++Please offer your rating and your feedback in the comments box. I succeed in writing when I express fantasy on my own behalf and I stimulate the reader's mind as well as my own. ++
He'd been eying her since before the instructor began speaking. His hazel eyes were casual at times, smiley at others, intense at still others, but they always seemed to be on her. She was uncomfortable under his gaze, but not threatened β never threatened. It just felt as if he knew something she didn't, and he wanted to be sure she understood that.
They were standing at the seaside, on the beach at Montego Bay, Jamaica. Katlyn was on the end of a semi-circle of eight divers situated around the instructor, who was demonstrating and explaining each of the commonly used hand signals they would need to know while underwater. Beside her, her husband Nick watched the signals carefully. Nick had been working the day Katlyn went to a primer class back in the states.
On the opposite end of the semicircle was this stranger whose piercing eyes never seemed to stray from her. Immediately her interest was piqued, and she reached her right hand to grab the left of her husband. She wanted the stranger to know she was married. She was turned on by the thought that this man would be watching her, but she and Nick had an agreement....the "open" aspect of their relationship was on hold for this week β their honeymoon. She had been the one who'd pushed for an open relationship β her needs were too great for one man to fill. For just this week, Nick had asked her to belong to just him, and she'd agreed, knowing it would be damn near impossible here in paradise to avoid getting into trouble.
She clinched his hand in hers and shared a smile with him before they both returned their gaze to their former targets. As Nick continued to learn about hand signals, he winced as Katlyn dug her nails into his hand as her grip tightened. She loosened suddenly and looked up at him, a pasty smile on her face as she mouthed the word, "Sorry" to him and smiled, looking back at the instructor. She did not glance back at the stranger across the group again for a while, but the image she saw when she looked across at him the first time replayed in her mind relentlessly. His eyes had been on hers before hers returned, his gaze intense as she met it as coolly as she could. But his eyes didn't matter β not one bit. It was his hand that caught her off guard. He had taken the hand of the lady next to him just as she had Nick's, and she was smiling β no, glowing β as he caressed the skin of her hand with his thumb.
She had, of course, already looked for a ring β it was a habit of hers β and he had none. She looked again, and verified it. He wasn't married, or was he? A quick look over at the left hand of the woman revealed a wedding set resting right where it belongs. The sight of it and the thought that followed was enough to drive her heart rate up significantly, and her knees weakened a touch. As she averted her eyes now intentionally, her lips dried up and her pulse quickened. She had a weakness for married men. How could he know that?
Did he know that? The look on his face had been a picture of confidence. Somehow he knew it would not deter her to see him holding the woman's hand. He was right. Her thoughts could be no further from the ocean or the scuba gear right now. Her new friend had averted his gaze now as well, for the first time that she had noticed. "Does he know the effect he's having on me?" she wondered, and her thoughts strayed again. Nick squeezed her hand a couple times, and she was brought out of a trance to find the instructor looking at her expectantly. She looked around and realized the whole group was watching her.
She stammered, but the instructor let her off the hook. "I'm Angela. We're going to share our names and where we're from, if you're ok with that?" She winked and grinned and Katlyn exhaled, relieved to be given a task to complete. Her mind needed to get straightened out immediately. "Katlyn," she replied, glancing with a friendly smile around the group as she added, "New Hampshire, USA."
"Thanks, Katlyn, welcome to Jamaica!" Each member of the group then gave their name in turn, ending with Jessica and Jason, who confirmed that they were married and told the group they were from Scotland. Katlyn's mind wandered.
"All right then, we're ready to get wet!" said Angela. "Too late!" thought Katlyn as the group trudged off toward the water.
The details of the dive are not important. Katlyn and Nick stayed together and had a blast β this was their first real dive and the sights under the waters of Montego Bay were as stunning as the reputation suggests. A couple hours after their first submersion, the group was scheduled for a break for lunch, and they were to dive again afterwards. As the group came out of the water and hiked in their gear back up toward the shelter where their belongings and their lunch was served, Katlyn and Nick brought up the rear, and she watched Jason and Jessica talking excitedly as they walked. Most members of the small group were sharing what they had seen or experienced during the dive.
Under the shelter, the group gathered for Shrimp Po Boy sandwiches and ice water. A leisurely pace had everyone relaxing, and stories were shared about the dive. Strangers became friends and everyone became comfortable, but Katlyn noticed about halfway through the lunch break that Jason was shaking hands with the instructor. Angela smiled and waved as Jason left his wife with the group and walked off toward the parking lot where they had gathered at the beginning of this adventure. Katlyn's stomach churned at the thought of missing the opportunity to meet him, but she had no options, so she watched him leave.
She began to realize that she had subconsciously decided she was going to meet him, and to have him inside her. She was disappointed, and apparently it was obvious because Nick was looking at her with a look of concern on his face. "What's wrong, hun?"
"Ahhh, sorry Nick. Just not feeling well. My stomach is churning." She frowned, and held her arms over her bare belly, shrugging at him.
Angela, the instructor, was passing by just as Katlyn spoke. She paused in front of her and a look of concern crossed her face. "Katlyn, it's not likely but you may have decompression sickness. You're here for the whole week right?"