Right. It's a good thing to be nervous. Maria sat on the swim platform at the rear of the boat and watched as Joey pulled on fins and lowered into the water, adjusting his mask and snorkel just as Ritchie had instructed.

Despite the heat of the day, the water felt cool. Here goes nothing, she thought as she followed them in. Fascination replaced nerves as she watched a school of fish swim by, and then they went deeper to see colorful sea anemone clinging to the rocks, tentacles waving gently in the current like bright flowers swaying to a summer breeze. When she felt herself getting short of breath, she swam back up to the surface, cleared her snorkel with a quick puff of air, then took a few steadying breaths.

She felt Ritchie beside her, moving through the water, his leg brushing her thigh. In the quiet of the undersea world there was a sense of unreality, and as their bodies touched a spark ran through her. Floating, weightless, the urge to press her body closer to Ritchie almost irresistible. He pointed ahead to the shipwreck, and signaled Joey to swim in that direction, then took Maria's hand and guided her down into the crystal waters. A majestic stingray glided across the sandy bottom beneath them, and schools of yellow fish swam in and out of the sides of a sunken ship that functioned as reef. She felt a quick panic when Joey disappeared through one of the gaping holes in the side of the ship. Ritchie gave her hand a squeeze then followed Joey, and Maria went back to the surface where she could float on her stomach and take short, shallow dives to watch the colorful world below her.

She hadn't been sure it was a good idea to come along on this trip, but she had to admit she hadn't felt this relaxed and free from stress in a very long time. She raised her hand in the water, turning it from side to side, as a school of striped fish, their sides as round and flat as dinner plates swam leisurely past her, then suddenly picked up speed and flitted off in another direction. A long silver fish moved smoothly through the water, razor sharp teeth barred in its underbitten jaw, eyes small and round. Barracuda. It turned slowly, cruising like a silent stealth missile, its small smooth scales glinting in the sun-drenched water, then shot forward in a surprising burst of speed, snapping its prey cleanly in half. Maria swam back to the surface to get a few breaths of air through her suddenly dry throat, while keeping a careful eye on the whereabouts of the barracuda below. Ritchie had told her they typically didn't bother snorkelers or divers. Still. Seeing one up close was like coming face to face with a prehistoric predator.

She pulled herself onto the swim platform, took off her snorkeling gear, and spread one of the thick towels on the sun pad to stretch out in the warm air. With her sunglasses and hat shielding her eyes, the heat and the gentle rocking of the boat soon lulled her to sleep. She was back underwater again, watching a school of brightly colored fish swim in changing geometric patterns. Suddenly, they scattered, and she looked around to see what had frightened them.

Something was swimming toward her from the depths beyond the shipwreck. At first, it looked like the barracuda she'd seen earlier, but much larger – at least six feet long. And headed straight for her. She knew she should get out of the water, but her legs wouldn't move and instead, she found herself sinking farther away from the sunlight and into the shadowy depths below. Just when the giant predator's jaws were almost upon her, she realized it wasn't a barracuda at all, it was a diver, in full scuba gear. She struggled to see who was behind the mask as the diver's hand clamped on her ankle and pulled her downward. Her snorkel gear was gone, her hair floating freely around her face. Oddly, she didn't seem to need to breathe. But she knew she had to get to the surface. She knew there wasn't much time.

"Maria." Ritchie's voice.

"It's you," she said. "I was so afraid."

"You don't have to be afraid ever again," he said. She heard his voice clearly inside her head, saw only the bubbles rising up through the water.

A cloud must have passed over the sun, because the day got darker. Or maybe it was evening by now. When sharks come out to feed.

"We have to go back to the surface. To the boat," Maria said.

"You know I can't do that." His voice had changed, but it was still familiar. She reached out and pulled off his mask.

"You shouldn't have done that," Tito said. He put his mask back on and pushed her away.

"Tito! No!"

He continued to look up at her as he sank farther and farther away, down into the depths.

"Don't go! Don't go!" She called to him, but now every time she opened her mouth it filled with salt water, and she could only make a gurgling sound. She tried to swim after him, but without her fins she couldn't get her body to move downward and she kept floating higher and higher, closer and closer to the surface, where finally a glimmer of sun broke through the clouds. She felt hands gripping her shoulders, lifting her up.

She opened her eyes and was looking into Ritchie's face. He had both hands on her shoulders, and she was half sitting on the deck of the boat. For a moment, she felt completely disoriented, then the dream faded into the background.

"Maria, wake up."

"Whoa, Sis, are you ok?" Joey was leaning against the side of the boat, giving her a look that was half concern and half embarrassment.

"I'm fine." She sat the rest of the way up. "I was just dreaming, that's all. I must have fallen asleep."

"Man, that must have been some dream," Joey said. "You were yelling so loud. We heard you as soon as we got near the boat. Shit."

