In Too Deep(9)

I snorted and dropped it, letting Melina fight her own battles. "Here," I said as I handed over the sunglasses I’d bought her. "The guy who took the reservation said that because of the way the sun bounces off the ocean, it's best if you wear these."

I took out my own pair, which had identical frames but blue lenses before putting them on. "How do I look?"

"Like you should be on a recruiting poster for the Navy," she said, "even if the hair is a bit too long."

"Here, let me help you with yours," I said, brushing one of her bangs off her cheek. She didn't need the help, but I just wanted to feel her soft skin under my fingers again, and by the way she blushed deeper, she enjoyed it too. Melina shivered when I traced the exquisite clamshell of her earlobe and bit her lip, looking adorable.

"Parasailing, remember?" she whispered, more to herself than to me it seemed, and put her glasses on. She smiled and I swore she looked like an old time movie star, like Sofia Loren or maybe Catherine Zeta Jones in her young days if I had to choose a more modern face. I grinned and turned to the parasailing operator, who was watching the two of us with a bemused smile on his face. He'd probably seen a lot worse flirting in his time at the resort.

"Okay folks, parasailing is pretty simple," our instructor said, launching into his safety spiel. I was surprised when he showed us that he would in fact be taking both of us up at the same time. "The boats got plenty of horsepower with the wing design we're using today, but I have a question. You sir, how much do you weigh?"

"About one ninety," I replied. "Is that a problem?"

The man shook his head. "No, not at all. I was worried because while the rig is clear all the way up to four fifty, the wind is a little twisty today. I don't like taking people up if they weigh over two hundred in situations like this. You looked like you could be two twenty or so, I just wanted to be sure."

I nodded in understanding. "So we're okay?"

"You might get a little see-saw action up there, but unless you're prone to motion sickness you won't have a problem. You on the other hand miss are going to have a nice, rock solid ride. The straps are good and wide, they won't bite in at all. The only thing to remember when you set down in the water is to relax. You'll both be wearing life vests, and the rig itself floats. I'll be coming around with the boat to pick you up and bring you back in."

"What about landing on land?" I asked, and the instructor shook his head.

"Last year we had someone blow out their ACL at another one of the resorts, so now all landings are to be in the water. It means we had to buy three wings to set up a rotation, but safety first, you know?”

I didn't say anything and wondered if the instructor would have sounded so confident if he knew my background. Then again, Melina didn't know about my parachuting experience either, so there was no need to bring it up. I wasn’t ready for those questions quite yet. “All right. Well, let's get hooked up."

As the instructor and his assistant strapped us in, I made sure to squat down, clearing the straps from around my balls. Once bitten, twice shy in that regard, and the instructor noticed. "You've done this before?"

I shook my head. "No, but I used to go to a climbing gym. One time I slipped, and the harness bit in," I lied. "The owner showed me how to make sure that doesn't happen again."

"Wise advice. Okay guys, well if you two will stand right here, I'll get things going."

As we stood to wait for the boat to tug the setup away, Melina reached out and took my hand. "Hold on? I'm actually a little wigged out by heights."

"Okay," I said, interlacing our fingers. “So why'd you agree to do this then?"

The tow line reached its limit and we were pulled up and into the air, Melina's cry of glee telling me she was enjoying things. "This is why!" she yelled in her excitement. We reached our cruising altitude and got a view for miles, the wind rushing by our faces like we were cruising on a fast bike or maybe a low-speed motorcycle. “This is amazing!”

I totally agreed, but for different reasons. Looking at her, Melina was absolutely breathtaking, even in the life jacket and harness. It was the joy on her face as she conquered a fear for an exhilarating experience that I think did it for me. Melina turned to say something and stopped. "What?"

"You're beautiful, you know that?"

"You make me feel like it,” Melina replied.

We cruised for a few more minutes, pointing out the sights. As we made our second circuit of the island, I made my move. "Melina, would you like to have dinner with me again tonight?"

I shouldn't have worried. "I'd love to," she said. "But could we skip the formal dress? I only brought one dress."

I laughed. "I only brought one suit, so that makes us even. Okay then, let's do something more casual. Grill?"

"I can do that," Melina answered. "Hey, I saw on the guide channel that they do a luau. While I'm pretty sure that's from Hawaii, it sounds like a ton of fun. Any idea when they do it?"

"Every Saturday night," I said. "I skipped the party my first time, it was my first night here. Thinking of going?"

Melina nodded. "It'll be my last night at the resort, I fly out Sunday morning."