They reached a private beach in Guam's Apra Harbor and once they had stepped out of the Jeep, he grabbed his bag along with hers. He joined her and took her hand in his as they walked over to a man who was waving hello at them.
"Well morning you two. You must be Jake and Olivia?"
Jake nodded and shook the man's hand, then Olivia did the same.
"Well, I'm Bob. Welcome to Guam Ocean Adventures. For the next two and a half hours, I'll be your guide slash instructor. We'll start off with a snorkeling tour around the reef, then some paddle board. After that, you are free to stay and enjoy the beach for as long as you see fit."
Jake eyed Olivia, she was beaming, and he could tell she was impatient to get started.
"Does that sound good to you?"
"Sounds fantastic! When do we start?" Olivia answered.
"I'll get your snorkeling gear all set and there is a cabana on the side if you need to change. I'll be over there," he said pointing to another cabana near the water, "whenever you're ready."
"Thank you, Bob," said Jake.
Bob nodded and walked away.
"I'm going to go change into my swim shorts," he said to her. "Do you need to use the cabana?"
"No, I'm all good."
"OK. I'll be right back," he said as he leaned in and stole a quick kiss from off her smiling lips.
While he headed for the cabana, she walked over to one of the long chairs and placed her bag on it. She took out a towel and removed her shoes. She then removed her shorts and took off her top and walked to the edge of the water.
Jake put his sunglasses on as he exited the cabana and ventured out toward where Bob said he'd be. He stopped dead in his tracks and lowered his sunglasses.
His heart fluttered as he saw her standing near the water in a beautiful white bikini. Not only did the color enhance her sun kissed skin, but it enhanced her amazing curves and toned body. She was drop-dead gorgeous!
He put his shades back on and walked over to the long chair next to the one she had put her things on. He took his sneakers off and walked over slowly to join her. He didn't want to rush, on the contrary, he wanted this jaw-dropping sight to be etched in his memory forever.
She turned around before he reached her, and he saw her eyes widen as she checked him out. OK, so she had been with men before, many of which had been soldiers or marines, but they had never looked that hot! The tone of his muscles was like nothing she had ever seen before. His pecs, those abs… she imagined her hands gliding over them. Seeing him near her, she blinked to get out of her trance.
"Wow," he said as he stopped in front of her, "I don't think there are any words in the English vocabulary that would do you justice."
She blushed and he thrived in it. She was humble and that was an amazing quality. Maybe he should think about being more humble and not so boastful.
"I can only return the compliment," she said.
He wanted to take her into his arms or at least let his fingers trail up and down her arms, but Bob interrupted as he called them over. Jake took her hand, and they walked over to the cabana where Bob was and geared up.
"I assume you both know how to swim, otherwise you wouldn't be here," said Bob jokingly.
Both nodded and then listened as Bob gave them safety instructions.
Ten minutes later they were following him at the surface of the water, their heads down.
Every so often, they pointed to the fish they saw and then were granted by the visit of two sea turtles.
After an hour, the resurfaced and walked over to the cabana.
"Mind if I take a picture?" asked Bob as he showed them the camera. "It's for the visitors book and I'll gladly send a digital copy over to you."
Jake and Olivia looked at each other smiling and didn't need words to know that it was a good idea.
"We'd love to," said Jake.
When Bob was ready, the most unbelievable thing happened. Without even thinking about it, they got close, he put his arm around her waist, and she instinctively placed her hand on his abs.
"Alright, now that's done, let's head over to the paddle boards," said Bob enthusiastically.
If it had been up to him, Jake would have wanted to keep the physical contact of his skin on hers, but it wasn't on the agenda right there and then.
After an hour of paddling, which both ended up being great at, to the point that Bob had left them on their own and returned to his cabana, they put the boards away and headed for their long chairs.
After an hour of soaking up the sun and relaxing, occasionally stealing glances at each other, they ate sandwiches that she had prepared and drank her home-made lemonade. The sun was beating down and it was hot.
She closed the book she had been reading, removed her sunglasses and stood. He opened his eyes upon hearing her shift in position.
"I'm going to cool off a bit."
"OK," he said as he watched her walk away slowly toward the water and onto the wooden pier that led out further in the ocean.
He sat up and watched as she dived in the water and resurfaced moments later. He could watch her all day but the thought of being with her was just as intense. He removed his sunglasses and strolled over to the edge of the water. By that time, she had swum a bit closer to the shore where she could stand, even if most of her body was still submerged, and she eyed him as he entered the water and headed her way.
At first, he kept a reasonable distance between them.
"Are you having a good time?"
"Yes, I'm having a great time. I can't remember the last time I did something like this."
"Because of work?"
"Partly."
