***
The heat in Monte Carlo was sweltering.
Blaine had a small minivan loaded with all his equipment, but when he told the dozen or so of us that there was no air conditioning in it, most of us opted to walk the five hundred and fifty yards to the marina. When we got there, we were directed to a yacht called the 'Banque Populaire'. It wasn't long until we were hustled aboard.
During the short journey out to open water, Blaine went through a detailed safety briefing, explaining how the oxygen tank operated, teaching us several hand signals we might need to communicate while under. He then repeated the warning he'd given me about jewelry, which prompted me to double-check my left hand and earlobes – I'd left what little jewelry I did wear in the cabin's safe. Finally, we were shown how to get into the wet suit. That was an experience all in itself. Even though I chose to wear one of the 'shortie' suits, which stopped at the elbow and the knee, getting into it was still one of the most difficult things I'd ever had to do.
But, as it happened, nobody taking the class was an expert, so we were all laughing together. And Blaine was very attentive in helping – especially the ladies, which was, of course, another clue to the kind of guy he was.
After what felt like an eternity of simply listening to the theory of diving, I was loaded down like a pack mule by the oxygen tank and given a ridiculously tight mask, which, I was informed, was supposed to feel like it was cutting off the circulation to my brain. And then, one by one, we were permitted to climb down the steps and enter the water.
The first thing that struck me about diving was how difficult it was to get used to breathing underwater; something that seemed so alien to my body had to be forced to start with. Slowly, however, I stopped having to concentrate on that aspect of the task, and that's when I really started to appreciate the beauty that could be found in the part of our world that was familiar and exotic all at once.
But, with some thirteen people around me, there wasn't much to view beyond wet-suited legs and arms. In search of a more natural encounter, I swam a little way from the group. Then, I swam a little further and, apparently, further still. When I turned back, expecting to see the class behind me...they weren't there.
Alarmed but not panicking, I gradually broke to the surface, spitting out the mouthpiece and lifting the mask from my eyes. Letting the lapping water lull me along its surface, my gaze darted about me. But there was no sight or sound of anyone. Not a person, and not the yacht we'd sailed on, either.
"What the...?" I mumbled. I couldn't understand it, I felt sure I hadn't managed to stray that far from the others. And I certainly couldn’t have gone so far as to no longer see the yacht. Unless...the yacht had gone. Was it possible, they'd all returned to the ship and hadn't noticed I wasn't with them?
Panic beginning to well in my stomach, I turned, still searching for a sign of something I knew damn well I wasn't going to see.
"Oh shit," I murmured beneath my breath. "Shit, shit, shit."
The only thing I could spot that I recognized was the faint outline of the port on the horizon. It would be a long swim back, but it was the only option available to me, so with a deep sigh, I began to move in that direction.
With the tank on my back, swimming was made that much harder and, as my progress became slower, I started to get more and more concerned about being stranded.
However, just as tears of frustration and fear were welling in my eyes, I heard the sharp burst of an air-horn behind me. Treading water, I span around and found a huge white yacht some 100 yards from me.
"Help!" I hollered, lifting one hand and waving frantically. On reflection, this all seemed unnecessary – they'd seen me well enough and were just trying to get my attention.
Never having been so grateful in my life, I forced my tired limbs to stroke closer as the yacht continued to move toward me.
(3 Book Romance Bundle) "The Cowboy's Love" & "Sex with the Billionaire" & "Loving the White Billionaire" Page 19