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bright yellow boat idled not far off shore, the white rope stark atop the clear blue water.
She couldn't even watch when they hooked that rope to Derek's sternum. By the time she
looked back, Derek had turned to face her, and gave her an assured smile.
She waved back, trying to match his confidence. A few more hand signals from the
instructor, a sharp whistle, and the boat took off. Derek ran toward the water, but Kara
didn't see anything else; she'd covered her face with both hands.
Several deep breaths later, and since she didn't hear a blood curdling scream, or a
loud splash, she peeked out from between her fingers, and scanned the area for the yellow
boat. She finally saw it, going way too fast for her sense of safety, but beneath a rainbow
parasail, dangled Derek. He seemed unaware of the danger, because he'd let go of the
handholds, and held both hands high above his head in a gesture of pure freedom. The
stark whiteness of his teeth showed up clearly against his dark face, and Kara couldn't
help but smile back.
He's fine & it's safe. She had to repeat the mantra, but she eventually relaxed enough
to move her hands from her face, and lay back onto the chaise. Back and forth, Derek
flew by, waving when he caught her attention. When he coasted over the beach, Kara
couldn't watch. She focused on her pink toenail polish. The landing process scared her
more than the ascent, so she waited for the cheer from the small crowd before looking
back across the beach.
Derek spoke with his hands, an animated man, she smiled fondly. She wondered
what he said, his arms spread out like an eagle, then forward like Superman. She laughed,
and took a long drink from her icy lemonade, feeling the cold liquid soothe her tense
insides. Derek shrugged out of the black vest, and soon jogged across the beach toward
her.
"Oh, God that was amazing. You've got to try it." He collapsed into the shaded sand
beside her. "It's as close to flying as man will ever get."
"I'm glad you had fun." She rolled onto her side to take in his body, sprawled out and
looking dark and delicious against the white Mexican sand. His heart pounded visibly,
and his smile spread wide, even when he captured her eyes. "Try it. You'll love it. I just
know you will."
"Not likely." She reached out to trace the wrinkles that his smile created in the corner
of his eyes. "I might need some antacid just from watching you."
He spent the next twenty minutes reliving every detail of his flight, and another
fifteen minutes trying to talk her into taking her turn.
"Sorry, there is no way you'll get me up there, no matter how hard you try. I don't do
extreme sports. I like to maintain control."
He smiled, like he just found the last piece of a puzzle. "I never would have guessed
that about you."
She knocked his sarcastic smirk away with a slap to his shoulder. He was propped on
his bent elbows, his chest sprinkled with glittery sand. She couldn't help herself, she
brushed the grains from his heated skin, then lingered on the tight muscles.
"Did Kris pack you a dress, or should we go buy one?" His voice lost all hints of
sarcasm, and took on a low timbre.
Kara rested her cheek against her curled right arm, and trailed her other hand against
him, feeling warm and dreamy. "She did. Are we dressing up?" She liked to feel his heart
beating beneath her fingers. It gave her a powerful thrill, and the tempo of her own
heartbeat kicked up.
"The Bella is a pretty nice place. They'll let us in dressed like tourists, but we might
as well dress up. I still feel bad about missing that tour bus." He caressed her hand where
it lay on his chest. The movement caused him to turn onto his side, and they faced each
other, though she was a foot or so off the ground.
"I've enjoyed today. Even without the ancient ruins." She wouldn't have traded
sleeping in this morning with Derek for anything.
He picked her hand up, slowly brought it to his mouth, and ran it along his cheek.
"Just a good excuse to come back to Mexico some day," he murmured, then put her hand
back against his pebbly nipple.
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