He didn't push, he was almost certain that the other reason was Cyclone. He apparently wasn't one to worry about doing things she enjoyed, and he considered that selfish.
"You're a great swimmer and that dive would have gotten you an 8 in the Olympics."
She let out a whole-hearted laugh and he smiled. How could a man not want to make this amazing woman happy, laugh or smile, was beyond him.
"Growing up on the island, surrounded by water, I learned to swim when I was young. I love being in water, it soothes me."
"Were you on the swimming team?"
"No, I enjoyed swimming so much that I didn't want it to become an obligation or a competition. But I was a lifeguard when I was younger."
He nodded. "You were already saving lives back then."
"But I was part of the Varsity tennis team."
"Tell me more about what you did before you became a badass ER doctor."
"I was a regular teenager. As a kid I did ballet and tap dancing. Then got kind of tired of it so I turned to sports. I ran track and did hurdles for school, learned how to play tennis and as I was good, I tried out for the junior varsity team, but very quickly found my way integrating the varsity team."
"What about you?"
"I was brilliant in math and science. Loved history and geography too. I played for the varsity baseball team."
"Ah, interesting breed… nerd and jock."
Seeing she was mocking him, he splashed water at her.
She glared at him amusingly and splashed him back.
"Hey!" he yelled as he retorted with more water as he moved in closer to her.
After a few seconds of water play, they were body against body.
He put his arms around her, bringing her closer against him and she did the same.
His eyes searched hers.
"You are so strong and determined and yet… I can almost feel this vulnerability inside of you. Why?"
She gave a weak smile. He had managed in two days to see what most men had never seen about her or had cared to understand.
"Growing up an army kid, I learned how to not get too attached to people. When I made friends as a kid or teenager and got close, after a few months, they would leave and that was hard. It's like losing all your bearings and it inevitably takes its toll on you. So, I learned to not get close to people to not get hurt. It's still the case today."
He got that. He couldn't remember all the places he had been stationed so far in his naval career and she was right, in the military, people came and went, the turnover was huge. Here one day, gone the next without warning.
"Not everyone leaves Olivia."
"Yes, they do. At some point or other, everyone leaves. Inevitably, you too will leave."
He didn't know what to answer, simply because it was the truth. Then it dawned on him.
"But Beau won't leave… at least not for a while. Is that why you're still with him?"
"Can we not talk about Beau or any of this? Right now, for once, I want to live in the moment."
"You're right, I'm sorry."
He frowned upon himself.
"Leave it to me to ruin an absolute wonderful moment."
She smiled trying to make him feel less bad.
"You aren't ruining anything. I'm just being realistic. You will leave Jake, and when you do it will hurt. I know it sounds weird to say it after this short amount of time, but it's the truth."
"Then why are you agreeing to all of this? Spending time with me, letting me in, allowing me to get close to you?"
"Because I don't want to live with regrets. I don't want to look back and wonder if I maybe missed out on something amazing, simply because I was afraid of getting hurt."
"The last thing I want is to hurt you," he answered as his eyes dug into hers.
'You can't hurt me more than Beau does', she said to herself in response to what he had just said.
"Maybe," he said as he took in a deep painful breath, "all of this is a bad idea."
"No, it's not."
"Olivia, what do you want?"
"You. I want you."
They remained quiet as they searched each other's eyes. He then claimed her lips with his. He held on to her as the waves swayed them gently as they kissed gently. As the kissing intensified, he lowered his hands from around her back and placed them on her derriere. He lifted her and she naturally and automatically wrapped her legs around his waist.
She delighted in the contact her partly naked skin felt against his. There was not one ounce of brutality in any contact he had with her, and she felt safe, something she had come to rarely feel when Beau set out to touch her.
It hadn't always been like that. In the beginning, Beau had been very nice and gentle, but somewhere down the line, he had changed as well as their rapport. It had become harsh, brutal, violent even at times, and she had tried to understand why. She often questioned if she had done something to change how it was between them, but she had found no answer.
He pulled back and she noticed the desire in his eyes. It was obvious he wanted more, he needed more. She was hesitant but then told herself that not all men were like Beau, and she had said it earlier, she didn't want to live with regrets.
"Anything else planned for the day?" she asked never removing her eyes from his.
"Not until later on tonight," he answered wondering what was on her mind.
"Then I think we should head back."
"Yeah, sure of course," he replied as he lowered her gently until her feet meet the sand.
He turned and walked out of the water as she followed suit. He grabbed his things and headed for the cabana so he could remove his swim short and dry off.
When he walked out, she was waiting by the Jeep. She was still wearing her bikini, but a floral sarong was tied to the side of her waist.
They drove in silence back to her place.
