Silence (Silence #1)(33)

“Is it safe?” Mum questioned, frowning with worry.

Dad chuckled. “Of course it is, Sarah. There’s a qualified instructor, isn’t there?” Cole nodded. “See. They’ll be in safe hands.”

I often wondered if Dad was cool about things like this because he felt guilty. I had to believe he felt remorse for what he let had Frank do to me. I couldn’t believe that my daddy was a cold, heartless monster.

“Well, you make sure you look after her,” Mum ordered Cole.

He nodded.

“Always.”

Always!

In the end it was only David, Jenna and that Mia joined us for breakfast. Jasper was nowhere to be seen. Not that it was much of a surprise. He now treated holidays, or any days actually, as a chance to sleep with anything with a pulse.

“Have fun and be careful,” Jenna said, as Cole and I got up to leave for the beach. We were diving in one hour.

I walked down to the beach holding Cole’s hand so tightly that I was probably crushing his bones. We had already popped back to our rooms to change for diving.

The Australian guy, who told us his name was Kyle, showed us how to use the equipment. I made sure I listened hard and repeated everything in my head over and over. Stop being ridiculous; you’re not even going that deep! I reasoned with myself.

Cole was practically bounding up and down as we walked with our little group of six into the sea. Kyle instructed us in what to do, and then he disappeared beneath the water.

“Ready?” Cole asked, and stuck his oxygen thing in his mouth. What is that called again? Oh, it doesn’t really matter what it’s called, as long as it works! Nodding my head, I took one last deep breath and followed him.

Being under the water was incredible. I felt so light and free. See, you are enjoying yourself. Cole grabbed my hand and looked towards Kyle. Kyle gestured for us all to follow him, turned, and swam deeper into the sea. Everyone followed, and I wondered how much further we would be going. I knew I wouldn’t be able to stand up and have my head above the water by this point, but I wasn’t sure exactly how deep we were.

As we swam towards the bottom of the ocean, I silently thanked Cole for making me go. Although it was quite dark, I could still make out the tiny fish and weird looking plants. What I enjoyed most though was just floating in the sea and enjoying how peaceful it was.

Once our time was up, Kyle gestured for us to swim back to the surface, and then he led us back to the shore.

“You so enjoyed that, didn’t you!” Cole teased as we walked back to the shack to return the equipment.

I shrugged nonchalantly; a small give-away smile creeping on to my face. He chortled.

“I knew you would. Shower and then I’ll come to your room. Wanna have lunch before the spa crap?” I nodded and nudged him with my shoulder. Like he wouldn’t enjoy a massage!

When it was time to go to the spa, Cole suddenly felt unwell. “Maybe I should just stay here,” he suggested. I shook my head and pushed him towards the stone stairs.

“Welcome. I’m Isabelle. How can I help?” said an equally beautiful woman to the ones who were in the spa yesterday.

“We have some stuff booked. Under the name Benson,” Cole said quietly as if saying it any louder would make it more real.

“Ah yes. Okay, if you’d like to follow me, I’ll show you to your massage room.”

I followed Isabelle with a huge smile. I was feeling giddy with excitement at having a massage with Cole. Isabelle opened a door, and the smell of rose oil hit me. Two white beds were in the middle of the room. A little chest on the far wall, with pink orchids sitting in a large vase on top.

“There are towels on the beds. If you remove all of your clothes and cover yourself, your masseuse will be with you in five minutes.

My eyes widened. Remove all of our clothes.

“You can leave your underwear on, just move your bra straps off your shoulders,” Cole suggested. I gulped. “I’ll turn around. I won’t look; I promise.” Oh God.

He removed his top and shorts quickly, unashamed.

“I’m not looking, Oakley. Go ahead.” he said with a chuckle as he laid face down on the massage table. He had kept his boxers on.

I quickly took off my dress and pulled my bikini straps down. I was still covered, but not as much as I felt comfortable with. Hopping onto the bed, I laid down on my stomach, making sure the towel covered me.

“Okay, this was a good idea,” he admitted halfway through. Yeah, I bet he thought that with yesterday’s gorgeous model massaging him. We both had a woman doing the massages, thankfully. I hated the thought of a strange man’s hands on my body. Closing my eyes, I concentrated on Elaina’s hands unlocking my muscles.

When our thirty minutes were up, I made a long face and got up to get dressed as Elaina and Cole’s masseuse left the room. Cole turned around again so I could have some privacy. Does it really matter if he sees you? Impulsively, I grabbed the top of his arm and spun him around.

“What…?” he croaked, looking at my half-naked body. I was covered with a bikini; something Cole had seen me in hundreds of times before, so why did it feel different this time? Was it because we were alone that it felt intimate, or was it because we weren’t just friends anymore?

“I can turn… Um, turn around if… Err,” he stuttered, stumbling over his words. Shaking my head, I pulled my bikini straps up, being careful not to flash him!