"Watch your language," she said automatically. Then her eyes narrowed. "What exactly was I yelling?"

Joey shrugged. "I don't know. So, what was it, some kinda' nightmare?"

"I don't remember that well." She looked at Ritchie. "Except the part where a giant barracuda was swimming toward me, and then it turned out to be you in scuba diving gear."

"Not a very flattering image you have of me." Ritchie leaned in closer. "If I ever do take you diving, I promise not to turn into a barracuda."

"Hey," Joey said, "Do you really know how to scuba dive?"

"Sure."

"Can we do it? Will you show me how?"

"Not this trip," Ritchie said.

"Aw, come on."

"People who take a few quick lessons on vacation are idiots," Ritchie said, sternly. "It takes a lot of training to dive safely."

Joey looked down, scraping his toe along the deck of the boat, clearly disappointed.

"But I'll tell you what, Sport," Ritchie said. "When we get back to Miami, I'll sign you up for a certification class. Pass that and I'll take you for some open water practice myself. That way you'll be ready to go next time we come to Bimini."

Joey looked up, eyes shining. "Really?"

"You bet." Ritchie reached over and ruffled Joey's hair, and Maria looked away. Why was Ritchie making promises like this, getting Joey's hopes up? How was she ever going to provide these kinds of experiences for Joey once their lives got back to normal?

"You want to go stow the gear?"

"You bet!" Joey said, gathering up the assortment of fins, snorkels, and goggles, and lugging them below deck.

She felt Ritchie's finger lightly under her chin, forcing her to look up at him.

"What's the matter?"

"You shouldn't promise him things like that."

"I like spending time with Joey."

"But what's he going to do when the six months is over and you aren't part of our lives anymore? Have you thought about that?"

There was a long pause.

"I don't make promises I don't intend to keep. And I have every intention of staying part of Joey's life for the long term."

She started to turn her head but the look in his eyes stopped her.

"And I'd like it – very much - if that means I'm going to be part of your life, too."

That was the problem. She did like having Ritchie in her life. She was starting to like it way too much.

* * *

Maria woke up the next morning to the sound of laughter coming from downstairs.

There'd been too little laughter in Joey's life. And, she realized guiltily, she hadn't even thought about it until now. She'd been too busy keeping food on the table and rent paid, and keeping up with a kid who outgrew his jeans and sneakers faster than she could buy new ones. About the only thing the two of them had done together as a family in the past few years was go to Mass on Sundays and volunteer at St. Theresa's Wednesday nights. Thanks to Ritchie, she could take a step back and just enjoy Joey being a kid. And maybe Joey was starting to see her as someone who wasn't just put on this earth to nag him.

Maria pulled on her robe, gathered up her shower supplies, and walked down the hall through Ritchie's bedroom into the master bath he'd told her was one of the selling points on the vacation rental ads. He wasn't kidding.

The whirlpool tub tempted her for a moment, as she imagined herself luxuriating in a swirl of bubbles while the hot jets sent streams of water to massage her entire body. No. Because that just led to thoughts of Ritchie taking off his clothes and slipping into the oversize tub with her.

She adjusted the five showerheads, tilting her head into the gentle stream from the large rainforest head as the steam rose around her. She poured a generous amount of shower gel onto one of the soft washcloths that had been sitting in a basket on the marble counter and began rubbing it over her body.

When she'd stepped in, the shower had still been slightly damp from Ritchie's use earlier, and she imagined his lean, muscled body with the rivulets of steamy water cascading over it. A shiver ran through her despite the heat of the shower. Ritchie's body wash was sitting on a shelf built into the tile. She opened the cap and lifted it to her nose. The scent that was so uniquely Ritchie filled her lungs, making her ache with a vague sort of longing. 

She tilted the bottle and leaned her head back, squeezing a small amount onto her collarbone, letting it run down her body between her breasts as the streams of water washed it away. She squeezed a little more into her hand and more boldly rubbed it across the top of her breasts so that the clean, masculine scent washed over her. Maria closed her eyes and imagined Ritchie standing right behind her, imagined that it was his hands and not her own caressing her body. The scent of him surrounded her, and she picked up the soft washcloth and brushed it over her breasts, then slid it down her body slowly until she was moving it gently between her legs.

She had to stop this. She was just making herself want him more. Maria opened her eyes and snapped the lid shut on the body wash, returning it to the shelf. Then she put a generous amount of her own shower gel on her body and tried to wash away the lingering scent.

But even after she toweled off and got dressed, she could still smell the underlying scent of his body wash clinging to her skin.

https://youtu.be/cHCwNHoSw4c

Music:  Sugar Shrill featuring Lunadira - Ocean Love

Author's Note:

What do you think Maria's dream means?

When will she finally deal with her confused feelings about Ritchie? Do you think she's going to make love with him while they are in Bimini? Or will having Joey around be her excuse to avoid getting closer?