Gabe may have been able to distract me yesterday while I was awake, but his touch didn't extend to my sleeping hours. Or rather, my tossing, turning, getting up and down and pacing around the room hours.

In the end, I resorted to watching BBC World until a documentary about the trials and tribulations of Mongolian basket weavers sent me off. Unfortunately, the tale of colourful woven wares and cheerful peasants worked a little too well, and I didn't wake up until eight thirty the next day.

Eating breakfast was clearly an impossibility, but could I get away without a shower? I sniffed my armpits. They'd do. And I could put my hair up into a ponytail. It was only going to get wet anyway.

I threw on an old T-shirt and a ratty pair of shorts. Gabe had seen me at my worst already, and if I could do anything to put off the men that the hotel staff kept dredging up, then I was going to try it.

I speed-walked as fast as I could in a pair of flip-flops, falling through the dive centre door in a flurry of apologies for being late. Then I realised that Gabe must be running on Egyptian time because there was no sign of him.

Dammit, I would have had time for breakfast, after all. I considered making a quick run to pick up coffee and some fruit. Okay, a croissant. And perhaps one of those little pastries that they had yesterday.

Alas, I knew that if I decided to go to the restaurant, then it guaranteed Gabe would turn up the instant I left. I headed instead towards the small seating area by the front door, intending to grab a magazine and relax until Mr. Tardy arrived.

Except when I turned, I realised there was already someone sitting there.

"Hi," he said.

Too late, I recalled that Gabe had mentioned I'd be getting a diving buddy today. Was this him?

The man sitting down was dressed almost as scruffily as me, wearing a faded T-shirt and shorts that rode low on his hips. He pushed back his floppy fringe and regarded me suspiciously with eyes that were just a shade lighter than the sea outside.

"Hi." Say something else, idiot. "I'm Callie."

Wow, that was imaginative.

He looked me up and down, a slow perusal that left me wishing I'd worn a different T-shirt. Anything but the one Kat had given me, which proclaimed I was "Hotter than Mr. Rancho's chilli sauce." The maraca-waving chilli pepper plastered across my chest suddenly seemed so juvenile.

"I know. I was issued with your picture and a brief fact sheet as part of my check-in package. Is it true you studied art history before you became a teacher?"

The only way the hotel staff could have possibly known that was through my Mum or Kat. I was going to find out which of them had spilled the beans and do something very nasty. But in the meantime, I had to deal with a complete stranger who knew more about me than some of my friends.

"Yes, but it's quite hard to get a job in that field. That's why I decided to take up teaching."

"A noble profession."

Was he mocking me? I wasn't sure.

"I find it very satisfying."

The stranger smiled through his unkempt beard, displaying a perfect row of white teeth. People would pay a fortune for those.

"I'm glad you're being satisfied in at least one way."

Oh yes, he was definitely taking the mickey now.

I was saved from saying something I probably would have regretted by Gabe, who strolled in looking delicious. Honestly, how could he look that good so early in the morning? And why couldn't he be straight? It's not as if I'd have stood a chance or anything, but a girl's got to dream, hasn't she?

He gave me a kiss on each cheek, then turned to the newcomer. "You must be Adam?"

The jackass nodded. "And I take it you're Gabe?"

"Indeed I am. Welcome to this fine and sunny establishment. Have you two already met each other?"

"He knows my whole life history," I blurted. "He has a flyer. Did you know about this?"

Gabe shifted uncomfortably. "Someone did hand me a copy when I was out in a restaurant last night."

"Is there anybody left in this town, anybody at all, who doesn't know that my love life is a complete mess?"

"Probably not," Gabe admitted.

The way I saw it, I had two choices: Run back home with my tail between my legs or stay and fight. Two weeks ago, I'd have been on the first plane out of Egypt, no question, but just being in this beautiful place had changed me. Despite the meddling by my friends and family, I somehow felt more relaxed. Perhaps they were putting something in the water in Fidda Hilal?

