Sammie squealed with excitement.
“BEN! We’re swimming with dolphins!”
“Yeah, I noticed”
They went to the dressing rooms, giggling, and got changed quickly into their swimming things, before coming back out and hugging each other.
The instructor looked at them, and gave Ben a dazzling smile, which only Sammie seemed to notice. She started her speech about what to do in the water and then started rambling on about dolphin varieties, touching Ben’s arm every now and again. Her speech was aimed more at him too, Sammie noticed, in fact; the instructor was completely ignoring them.
Ben was let into the water first too, and took to it straight away, swimming and diving around with the dolphins, and laughing every time he resurfaced, unaware that the instructor was keeping her eyes locked on him. Sammie had noticed, but she wasn’t jealous, she had Ben after all, but she couldn’t help wondering if he had noticed that he was being hit on so badly. He was soon calling for her to come into the water too, which, Sammie was proud to see, annoyed the instructor. She climbed into the pool, and a dolphin nudged against her. She held onto the fin, and it swam her over to Ben.
“Well, that’s one way of getting around!” he joked. Sammie forced a smile. “What’s wrong babe? The dolphin knew we wanted to be side by side in here!”
“That instructor is what’s wrong. She only seems to register you, I’m surprised I managed to hear how to do this safely”
Ben looked at her, concerned, thought, then peered at the instructor, who smiled again and waved.
“Is she hitting on me?” he asked, apparently surprised. Sammie nodded. He shook his head, hugged her, and dived underwater to play with the dolphins some more. Sammie smiled and followed him.

*****

Ben had just dried himself and changed, then gone to get Sammie, when the instructor stopped him. Sammie was also making her way over to him.

‘Please hurry up Sammie!’ he thought.
“Um, I know this is going to sound incredibly forward, but you looked great out there” the instructor told him.
“Thanks I guess”
She put one hand on his chest.
“And, well, if you want to go out or anything” Sammie, by this time, had reached them, and linked her arm with Ben’s. The instructor carried on. “Then here’s my phone number”

She forced a card into his hand, and walked away, wiggling her bum seductively as she did. Ben turned to Sammie, smiling.
“Ready to go babe?” he grinned; truly happy she was there instead of the dolphin instructor. Sammie was staring hard at the card. “What’s up? Sammie? . . . Darling?” he kept asking. Finally, he followed where her eyes were staring.
“Oh, goddammit!” he tore the card until it was unreadable, and threw it onto her beach. “I promised there’d be no more numbers, and I mean it. Are you okay?”
Sammie finally answered him.
“Yeah, sorry. I just can’t believe she’d do that even though you have a girlfriend”
“A lot of girls do it, whether I’m interested or not. But you’re going to have to trust me enough to know nothing will ever come of it. No one compares to you. And if you trust me and believe what I say as much as I trust you and believe what you say, then we’re going to make it”
Sammie looked slightly shocked, but met his eyes, which were so full of hope and love. She nodded to show she understood and agreed, and he pulled her into another hug.
“Okay Sammie, sweetheart. Hotel, pack, airport, airplane, HOME!” He smiled widely, and she smiled back. They walked arm in arm back to the boat and made their last trip to their hotel.