banana boat!” I squeal, jumping on the spot and clapping my hands like a toddler. I’ve wanted to try one for the last couple of years, ever since Lucas categorically told me that no, I wasn’t allowed. I haven’t been this excited since the Jonas Brothers announced they were getting back together.
“Yeah? Epic! Let’s do that first. What else do you fancy?” Theo asks, pursing his lips as he looks over the board too. “Ooh, want to try waterskiing too? I did it once when I was younger. I pretty much sucked arse at it, but it was fun.”
He turns and raises one eyebrow in question, but I shake my head.
“Nah, I’ll pass on that and watch you. I’m doing banana boat and maybe the stand-up paddle boarding.”
“Excellent choices.” He beams down at me and playfully offers me his arm.
Grinning, I slip my arm through his, and we head over to the hut to check availability and book in.
Getting into a wetsuit is harder than they make it look on every surfing movie I’ve ever seen. There’s a lot of wriggling, jumping, and grunting involved. At one point, I’m pulling on it so hard to drag it up my thighs that my hand slips off, and I accidentally slap myself in the face. Imagine trying to squeeze yourself into a pair of skinny jeans that are two sizes too small; that’s probably pretty close to the effort this requires. Eventually, I manage to crowbar myself into it and get it half-zipped up the back. I feel like a fat seal and don’t dare look in the mirror. After storing my handbag into the locker, I head out of my changing cubicle and see Theo leaning against the wall, waiting for me, our life jackets at his feet.
He certainly does not look like a fat seal.
The soft material clings to his shape, and I see thighs that make my breath catch. I’ve never been attracted to anyone in a wetsuit before. I silently wonder if Theo has just given me a new fetish. I force my eyes away as I feel my cheeks flood with heat. Hopefully, I can pass it off as sunburn.
There’s sand under my toes, and I dig them in, grinning moronically. When the instructor waves us over, Theo passes me my life jacket, and we start to walk over to the jetty to meet up with the three other people who are also going on the banana boat with us. We all say our quick hellos.
Suddenly, there’s movement at my back. I feel Theo’s fingers brush against my skin for the briefest second before my wetsuit tightens against my chest as I hear a zip being pulled up. I smile gratefully over my shoulder before slipping my arms through my life jacket, doing up the clasps.
The banana boat looks the same as the one I wanted to go on in Italy. Basically, a giant, inflatable yellow-and-red banana gets pulled along by a speedboat. Fun!
The three other people take the first spots, leaving Theo and me with the two at the back. My excitement peaks as I half-climb, half-fall onto it. When my foot accidentally goes into the water, I gasp at the shock of cold.
“Holy crap, it’s freezing. Am I going to fall in?” I look at Theo for his opinion as I scoot back to the last spot, so he can be the one to sit with his crotch basically touching a stranger’s arse, not me.
He chuckles and clambers on in front of me. “Definitely.”
“Oh God.”
When all five of us are seated, the instructor gives the boat a wave, and it starts up, moving slowly, taking up the slack of the rope attached to our inflatable. We meander along at a leisurely drift until we’re at a safe distance from the jetty.
“Ready?” a guy on the speedboat with a megaphone shouts.
We all cheer in response. I giggle excitedly. I hear the engines of the boat roar and feel the snap of the rope as it gives a sharp tug on the inflatable. The banana shifts under my legs as it suddenly jerks forward … fast … but my body doesn’t go with it. Instead, the speed propels me backwards, and I half-somersault off and crash into the water within one second.
I come up, spluttering and laughing, gasping for breath. The cold water makes my whole body spasm in shock. About thirty feet away, I can hear rambunctious laughter. Turning in a circle, I wipe the water