Apocalypsis 03 - Exodus

“What are you doing?”
    “Going swimming,” he said simply, dropping his pants right in front of me.
    I stood there speechless as he dove into the water that I couldn’t see.
    ***
    I bit my lip. It was so humid and the mosquitoes were out in full force, I was miserable. Paci had surfaced and was splashing around.
    “Come in, chicken. Water’s perfect.” He came swimming over. I could see his face now, reflected in the torchlight. “You’re safe with me. Come in. I promise I’ll keep my hands to myself. Just get in here and float for a little while. It’ll help you relax.”
    It was too tempting to refuse anymore. “Touch me and I’ll drown you.”
    Paci laughed. “Trust me. I won’t be touching you until you ask me to.”
    I smiled with him. “Don’t hold your breath on that.”
    Paci took a deep, loud breath and disappeared beneath the surface. I quickly undressed down to my sports bra and underwear while he was out of sight, tearing the rubber band out of my hair and jumping in before I could second-guess my decision.
    The cool water closed in over my head and my hair swirled around me like seaweed. I could feel the heat that had been trapped in my hair dissipating into the space around me. It sent a shiver over my body, to be finally free of it. I’d been so hot for so long, I’d forgotten what it was like to be submersed in coolness. The shower didn’t cut it for this level of refreshing feeling. I was so glad I hadn’t let my fear of what people would think stop me from coming in.
    I surfaced, shaking the water out of my face, looking for Paci. He was about ten feet away, smiling like a fool. It was much easier to see him from down here.
    “Nice, eh?”
    “Yeah. Hell, yeah,” I said grinning from ear to ear. “You sure there’re no gators in here?”
    “Yep. The water’s clear in the daytime. We check it all the time. We’ve set up some spikes around the perimeter to keep them from crawling in.”
    “Spikes?”
    “Yeah. Sharpened sticks pointed at an angle that catch ‘em in the beak when they come near.”
    “Ouch.”
    “They’ve got plenty of other places to swim around. They don’t bother with places that are hard to get to. Plus we feed ‘em far from here to keep them kind of managed, so it works.”
    “I thought you weren’t supposed to feed the gators in the Everglades.”
    Paci splashed me in the face. “Those were the old rules. We make the rules now.”
    I splashed him back. “Says who?”
    “Says, me!” he growled before disappearing under the water again.
    “Paci?” I called out nervously. He’d been gone for a few too many seconds. “Paci? Where are you?” I patted the top of the water with my palm. “Helloooo? Paci!”
    Something grabbed my ankles and pulled me under hard. My scream was lost in the suffocating water that filled my mouth and throat. I kicked for all I was worth and caught the side of what turned out to be Paci’s face. I felt his hair run through my toes as I floated to the surface again. My blood pressure was so high and my heart beating so fast, I had nearly no control of what I did next. As soon as he came out into the air I started slapping at him.
    “Ow, ow, stop ,” he said, laughing the whole time. “Shit, you kicked me in the face … quit!”
    “You are such a jerk!” I yelled, my thrashing lessening just a bit. “You scared the crap out of me, Paci.”
    “Wuss,” he said, splashing water in my face again. “I told you there were no gators in here.”
    I pushed water into his face and said, “You also promised not to touch me.”
    He grabbed my hand and pulled me close to him. “I thought you meant this kind of touching.”
    Suddenly, I was right in front of him, and I was totally aware of the fact that he was naked and I was nearly so. The splashing stopped and the sounds quieted. A breeze blew across my cheek as I contemplated his face. His high cheekbones, straight brow, and strong, narrow nose spoke volumes of his ancestry. He was nothing short of beautiful, and I wondered for a split second why I’d never noticed it before.
    “Stop,” I said softly.
    “Stop what? I’m not doing anything.” He reached out for my waist, but I grabbed his hand and pushed it away.
    “I told you I’m still with Bodo.”
    “But Bodo’s gone,” he said, pity lacing his voice.
    My throat went hoarse. “You don’t know that.”
    Paci moved his arms, propelling himself backwards a little. “Do you really mean that? You