‘Wow. Are you asking me to take my shirt off? You move fast. I don’t even know your name.’
I laughed and blushed. ‘Emma.’
‘So, Emma, besides trying to update your wardrobe at the local ocean bar, what brings you to this island?’
‘Just a few days in the sunshine.’
‘Same as us,’ Nick said.
‘Us?’ I looked around. ‘Seeing imaginary friends now, are you?’
He chuckled. ‘The boys, Brett and Mark, headed back to the villa. I’ve got a timeshare unit down by the beach so we fly over from Sydney as much as we can, especially since the summer is almost over.’
‘And Fiji is so warm, thank goodness, warm enough to swim.’
‘You going swimming later, then?’ Nick asked.
‘Maybe.’ I laughed. My head was saying yes, yes, YES, but I was trying to play it cool.
‘Well, this bar closes soon,’ Nick said. ‘Did you aim to be so fashionably late?’
‘Are you saying I’m fashionable now?’ I teased.
Nick laughed. ‘Not quite. We can talk more about your clothing choices later, as it may take some time.’
Just then the lights flicked on and off. Welcome drinks were over.
‘Shall we?’ Nick said, pulling out my chair for me.
I followed him down a side pathway through a row of huts and bures. Down at the beach the entire place was quiet, except for the small whoosh of waves lapping at the shore. Everyone else was tucked in their beds. The moon was full and round. A white streak of moonlight flashed across the water. The tide had gone out, and the waves were soft and round, gliding without any mermaid froth.
Nick grabbed my hand and pulled me until my feet hit sand. Soft, cold sand. He seemed to hold my hand for a beat, but then let me go.
‘How good a swimmer are you?’ He looked at me.
‘I’d beat you in an eggbeater contest.’ I could feel the warmth of the whisky flushing through my veins. It made me feel like being reckless on my last few nights of freedom.
‘You’re on!’ Nick said, unbuttoning his shirt.
‘I’ll have you know,’ I said, pulling my hair from its bun, ‘I’m an avid aqua aerobics-er. Is that a word?’
He looked at me curiously. ‘Aren’t you a bit young for that?’
‘Ageist.’ I threw my sandal at him.
He laughed and ducked. ‘Oh, man, do you wear one of those cap things?’
‘Those caps are kinda cool, I’ll have you know. Possibly ironic. Maybe even hipster?’
‘Yes, possibly cool for the mid-seventies age range. Thankfully you are cap-free tonight. Just so you know, I bet you look better without it.’ He winked.
He took his shirt off, revealing a taut chest, tanned and smooth with not an inch of hair. Yikes! He looked even hotter than I imagined. There were curves of muscle around everything. His shoulders were like boulders. His chest broad and smooth, and his stomach muscles, without an inch of fat, were etched deep. He had the defined diagonal hip muscles of swimmers and runners. I could see every pair of muscles that made him up. I tried not to look, but kept stealing glances.
‘Emma, are you OK?’
‘Huh? Yes, yes, I’m good.’ I’d stopped undressing, and was standing there, my mouth open. My eyes wandered all over him as I took off my other sandal.
Nick was now taking off his shorts and his boxers. Wait. What? His BOXERS?
‘Wait, what is happening here?’ I said, trying to suppress my laughter.
Suddenly Nick was standing in front of me and, oh, my God. He was naked.
I burst out laughing. ‘Why are you naked?’
‘Why not? Aren’t we swimming?’ Nick said, not making a move to cover himself up. This guy had confidence.
‘I want to tell you something,’ he said.
‘That we’re naked?’ I laughed.
‘Yes, Emma.’ He smiled.
‘Are you a nudist?’ I couldn’t stop laughing.
‘No, Emma. Actually, I want to tell you something else,’ he started.
‘I’m sorry’. I could hardly breathe I was laughing so much. ‘Can we have a serious conversation while you’re naked?’
‘Can we?’
‘I’m really not sure.’ I tried to stop laughing and compose myself. ‘Wait, is this the way you get girls back to your villa?’ I said, trying not to look there. His package.
‘It’s not about sex, Emma,’ Nick said.
Oops. It wasn’t? Because I was still sneaking mini-glances at his nether regions.
‘It’s about just being comfortable with who you are.’
Clearly this boy was very comfortable.
‘You can go in with your underwear on,’ he offered.
‘Now where’s the fun in that?’ I laughed. I would never see this guy again, it was Fiji, why the hell not. I took my dress off. And stood in my black lace bra and lacy bottoms. At least someone was seeing my French lingerie! Hurrah! I hadn’t bought them for nothing. I shimmied off my pants. And unclasped my bra.
Naked. I was bloody naked! I gave a quick glance around to make sure no millennial was hiding in the bushes, filming us – I’d be on YouTube in no time, going viral. Doing it for size fourteen women everywhere.
I felt totally exposed. But surprisingly good. Also, I wanted to sneak a little glance at him down there. But that felt wrong. And weird. And he was looking at my eyes. And not at any other places on me.
He was staring at me intently. I held my breath. I thought he was about to lean in and kiss me. I started to close my eyes, thinking, yes, please kiss me, but he said, ‘I want to tell you …’ he paused ‘… first one in is the winner!’ and started sprinting towards the ocean.
‘Not fair!’ I gave it all my might, running as hard as I could. Running made my boobs jiggle, and then I wondered how my stomach looked so I snuck a glance to see. It looked OK. A bit soft. And white. But OK.
Nick was athletic as well as muscular, and he got there yards ahead of me, diving into the cool ocean. I splashed into the sea after him. The water was warm and soothing, and felt amazing. I waded out to my thighs and dived in. I closed my eyes, and felt the water rush over me. It felt strange to be in the salty sea, without any clothes. And rather great too.
When I emerged, Nick was a few metres away, gliding over the small waves.
‘So what do you win?’ I asked, swimming closer to him.
‘That’s up to you. Loser gets to decide.’
I splashed him with a huge wave of water. He was surprised and made a few choking noises. ‘OK, nice, death by drowning to the winner.’
‘Well, it wasn’t a fair race. You had a head start.’
‘You want another challenge?’
I laughed. ‘I do.’
‘Wow, I think it’s too early for “I do’s”, Emma. Now you’re practising for our wedding. You do move fast.’
I sloshed more water his way, then turned onto my back, kicking as hard as I could so all the water would go in his direction.