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“Jump in? How deep is it?”

“I don't know, but it's deep enough to go for a dive,” he said, walking to the edge of the patio

He stared down into the water, and I walked to the edge and joined him You could see all the way to the bottom, the water was that clear and pristine

“It's probably cold too,” he said “But personally, I like diving right in and getting the shock over with It usually feels so good after that”

The idea of diving right in to unfamiliar waters scared me, a bit But Nico was besideto do it, I didn't want to chicken out I nodded, biting my lip and looked into his eyes

“Okay, let's do it,” I said, a nervous flutter in my belly

“One two” Nico took ht “Three!”

On three, we both juh into the air and ca, and I went under At first, I panicked – not having much experience in ocean waters – but Nico pulled me above water, his hands on my waist

“I’ve got you,” he said, reassuring me as I took a deep breath “You can swim, can't you?”

“Yes, of course,” I said

Honestly though,skills were very basic I'd learned when I was a kid, in a pool, but it had been years since I'd put that skill to use I could keepto be swi laps anytime in the near future

Nico let ain, but I ed to keep my head above crystal-clear water I was surprised to feel a twinge of sadness when he'd let o – there was a part ofme up I liked the way his hands had felt on , chiseled ar bad would ever happen to ht

Neither one of us said a word for a long tian to set in the distance The sky was filled with hues of purple, orange and red, which was gorgeous set against the brilliant blue waters We were several yards fro into the shore as well as the pilings below our bungalow

“Beautiful, isn't it?” I said, feeling at peace for the first time in my life

When Nico didn't answer, I looked over at hi at aze