~DIVERGENT~ Paradise

Day 11

"Hello, Puerto Vallarta!" Marlene says as she steps off the boat. "God, it feels good to be on land again."
"Where to first?" Shauna asks as we gather on the dock.
"I want to do the actual swim with the dolphins thing," Christina says. "The guide for that leaves in 30 minutes."
"Sounds good to me," Shauna says.
We find the right tour bus and pile on. This particular place is part aquarium, part natural cove where you're allowed to swim with dolphins, turtles, and sting rays.
When we arrive, we sign up for a private swim time and take a walk through the aquarium. We spend some time at the touch pond, before moving on to my favorite area, the sea horses.
"Look at this little guy," I say to Four. "How can you not like sea dragons? They're so cool. And they're dragons."
"Look, there's one hiding in that kelp."
"Where?" I bend down and look where he's pointing. His face is inches from mine, and when I feel him looking at me, I turn my head and am surprised with a kiss.
"Was there even a sea dragon?" I ask.
"I'll never tell," he says with a grin. I take his hand in mine, and we continue through the aquarium, looking at the various marine life until it's our swim time.
We head to the sea experience early so we can get changed into our wetsuits.
"A few rules," one of the trainers who's going in with us announces. "First, be nice. These guys are not going to hurt you in any way, so there's no need to be mean to them or freak out. Second, you must listen to what I say. That means if I say out of the water, you do it immediately, no questions asked. And last, have fun. These guys are all very sociable, and are used to human interaction, so don't be alarmed if they don't leave you alone, got it?" We nod. "Good. And you guys chose the right time. At the end of your session is feeding time, so you can stick around if you want and help feed the dolphins."
"Ooh, yay!" Christina says.
We follow him through a set of double doors and hop right into the ocean.
Right away a giant sea turtle surfaces right in front of me. "Oh!" I say, a bit startled. "Hello there cutie! What's your name?"
"That's Filburt," (A/N I love that name it's fun to say 😂)the trainer calls out to me. "He likes his shell scratched." I give him a look, but reach out and run my fingernails over his shell. Sure enough, he flaps his flippers in and out of the water, and I swear he has a smile on his face.
"He loves you," Four says as he swims up to me. "He knows you were nice to his cousin in Cabo."
"Aww, I love you too, Filburt," I say.
Filburt swims away, so Four and I make our way over to Christina, who is already busy with a dolphin.
"This is Daphne," she says as we swim up. "Watch this." She moves her hand up and down, and Daphne bobs her head up and down. "Good girl Daphne!" she says, and rubs her snout. Daphne responds with a series of clicks and squeaks, and the trainer tosses her a fish. The trainer hops in the water with us, and shows us how to hold on to Daphne while she swims, and we take turns being towed around the cove.
"Here," another one says as we sit along some of the rocks afterwards. "Take this octopus and hold it out flat in your hand. The sting ray will come up and eat it."
"No! Not for me! Nope," I say as I scoot quickly away from Four and the trainer. He laughs and takes the small octopus from her and holds his hand out.
"It's already dead," he says.
"Don't care. I can watch you feed it," I say.
A few minutes pass, and when the sting ray approaches, Four lays his hand out flat in the water, and the sting ray sucks the octopus right out of his hand. "Oh jeez. That was weird," he says. "It like, vacuumed it off my hand. Try it, Tris," he says as he holds out another octopus in my direction with a smirk on his face.
"No way!" I say as I scoot even further away.
The sting ray thinks everyone has food now, and he comes right up and glides along my body. I feel his mouth suck along my arm and resist the urge to shove him off. "These guys are cool, but I don't think I like this whole sucking business," I say as I swim away. "I'm going to find Filburt again."
After our hour is up, the trainers bring out a couple buckets full of fish, and we feed the dolphins. "Bye Daphne!" Christina yells just before we leave, and Daphne rolls onto her side and waves a fin at us.
"I want a Dolphin. Can we get a dolphin when we get back, Tris?" Christina says after we change back into our clothes.
