Read Just This Once for Free Online Page B

marveled.  
    Drew stopped, treading water, as they neared the entrance. Pulled
out his snorkel and told her, “It’s a tunnel, through to another bay that’s
only accessible this way. We’ll have to swim around the rocks, and the waves
will push at you. You’ll need to ride with them. Let them help you rather than
fighting them. Are you OK to do this? I’ll stay behind you, make sure you’re
all right.”
    “Sure,” she answered. In truth, she was a little nervous.
The tunnel was long and dark, and she could already feel the waves being pulled
into it, and herself rising and falling with them. But she would be with Drew,
and he clearly knew what he was doing. He could be under no illusions as to her
skill in reading the water, after all. She gave herself a mental shake and put
her snorkel back in, ready to try.
    As she entered the cave, the waves did take her. Remembering
what he had said, she stroked with their push and aimed to guide her progress
between the rocks, reaching out with her hands and pulling herself through in
places. It grew darker as she continued in, and she felt the unease from the
day before return. She reminded herself again that Drew was behind her, watching
out for her, and focused on the triangle of light ahead of her at the tunnel’s
end.
    She kept moving doggedly between the jagged rocks, and found
herself after a few minutes coming out the other side at last. She raised her
head and saw she had swum out of the tunnel into a narrow bay, the beach and
water empty of any other people. Nothing but the sea ahead, the beach behind
and a headland on either side. And Drew next to her, his head up as well,
checking her progress.
    “How’d you go?” he asked. “Any problems?”
    “No. It was a little exciting, but I did what you said, and
I was fine.”
    He nodded and put his head back under, beginning to swim
slowly. Following his example, she discovered even more marine life than on the
other side. A school of brightly colored fish darted by, making patterns in
formation like swallows in the air. Large sea stars dotted the ocean floor,
some in the traditional star shape, others with slender, elongated arms, in
different sizes and shades of pink, purple, and orange.
    Drew touched her hand suddenly, and she turned. She looked
where he pointed, and blinked in surprise at a large ray, hovering just over the
sea floor, that darted suddenly away, its thin tail flicking behind it, as
their shadows fell across it.
    As they swam on, she found herself over another of those
huge silver fish she had noticed on the other side, and decided to try to
follow it. She was delighted to find that she was able to keep up, and was being
taken on a Fish Tour of the bay. The big animal didn’t seem bothered by her
presence above it. Its meandering course took her past others of its kind,
though it didn’t seem to be interested in them, and to areas with colorful
smaller fish and more of the darting schools.
    She had been happily swimming with her fishy friend for
about fifteen minutes when she suddenly found herself almost face to face with
a huge jellyfish. Startled, she looked around to see several more suspended in
the water ahead of her and to either side. Her heart pounded as she looked at
their beautiful, translucent bodies, with their streamers hanging down several
feet below. She didn’t know what kind they were, but she certainly didn’t want
to find out the hard way. She turned as neatly as she could, pulling her arms
in toward her body to avoid touching the translucent shapes all around her, and
fairly levitated across the bay toward Drew. His head came out of the water as
she approached at speed.
    When she told him what she had seen, he answered calmly,
“Yeh, we can get those. We’re all right in the wetsuits, just faces and hands,
but best not to swim into them and get your hands stung. We may be ready to
swim back anyway.”
    She agreed. The encounter with the jellies had shaken her a
little.