The particular dive they were now doing was listed in the manual as ‘Open Water Dive Number 1’. This had so far involved a 200 metre open water swim (which Andrew had managed but which left him puffed and feeling weak), cramp removal practice, and a 25 metre tired diver tow. All of those had been on the surface and had made Andrew very conscious of how useful the snorkel was, even in such small waves, and of what a vital piece of equipment the BCD (buoyancy control device) was.
Now the class was under water doing a very gentle swim along the bottom after having completed a controlled descent to a depth of 12 metres. That had not sounded much during the theory lessons in the classroom but the reality of swimming hundreds of metres out from the shore and then sinking down into the murky green water had taken some courage on Andrew’s part. The group were swimming at a leisurely pace back towards the shore, their depth decreasing slowly as they followed the gently shelving seabed.
What was really nagging at Andrew’s courage was the knowledge that soon he would have to face the challenge of deliberately flooding his face mask and then clearing it under water. Even in the swimming pool in waist deep water he had found that a challenge, causing fluster and near panic. The thought of having to do it on the seabed was enough to raise his anxiety level so that his heart rate and breathing were all much faster than normal. The situation was made worse by him feeling that he was not able to suck in enough air through the regulator. He knew that the instructor had stressed the need to breathe normally and not too deeply. But just knowing that he was under water and dependent on the gadget to keep him alive made Andrew stressed. The thought of swimming up to the surface while he still could was very appealing!
With an effort of will Andrew made himself stay under, all the while glancing anxiously around for a glimpse of the flitting shadow which might warn him that fangs or teeth were about to rip him apart. It was only the closeness of his companions that helped keep the fear to a manageable level- and the thought of what Muriel might think.
He found out what she did think within minutes of surfacing. The group splashed up into the shallows near the beach, pulling down their face masks, or taking them off altogether. As Andrew removed his and flicked water off his face his eyes met Muriel’s. She had swum over beside him and now sat in the shallows close to him.
“Oh Andrew, that was fun!” she cried.
Andrew managed a smile and actually did feel glad, though it mostly relief that they had finished the dive. Still marvelling at the wonderful chance that had brought Muriel into his life, he pulled off his swim fins and stood up. Muriel did the same. As she began wading ashore she turned her head and their eyes met. For a fraction longer than normal Andrew held her gaze. A smile was his reward before she looked away and began chattering about how good the dive had been.
‘She is beautiful!’ Andrew thought, taking in her sparkling hazel eyes, lovely smooth, tanned skin and dark hair. ‘I would love her to be my girlfriend. I wonder if I have a chance?’ He had never had a ‘proper’ girlfriend so wasn’t quite sure how to go about this. Anxious lest he make a mistake and scare her off he kept the conversation on diving and tried to sound casual.
Up under the trees lining the back of the beach was a tarpaulin. On this lay a row of air bottles and plastic carry boxes. After placing his facemask and fins in one box and his weight belt in another Andrew offered to help Muriel remove her SCUBA equipment. To his relief she smiled and said yes so he stood behind her and took the weight while she undid the straps on her BCD. He then lowered the set to the ground. Muriel thanked him, then turned to him. “I’ll help you,” she offered. As Andrew’s ‘dive buddy’ was actually Blake, and hers was Shona, he was more than happy. Muriel took the weight and he undid the clips, then turned and grasped the handle on the BCD and lowered the set to the ground. Once again their eyes met. ‘I definitely have a chance,’ he decided.
While he dismantled the gear, screwed valves closed, expelled air and water from his BCD and tidied up, Andrew found his gaze continually drawn to Muriel. As she peeled off her wet suit he found he just had to look. She was, he noted, quite slim but still nicely shaped. Her bathing costume was a dark green, one-piece lycra which hugged her body in a tantalising way. The material moulded itself to every contour of her body and he was very aware of the outline of her nipples, made erect by the cold water. The sight of the lovely soft swelling of her bosom caused his mouth to go dry with desire.
To his adolescent eyes her breasts were perfection, even though they were only quite small, being a pointy shape rather than the more rounded variety which the only other girl he had any real experience of, Letitia Schipholl, had been wont to display. Not that he had much experience at all, and certainly not with Muriel. Until the previous Friday night he had not even been aware she existed.
Muriel was so attractive that Andrew began to get aroused. That was both enjoyable and potentially embarrassing as he began peeling off is wet suit as he wore only his bathers underneath. It also bothered him as he believed in true love and was vaguely disturbed to find that lust was lurking in his own thoughts. With an effort he concentrated on packing up and then went to dry himself with his towel. But his eyes kept being drawn back to Muriel as though by a magnetic force. Not wanting her to notice this made him keep looking away.
It was the presence of Andrew’s big sister Carmen that most inhibited him. She turned from loading her gear into the van and saw him looking. That caused Andrew to blush and look away, hoping she had not really noticed. To add to his discomfiture his friend Arthur Blake, a navy cadet Seaman like himself, came and stood beside him.
Blake raised an eyebrow. “You doing a line for Muriel, or is she doing a line for you?” he asked.
Andrew blushed again. “Neither. She’s just friendly,” he replied, peeved that his secret admiration had been noticed by others, and angry at himself for lacking the courage to admit the truth.
Blake grinned and winked as he helped Andrew hoist his SCUBA tank into the back of the ute. “Well it looks like it,” he commented, adding in a murmur, “Good luck to you. She looks like a real goer.”
“Bite your bum! It’s not like that,” Andrew hissed back defensively, but he blushed fiercely as he said it
Blake laughed and said, “Isn’t it?”
“What about Shona then?” Andrew counter-attacked. Blake had confessed to him the day before that the only reason he was taking on the diving course was because of the pretty, black-haired Shona Wellings.
The dart went home and Blake glanced around to where Shona was talking to PO Walker. “Not doing as well as you seem to be,” he admitted.
While they talked the boys towelled themselves dry. Then Andrew pulled on an old shirt and pair of shorts. Muriel slipped a loose cotton shift over her bathers then walked past, indicating the nearby house. “Come on, time for lunch,” she called.
Sub Lt Sheldon looked up from the gear he was checking. “You sure your grandparents won’t mind?” he asked.
Muriel nodded. “Positive! They don’t get many visitors over here,” she replied. “It is too far from town for causal visits.”
The thought of meeting Muriel’s parents and grandparents caused Andrew’s heart to flutter with anxiety, although they did not know he liked her (‘Or do I love her?’ he wondered). He followed her out onto the driveway and moved up beside her.
As they walked up the driveway Andrew took in the details of the house. He was already familiar with the outside layout from seeing it for much of the morning. The house was built on a fairly steep hillside above the small bay. It was a big house with a steep concrete retaining wall on the side where the driveway led down past it to the beach. Wide doors led in from the driveway to under the house, suggesting a cellar, or downstairs area.
Leading