I pushed ahead of Tommy—excited by the idea that there was light ahead, and I could feel him following more slowly from behind me. What? Was he afraid I'd jump on his back again? I stepped gingerly down onto the floor of the cave as the way grew slippery—narrowing my eyes at the puddles of water I suddenly found myself stepping into until the end of the cave finally opened up in front of me and I peered out of it incredulously. So, It opened up at the entrance of another waterfall—this one much more grander than the one that had been elsewhere on the island. Tom drew up next to me.
"Wow! This is amazing." He exclaimed as I nodded mutely before glancing to see how we were supposed to get down.
"I think we're going to have to jump." I noted a minute later as I realized there were no ledges or anything to climb down onto. Tommy stared over at me in horror.
"We are not jumping!" He declared as I just looked over at him pointedly—knowing without a doubt that the man had a thing for heights. The vision from the airplane ride over to Papeete suddenly sprang into my mind and I laughed.
"Fine, you can stay here then." I announced as I peeled off the wet t-shirt I was wearing over my bikini. It wasn't like the shirt wasn't going to get wetter as I hit the water below, but I just liked watching Tommy's expression as I took it off. Yeah, sad I know, but hey, I liked the idea that he found me attractive even if he fought the impulse.
"You coming with me or not?" I asked him quickly as he sighed before finally nodding reluctantly. I laughed as I reached out and took his hand. It felt good to hold his palm in mine, and I shivered as I realized I wished we could just stay this way—no inhibitions, no worries--but we had lives we had to live too—pasts we had to face. Why couldn't love just be simple—between two people that connected despite anything else.
"On the count of three?" I asked simply as Tommy nodded. We both got ready to leap.
"One…Two…THREE!" I shouted as we both sprung forward, and I screamed before laughing as the air rushed around us—cooling our skin before we landed in the clear blue lagoon below, letting the water cushion our fall as we landed. I spluttered as I broke the surface before running a hand over my face and looking for Tom. He came up next to me.
"Remind me to pack a survival kit the next time anyone even suggests a vacation." Tommy muttered as he spat out excess water before digging his muscular arms into the liquid as he moved toward the shore. I watched him as he lifted up out of the lagoon—observing as the water clung to him in worshipful droplets as if he were Poseidon—the mythical king of the sea. I so wanted to be that water right now.
"Done staring, Jude, or are you planning on turning into a mermaid?" Tommy asked in an amused tone as I realized he had caught me ogling him. I started swimming towards him to hide the blush that suddenly rode my cheeks. I didn't need him to know that I thought about him so much.
"Now what?" I asked as I came to stand next to him. He just shook his head as he looked out over the rocky shore. I could see a few huts in the distance, and I watched as he pointed at them.
"Now we ask the locals how to get back to where we started." Tommy replied as I nodded at him as if I was impressed by his candor.
"Wow, a man asking for directions? Who would have thought?"