Whatever it was, I decided to take the second option.

Gabe regarded me nervously. "Do I need to get tissues?"

"No. I'm going to deal with this."

I clenched my fists by my sides. I could do this. I could. Both men breathed sighs of relief.

"So..." Gabe said. "Shall we start the course?"

"We?" Adam asked. "I thought it was only me on the course?"

"Callie decided yesterday that she wanted to learn to dive, and I decided that I was going to teach her. It'll be good for you to learn with a buddy. It's how you'll dive in the wild, so to speak."

Darkness clouded Adam's eyes, and he opened his mount to protest, but Gabe got in first.

"Look, if you want to learn on your own, I can give you a refund and you're welcome to find another dive school. But Callie's learning to dive, and she's learning with me."

Oh my gosh. I felt like leaping over and hugging him, but I managed to refrain. Not only would it have embellished my reputation as a crazy woman, but it would have involved exposing my armpits to the open air.

After a long moment, Adam sighed. "Fine. I'm here now, aren't I? I guess we'd better get started."

Gabe sat down, motioning to me to do the same, and went through the format of the course with us. We were to have homework. Homework! It really was like being back at school.

Today, Gabe explained, we'd be making two dives, both in the bay in front of the hotel. We'd have a set of skills to learn and practice, involving everything from taking out our regulator to flooding our mask. But before that, we'd have another video and a short test.

That all sounded so much more complicated than my effort yesterday. Couldn't I just float around with the fishes again? And Gabe, of course.

Once he was finished with the intro, Gabe herded us both into a classroom. As Adam stood up, I found he was taller than me, a smidgen over six feet at a guess, and when he sat on the wobbly wooden chair, he dwarfed it. I perched next to him, eyes forward. It was years since I'd been the student rather than the teacher. I felt as though it should be me at the front explaining how the lesson was going to progress.

Adam opened his textbook and started reading. I did the same, but I couldn't help glancing in his direction a couple of times out of curiosity. As well as the tatty clothing, his dark brown hair was weeks—if not months—past needing a cut, and his beard was crying out for attention too. His skin had a grey pallor, as if he hadn't been outside much recently.

As we jotted down our test answers, I peered over to see what Adam was writing. Bad idea. Not only was his handwriting so awful I couldn't make any of the words out, but he caught me looking. Damn.

Once we were done, Gabe came over and explained the bits we got wrong. Or rather, the bits I got wrong. It was clear I had some bedtime reading to do, but hopefully it would work out better than the basket weavers. After I'd been re-educated, it was time for the first of our training dives. I felt a bit better for having worn the equipment once already. At least I knew what I was letting myself in for.

"Have you ever dived before, Adam?" I asked as we walked through to the locker room. He hadn't uttered a word to me since we went into the classroom.

"No."

"What made you want to learn?"

He shrugged. "I thought it sounded like fun."

For someone who'd flown—judging by his American accent—halfway around the world to take the course, he didn't seem very enthusiastic about it. Or maybe it was just me he wasn't enamoured with. If so, I couldn't really blame him. Even I didn't like myself much at that moment. If it hadn't been for Gabe's constant encouragement, I'd have gone back to my room and cried.

At least, that was the case until I discovered that my course had a hidden benefit. I found this out when Adam took his shirt off. And his baggy board shorts. The Lycra boxer-style shorts he wore underneath didn't leave much to the imagination, and out of the corner of my eye, I caught Gabe looking too. He shrugged and mouthed, "Straight," then made an exaggerated sad face.

As Adam stood in front of me, wearing a tight pair of swim shorts, I didn't know where to look. Heat rose up my cheeks. Gabe started laughing but turned it into a cough.

Adam turned away, and now I was free to stare openly. The back view was almost as good as the front, and in my head, I christened him "The Ass." Gabe raised his eyebrows at me and licked his lips.

"Stop it," I whispered.

"What was that?" Adam asked.

"Nothing."

