Roatan Plunge | Love Travels #2

Eighteen - Óscar

I can't breathe properly as I drag Lorena down the beach, through the patch of trees, to the huge abandoned, decaying dock almost entirely submerged by the ocean. A smile splits my face as she crashes to a stop, wrapping her arms around my waist.

When I asked for tonight, I never imagined she'd say yes. Not in my wildest dreams. I have no plans at all. But seeing the dock stopped me in my tracks, and I'm stuck here staring at it, Lorena wrapped in my arms like a dream.

"What's this?" She points to the remnants of the once-vibrant dock. "Your pirate ship hiding under here?"

"My what?"

"Carla was telling tall tales earlier, I guess." She shrugs. "I just wondered why this was your favourite spot as a child."

"I was there!" I protest. "And I never said I was taking you to my favourite place. I said I was taking you to a place. I thought you would like it."

"It's... lovely," she says, refusing to meet my eyes.

She's trying really hard to not disappointed and it's a good thing she's not an actor because her disdain drips from her every word. "It's not really what we're here for. It just caught me off guard. I remember it a lot less broken."

I remember a lot of things being less broken. Things I'd long forgotten about bubbling up to the surface as if Lorena's presence has awakened them.

"That makes sense," she agrees, not taking her eyes off the posts poking out of the water where the dock used to be. "Oceans are scary."

"Why are oceans scary?" The question comes out suddenly and I let it. I'll give myself tonight. I'll let myself ask the questions I normally wouldn't.

For some reason, I trust her. I can't even describe how much I wish I could climb right into her head and understand her, but she just closes her eyes and breathes in the salty ocean breeze that blows her hair back over her shoulders.

"I don't know exactly how to describe it," she muses, long tendrils of her hair tickling at my neck when she rests her head on my shoulder. It takes every bit of restraint I have to not kiss her again right here, but I dare not move.

"I guess it's just one of those big unknown things in our life, you know? With everything we know about the world, the bottom of the ocean is like a foreign planet to us. Don't they say we know more about the surface of Mars than we do about the bottom of our own oceans?"

"I don't know, do they?" I let my hand rest on her shoulder and hold my breath. She doesn't shrug it off. The trees encircle us and it's just us, the ocean, and Lorena's explanation.

"I think so. Anyway, there's a lot going on under there and then there's just the sheer power of water. Most people look at it and see the beauty but I see the danger. It's like a big strong scary force with a pretty face of makeup, lulling us all into a false sense of security. That scares me."

"Things aren't always what they appear," I agree. "Like this wharf used to be a grand place to tie a boat once."

"Oh, I believe it. Grand place to park your boats."

"For someone so afraid of the water, you've got a very cavalier attitude toward boats."

"They keep me out of the water, so I accept their peace offering," she mumbles. "Plus, I've always liked being out on the water, as long as the vessel is large enough for me to pretend I'm not in the middle of the ocean. Actually, I think one day a nice river cruise could be fun. Never too far from shore."

A laugh falls out of me. "I can see that working well for you," I agree, pulling her in closer under my arm. "You'd probably love Europe."

"Why do you say that?"