out of no where, he figured that it would better if we took a break and did our tours without commitment.” I trailed my fingers in the sand, making small designs. “It just doesn’t make sense. It really came out of left field.”

“Cheating?” He asked the malevolent question.

I shook my head. “No. And, if he had someone else lined up, he would have ended it before it got to that. I told him before we started this relationship that I wouldn’t agree to it unless it was for something serious.”

“Then, maybe he was protecting you from something you weren’t even aware of,” he suggested.

“I want to believe that because I really don’t have any explanation other than this feeling won’t go away and it sucks,” I sighed. Madison rubbed my back and kissed my forehead. “What’s your story?”

“She was on a self destructive path and I couldn’t save her.” He began to play with my hands to detract himself. “I feel like the bad guy. I couldn’t save her, but at the same time I couldn’t let drag me down with her.”

“You did both yourselves a service, you know.” I tried to reassure him.

“That’s what everyone keeps telling me,” he smiled softly. “It’ll just take time.”

“Yeah,” I sighed. “Lots and lots of time.”

“What are you looking at?” Zach asked Danny, who was constantly looking at his i-phone. They were all at Matt’s trying to get some r&r before the busy life of touring.

“Nothing much,” he mumbled. Zach came over and snatched it out of his hands. “Hey!”

“Chill,” he scanned the webpage he was on full pictures of the ocean. “You planning a trip or something to an island.”

“Oh, are there more from Lucy?” Teasha asked, taking a seat next to Dan, sipping on his beer. “She said they almost missed the boat, having fallen asleep on an island or something.” Teasha glanced across the patio to gauge Brian’s reaction. She could see him swallow and pretend not to listen.

“Where did she disappear to?” Zach flipped through more pictures. “She hasn’t been answering her phone.

“Oh, she’s in the Maldives. She has her international phone so it’s some weird number,” Teasha shrugged. Danny rolled his eyes, knowing exactly what she was doing. He didn’t miss Brian’s reaction either. He wanted to punch Brian for hurting Lucy. But, he was respecting her and trying to keep out of it as best he could, especially since he didn’t know what happened either.

“She scuba dives?” Zachy asked interested. He didn’t even realize that she had her own website and blog that she wrote in frequently. He even saw a few pictures on there of them at her house party.

“Yeah, big hobby of hers. She’s had her license for years. Though that guy is her dive buddy when they go in deeper waters. He and a couple of friends are her roommates.” Tea pointed to the pictures from the other day. “Seems like a nice guy. I guess he’s from Sidney.”

Zach nodded looking up over his sunglasses only to see Brian frowning.

Brian knew exactly what they were doing and it was working. Though, it wasn’t like he needed help in the department of feeling like shit. He took a deep breath and tried to do his best at ignoring them. He would be happy for her if she did move on. It would suck, but he would be happy for her.

He was glad that for the most part everyone just accepted their breakup and left him be. They didn’t need to know his reasons for the split. It was for the best. At least that’s what he kept telling himself. He was hoping that this tour would be just the distraction that he needed.