“Nice drink for this time of the day.”
He took off his shirt and pants. His body was lean and tan.
“I was on the swimming team in college,” he explained before I could even think of complimenting him. “I’m still always training.”
“I’m not much of a swimmer. We swam in a small lake near the village sometimes, but not much more than that.”
“So, your village was inland?”
“Sí. The biggest industry is the soybean farms. My father was a manager on the biggest one.”
“And he and your mother were killed in an accident caused by a drunken driver.”
“Yes,” I said.
“I know you don’t like to talk about it. I don’t like to talk about my mother’s death, either. I’m sure they wouldn’t want us to dwell on it. They’d want us to be happy,” he said. “No más,” he added. He reached for the sunscreen and began rubbing it into his body. “You put some of this on?”
“Yes.”
“Turn over, and I’ll put it on your back and the backs of your legs. It doesn’t take long to wish you had,” he added.
“Gracias,” I said. He rubbed in the lotion, taking his time. I felt his fingers over my upper thighs, moving all around my legs.
“We don’t want anything bad to happen to this skin,” he said. He even did my ankles.
I turned around, and he smiled and drank some of his mimosa.
“We need music,” he cried, and turned on the boat’s stereo system.
The radio went on immediately to a Mexican station, and he came out dancing. He beckoned for me to join him, and I did. In minutes, we were both laughing, drinking more mimosas, and eating some of the fruit and cheese. Every once in a while, another boat would draw near, and the driver would play his horn. Most of them had tunes instead of just a blaring noise. The people aboard would wave and scream. It seemed as if everyone on the ocean had been invited to the same party.
I didn’t know how much time went by. I didn’t think about it, but at one point, Adan decided it was too hot, and he dove into the sea. He beckoned for me to join him, to climb down the ladder and dip myself at least. I was afraid, but he called and called until I inched myself down the ladder and, still holding on to it, lowered myself into the ocean. He swam over to me, and we bobbed about. I was screaming half in delight and half in fear when he kissed me and kept his arms around my waist.
“I’ve got you,” he said. “You can let go of the ladder. Go on. Swim a little, so you can say you’ve swum in the Pacific. Go on,” he urged, until I did let go, swam a few feet, swallowed some salt water, and gagged. He immediately wrapped his arm around my waist and brought me back to the ladder.
“You have to keep your mouth shut, silly,” he said. “Are you all right?”
I nodded, but I had been shocked enough to want to go back up the ladder. He helped me, and I flopped onto the chaise. I quickly discovered that the bathing suit mi tía Isabela had bought me wasn’t really made for swimming. It was translucent. My breasts, my nipples, were as exposed as if they were uncovered. I seized another towel as he climbed up the ladder and threw it over me quickly.
“Wasn’t it great?” he asked, grabbing a towel for himself.
I nodded.
“You did okay for the first time. Cold?” he asked.
“A little,” I said.
“You’ll warm up in minutes,” he promised. “I’ll get us moving again. I want you to see Catalina. Rest,” he told me, and went to bring up the anchor and restart the engines.
I did dry quickly and was soon warm again. As my bathing suit dried in the sun, it became less translucent. I was soon comfortable enough with myself to join him at the helm. I took the other seat and enjoyed the ride, once again steering the boat, too. He pointed to Catalina when it came into view. He explained that he was going to rent a slip, and then we could get off the boat and walk in the village, visit the shops, and when we were ready, return to the boat for our lunch.
The fun and excitement, the new things I learned and discovered, all conspired to drive back any thoughts of Ignacio or my life in Mexico. This is how el diablo wins our souls, I thought, but it was only a fleeting thought. When we docked the boat, I put my clothes on over my suit, and we got off to walk through the village. Adan bought me souvenirs, a funny sun hat and two T-shirts from Catalina.
Afterward, when we returned to the boat, I insisted that I be the one to prepare the lunch. He set the table, and we had more mimosas and a wonderful lunch, talking and watching the tourists and the other boats and listening to our music. Afterward, while I cleaned up, he sprawled on a chaise, and when I returned, I found he had fallen asleep. I sat in a shady area and dozed a little myself. Time didn’t seem to matter anymore. I worried about nothing, thought about nothing serious, and had never felt as relaxed.
He woke and told me we would start back to Newport. We were both more subdued during the return trip. He talked again about his future, his father’s ambitions, and all of the possibilities that seemed to lie out there on the distant horizon. When we reached the dock in Ne
wport, the day had cooled but was still very pleasant. He told me about the reservation he had made at a great steakhouse on the beach.