The men both climbed into their wetsuits, while I only managed to squash one leg into mine.

"Adam, please can you help Callie?" Gabe asked. "I want to see you working as a buddy team."

I gave him a glare that would have made a kitten keel over dead in its tracks, but Adam saw it too and regarded me warily.

"Gabe, you could help me. You managed to get me into the suit yesterday."

Please.

"I just need to, uh, go and check the battery in my dive computer. I'll be back in a few minutes."

He practically ran out the door, and I could quite cheerfully have murdered him. He'd pretended to help me in my quest to avoid men, but in reality, he was as bad as the rest of the staff. Suddenly, Peter's idea of going for a walk up in the hills didn't seem so bad. I could do that. In a burka.

Meanwhile, I had to put up with Adam.

"Why don't you try leaning on me?" he suggested somewhat hesitantly. "If you can get your other foot in, I could pull it up."

Probably it wasn't every day he tried to squeeze a hippo into a condom.

I gingerly stepped forward, then reached out to support myself on his shoulder. Thank goodness there was a layer of neoprene between us. Between him tugging and me jumping up and down, I finally got into the wetsuit, and Adam pulled the zipper up the back. Just in time for Gabe to saunter nonchalantly back in.

"Ready to go, guys?"

"Yes," I grated out through gritted teeth, giving him the dirtiest look I could muster.

Gabe must have felt a bit guilty for abandoning me because he helped me into the BCD. I fastened my weight belt, and we traipsed off to the sea again. This time, I think because I knew I could do it, it seemed easier. Or perhaps it was because I was once again distracted, this time by Adam walking in front of me.

How did he manage to look that good in something so unflattering? It really wasn't fair.

As we submerged, with me deflating my own BCD this time rather than Gabe doing it for me, I saw the expression of wonder that came over Adam's face, and it made me smile. Maybe he was part-human after all?

I could quite happily have watched the fish and Adam's ass the whole day, but Gabe's hand waving in front of my eyes reminded me we had a long list of skills to practise. Back to work.

First, we took a little swim, learning to control our direction and depth. The actual swimming part was easy. Even though I hadn't swum much since I did my badges at school, it all came flooding back. Controlling my depth was more difficult. I had to let air in and out of the BCD.

Several times I accidentally headed for the surface, and once Gabe had to grab me and hold me down. Adam was having no such problems. He paddled around lazily like a pro. Of course he did. He seemed to be one of those people who found everything easy. You know the kind. They have a PhD in rocket science, work ridiculous hours in the city, and yet still find the time to go on a skiing holiday every other weekend.

Although he hadn't had time to get a haircut. A tiny chink in his superhumanity?

After ten minutes or so, we let the air out of our BCDs and settled on the bottom. Even just kneeling was difficult. With the current, I kept keeling over to the side. Eventually I jammed one fin into the sand and propped myself up most inelegantly.

Then it was time for the bits that had been making me really nervous. First, we had to take out our regulator and put it back in again. What if water got into my mouth? What if I started drowning? I had visions of being airlifted to hospital. Except, I reminded myself, this was the wilds of Egypt. They probably didn't have a helicopter. And I wasn't sure I wanted to end up in their hospital either.

Next to me, Adam calmly spat out his regulator, waited a few seconds, then put it back in. Ten out of ten. He was pretty good with the regulator, too. All eyes were on me now. A weight of expectation settled on my shoulders, along with the air tank and eleventy million tons of seawater.

I took a deep breath and released the regulator, breathing out a stream of small bubbles the way I'd been taught. Then I put it back in. Just like that. I'd done it!

Gabe gave my hand an encouraging squeeze, letting me know I'd performed okay. My breath came in ragged pants as I tried to get my pulse under control.

And it still wasn't over. We had to do it again, except this time, instead of retaking our own regulators, we had to breathe from our buddy's spare. For that, Adam and I had to hang on to each other's arms at the elbow so we didn't drift apart. I took another deep breath and went for it, grabbing the yellow hose and tugging Adam's alternate air source free from his BCD. He gripped my arm, and this time it was him rather than Gabe who squeezed me for reassurance, making me gasp in surprise.

