A Part of My Memory

Zara

I tried to hold on to Elliot as loosely as possible, tried to make sure there was a reasonable distance between our bodies, enough that my mind didn't go on a rampage, but unfortunately, the man at the docks wasn't going to let me go that easily.

"Tighter," he instructed. "If you hold on to him loose like that, you're bound to fall back on takeoff."

Reluctantly, I wrapped my arms tighter around Elliot.

"No, that's not good enough," the man sighed. "Your friend did it so perfectly. She wrapped her arms around the other guy like her life depended on it, so you do the same."

"If you're uncomfortable—" Elliot began, but I cut him off.

"I'm not," I denied then cleared my throat and put my arms further around him, locking my hands together.

"There we go," the man approved. "Now you can go ahead and enjoy the ride."

Elliot took that as his cue and started the jet ski, but as soon as it revved forward I found my grip tightening around him.

"Sorry," I muttered, loosening my grip slightly.

This was fine. It was just two adults riding a jet ski. There was nothing significant about it. Nothing significant about the fact that I could feel how hard and firm Elliot was. Nothing significant about the fact that I could feel his skin against mine despite the life jacket. Nothing significant about the fact that I was considering Ally's previous statement about him not having said 'I do' yet.

I immediately got rid of that last thought before it grew more. I wasn't that kind of person, and he didn't seem like the type to cheat. But even if he was, I wouldn't jump into anything with an engaged man. He was probably head over heels in love with whoever his fiancé was, and he probably wasn't feeling a thing right now, unlike me. He probably just thought of this as a kind gesture, allowing me to ride with him, but little did he know how many sensations were running through me because of him.

Elliot increased the speed and I held onto him tighter despite myself.

"Should I slow down?" Elliot asked me.

It took me a moment to answer, but I managed to say, "no." I wasn't going to be the reason he didn't get to enjoy this ride to the fullest. "Go faster," I told him. "But not too fast because that's dangerous and I'm pretty sure there is a speed limit." I cringed as soon as those words left my mouth. That was such a Faizah thing to say.

Elliot chuckled, and I felt the reverberations throughout my body. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, I thought, but the more the wind blew against my face and the more Elliot broke through the small waves that came our way, the more that thought became a distant memory.

I found myself focusing on the sensations of the experience rather than the sensations that came from holding onto him. I was tempted more than once to unbuckle my hands from around Elliot and hold them out to feel the wind press against my palms, but I had no intention of falling off the jet ski. So instead, exhilarated by the experience, I leaned my head back and shouted against the roar of the wind. Elliot soon joined my cheers as we sped across the water. As luck would have it, however, my shouts turned into gags and coughs when what I assumed was a bug flew directly into my mouth and lodged itself in my throat.

Elliot must have guessed what had just happened because he repeatedly said, "don't swallow, cough it out."

That was exactly what I did, but one accidental inhale pushed it further down my throat and forced me to swallow. The coughs immediately stopped after that. Elliot didn't say anything, no doubt aware that I had swallowed the bug. His body suddenly started shaking and it took me a second to register he was trying not to laugh out loud.