"Yes. As long as it fits in the bathtub," I say.
"I knew I kept you around for a reason. You let me do whatever I want," she says with a wink before running over to Will.
"That's a lie," I hear from behind me. I turn and see Four.
"A lie?" I say.
"Well, not a lie, lie. She keeps you around because she loves you. It's obvious to anyone with eyes how much she cares about you."
I smile. "I don't know about love."
"Tris, she loves you. Everybody loves you."
"I don't know about everybody, either" I say, suddenly realizing how fast my heart is beating. This isn't the first time Four has made a comment like this.
"No Tris, everybody," he says quietly. I feel the heat radiating off my ears, and am thankful when Uriah brings up lunch.
There is a nice restaurant inside of the aquarium, so we eat there. After lunch, we take a tour bus to the base of a hill, and hop on burros for a tour of a nearby bird sanctuary located throughout the hillside. We are able to take pictures with a couple of monkeys that live there too, as well as an extremely friendly toucan before heading into an area where the bird population is dense. The guide points out the various birds that live here and gives us each a cup of nectar; we are instantly swarmed with birds trying to drink it. They come from all directions and land on us, dipping their tongues in the cups and enjoying themselves as we pet them. When a bird poops on Shauna's arm, we crack up at how badly she freaks out. Even the guide is having a hard time keeping a straight face as he hands her a towel.
I grab my phone and take a couple of pictures on the way back down; the trees break occasionally and there is a fantastic ocean view. When Four walks up next to me I lean over and take a picture of the two of us too; I immediately make it my lock screen wallpaper.
When we reach the bottom, we wait for the photographs, and laugh at Uriah's monkey picture when it comes out; one of them refused to get off his head, and the look on Uriah's face is priceless.
We already had dinner reservations set at a restaurant called Azul, so we head back to the ship to shower quick and change before meeting back on the beach.
"Welcome to Azul," the hostess says. "Please follow me to your table."
"Are you kidding me?" Christina says as we are led onto the beach. "This is amazing."
We are seated around a hibachi grill just a few feet from the breaking ocean waves. After taking our order, the chef comes out and does his show, complete with setting the grill on fire, flipping knives around each other, and tossing a shrimp into Zeke's mouth. The food is excellent.
"Look at that," Marlene says. "The sun is going down right there into the ocean, and the sky is so beautiful, and I just want this moment to last forever."
I smile at her before turning to Four. He opens his mouth to say something, but closes it quickly and smiles, and I can't help but reach out and take his hand.
We take our time talking and having a couple of drinks before deciding to go off and do things on our own.
"Want to take a walk?" Four asks me.
"Sure," I say. I'm actually surprised how empty the beach is on this beautiful night, but it's nice. It makes me feel like we're the only two people left in the world.
We hold our shoes and walk for a while in the surf. "I don't think I could ever get sick of the ocean," I say.
"I know. It's one of my favorite places to be. I could listen to the waves crash all day long."
"Oh? So you don't hate the beach?" I ask
"No. Why would you think that?"
"Well, you sang about it," I say, a playful smile on my face.
He stops, looking confused for a moment before realizing what I'm talking about. "Oh. Nope. Not the reason I chose that song."
"What was the reason, then?"
"Well for starters, it's one of my favorite songs. But honestly?" he says, bring a hand up to my cheek, "I can't stop thinking about you; about your lips on mine, about the fact that, well, you were actually wearing high-waisted shorts, about taking my shirt off, and maybe...," he trails off.
"Maybe," I say as I twist his shirt in my hand and pull his lips to mine.
He drops his shoes and wraps his arms around me tight, and I follow suit. I can feel the strength and the passion and the electricity in every movement we make; his hands explore every inch of my back and my fingers find their way into his hair, alternating between soft, playful movements and holding on tight in hopes that he never lets go. We kiss until my lips are numb, and even then, I don't want it to stop. I finally pull away, and smile when I hear him shudder a breath and move his head forward ever so slightly, his lips aching for more.
