'Are you nervous?'
They were floating together a few feet from the dock. The seas around them were inky, and opaque. Two flood lights on the dock illuminated silver zigzags on the surface.
'A little,' he said honestly.
'It takes a bit of getting used to. That's why I don't want you to start with a night dive. We're going to stay close to shore. Ready?'
She switched on her light and adjusted her mask, as Justin did the same.
Her light immediately picked up and followed a green moray, swimming out in the open. Justin had only seen them peeking out of cracks in the corral. He was surprised at its size, and he must have made a startled noise, because he felt her hand take his, and it stayed in his for the entire dive.
'We were in the water almost 2 hours,' she said, checking her dive computer, 'I'm a shrivelled raisin. But you're hooked, aren't you?'
They were back on the dock after their snorkel. Ripley had been fascinated and unwilling to cut the swim short.
'I am. So different from the daytime. What was that thing that looked like a giant cockroach?'
'Slipper Lobster. Almost never see them during the day. I'm so glad you liked it. Not everyone likes night diving, well, night snorkeling. Night dive tomorrow,' she said, giving him a high five.
Ripley's hand slid down to rest on her arm. He wanted to kiss her, but felt Becca tremble.
'Are you cold?'
'No,' she hesitated, 'it's your hand.'
He removed it once, 'I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry.'
'I didn't mean it that way. You don't need to apologize,' she threaded her fingers through his, 'It's the exact opposite.'
He gathered her up and planted a smacking kiss on her mouth. While she was laughing at that, he kissed her again, this time tenderly. The tenderness gave way to more, and soon they were both breathless, holding each other close.
She shivered again, 'Ok, now I am cold. And hungry. Supper?'