Seawater flowed into my mouth, and I started choking. Until that moment, I hadn't realised it was possible to cough underwater. Adam and Gabe remained calm while I was anything but. Finally, I got my own regulator back into my mouth and found Adam still holding my arm, concern rather than his usual grumpiness in his eyes.

He asked me, "OK?" with his fingers.

I signalled back that I was, although I was shaking inside. Calm down, Callie. My heart thumped against my ribcage, and I nearly started ascending, but I realised that if I gave up, I'd look like an idiot yet again and this time in front of two hot men.

No, I'd damn well stick out the final joyous task.

That one consisted of flooding our masks and then clearing them. I'd been dreading it, and I was right to. As the cold water trickled in, fear did the same. A feeling of claustrophobia washed over me. My eyes were screwed shut, and all I could see was blackness. Then an arm snaked around my waist, and I drew strength from it. I pushed on the top of my mask and tipped my head back, blowing out as hard as I could through my nose to clear the water.

Finally, I managed to open my eyes again.

As my vision returned, I expected to see Gabe kneeling next to me, but to my surprise it was Adam. He was the one who'd been holding me. Thank goodness I hadn't realised that before. If I'd known it was The Ass holding me, I'd have drowned for sure.

The last few bits were easy, just practising our hand signals, and after what seemed like forever but was actually only thirty-five minutes, we ascended. As my head popped out into the air, a rush of feelings welled up inside me. Yes, I'd managed to complete the tasks, but I'd made a fool out of myself twice. Not an utter idiot, but still a fool. What must the other two think of me?

The question weighed heavy on my mind as I walked up the beach behind them, exhausted. When we got back to the dive centre, I barely had the energy to take off my gear.

Gabe noticed and caught me before I collapsed back onto a bench.

"You okay? You look white."

Great, so all those hours sunning myself on the beach had been wasted.

"I'm okay, I just feel a bit..."

I swayed a little on my feet, and Gabe lowered me onto the seat before stripping off my gear. Once the weight was gone, I breathed more easily.

"What have you eaten today?" he asked me.

"I ran out of time for breakfast."

"You should always eat breakfast," he scolded. "No wonder you can hardly stand."

"I couldn't sleep. Then suddenly I did, and I couldn't wake up."

He put his arm around my shoulders and squeezed. "It'll get better, I promise. But in the meantime, we need to find you some food. What do you want to eat?"

"Can we just order something and eat it on my terrace?"

"Sure thing. Adam, you okay on your own?"

"I'll be fine."

Gabe bundled me up in a towel and half carried me to my room. Thankfully most of the hotel staff seemed to be busy, and I didn't have to face a barrage of stares. Having to explain why I was stumbling around like I was drunk wasn't something I felt up to doing that day.

I made myself presentable in the bathroom, and when I came out, Gabe already had a platter of assorted fruit, cakes, and sandwiches set out on the table. I picked up a piece of chocolate cake. Just to get my blood sugar levels up, you understand.

"Feeling better now?" he asked.

"Mmm-hmm. I can't believe I have to do it all again this afternoon, though. I didn't realise the course would be so much work."

"It's not easy, but it'll be worth it, I promise. Plus we have a delicious piece of man candy to amuse us now."

I almost spat out my drink. "You can't say that!"

"Why not? I'm right, aren't I?"

"I guess Adam's okay to look at," I admitted. "But he seems really grouchy."

"I thought that too. I don't understand it. When he emailed to book the course a couple of days ago, he seemed keen to come as soon as possible."

"Maybe that's just his personality? I think there's some sort of law that says a guy can't have the whole package. Like if he's handsome, he can't be friendly as well."

"Or gay."

"That too. Although you seem to have managed all three."

Gabe gave me a cheeky grin. "I guess I'm an anomaly."