"Not so fast," I say. His eyes burn with desire, but he nods and takes my hands in his before leaning down and resting his forehead against mine.
"I feel like I should say something, but I'm not even sure I could find the right words," he says.
"I know the feeling." I look into his eyes and there's something there. I don't quite know how to describe it, but I do know that whatever it is, I feel the same way. I lean up and kiss him again, slowly.
I run my hands up his stomach and over his chest before bringing them back down and tugging gently on the hem of his shirt. He takes my hands and pushes them up just underneath his shirt. I pull away just a little to take in a sharp breath; I feel him smile against my mouth, and I smile too.
"Come on," he whispers. I watch as he turns and runs waist deep out into the ocean, and I laugh and do the same.
I don't care about anything except this moment. We laugh and splash water on each other, and I let out a yelp when a piece of seaweed gets wrapped around my leg. We kiss again in the water, and it feels natural; like this is what I was meant to be doing all along, and when his hand finds bare skin, I don't mind. In fact, I welcome it. His touch has become a comfort I don't think I've ever experienced.
I'm nervous and don't say much as we walk back to the ship. There are things I wouldn't mind happening and I'm sure Four feels the same way, but I'm still unsure of the timing. I'm still having to put up with everything that's happened with Eric and I don't know that I want to drag another person into it; it wouldn't be fair.
I'm genuinely surprised when he takes me on deck, and finds one of the loungers that fits two people. He drags it next to the railing, and lays down, motioning for me to do the same. We lay side by side, quiet for some time, just listening to the people come and go behind us and the faint sounds of the waves crashing on the beach nearby. Eventually he turns to face me, and I do the same. He runs his fingers through my hair, over my cheek, down my arm and back again. I shiver as I close my eyes; even his soft touch make me feel more alive than I've ever felt before. He scoots as close as he can and kisses me softly on the tip on my nose before pressing his forehead to mine.
"Tris," he whispers, "I think I might be falling for you."
My heart pounds in my chest, partly from nerves, but mostly because I think I feel the same way too. "Might?" I whisper back.
"Okay," he says as he tips my face up and looks me in the eyes. "Maybe I already have."
When I don't say anything back, he just smiles. "It's getting late and you're cold. Let's get you home."
I had the intention of saying goodnight and staying in my room, but walking hand in hand down the corridor has made me throw that idea right out the window. We only have four days left, and I want to spend as much time with Four as possible.
"Wait here," I say when we get to my room. I quickly change out of my wet clothes and throw on a tank and the pair of cut off sweats I like to sleep in.
"Hi," I say when I come back into the hallway.
"Hey."
"Would it be okay if I stayed with you tonight?"
He nods slowly and smiles, taking my hand as he leads me down the hallway.
I lie in Four's bed while he changes. Even though I've seen him without a shirt, it still catches me off guard when he comes out in just basketball shorts.
"I'll take the couch," he says as he lays his wet clothes out on a chair.
"No," I say. "You don't have to." He looks at me for a moment, and I pull back the covers. "Please?"
He takes a step forward, seeming unsure at first, but when he climbs into bed, he wraps him arms around me tight and buries his face in my neck. "I hope you don't mind, but I have a surprise for you tomorrow," he whispers. The feel of his breath against my skin alone is enough to make me forget everything, even if only for a moment.
"W-what kind of surprise?" I manage to stammer out, and I feel him smile against me.
"Ah, ah. No hints at all. You're just going to have to wait and see."
"Okay."
I kiss him softly on the cheek before I turn over, and my heart skips a beat, not only for the way his arms close around me, but as I realize how perfectly I fit against him.

OH MY LORD. I CANT TAKE THE FOURTRIS
This chapter was sooooooooo hard to write because I've never been in a relationship before so it's hard to write about something you've never done, but i did it anyway. And boy, let me tell you, it was worth it! I hoped you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks for reading!
Be brave,

Christina Eaton 🔥