Just Breathe by Janette Paul Page B

of her body. In recoiling from the slimy thing, she’d wrapped herself around him like a koala baby – legs around his waist, arms around his neck, everything else pressed hard up against him. And what an impressive place to be. Even with layers of wetsuits and life vests, she couldfeel the firm expanse of his chest, his flat belly, the nicely toned butt her feet rested on. A wave of heat washed over her – embarrassment with a touch of lust – and as the thought formed that she really made a very nice fit, she shoved away, surprised the water wasn’t boiling from the blush in her face. ‘Something was swimming around my legs and I, um, got nervous, and, ah, where am I meant to hold on?’
    Between them they got the boat upright, and Ethan lifted himself back in with a quick, efficient hitch. Looked easy enough. Dee lifted a leg onto the side, hung there, one arm, one foot aboard but unable to drag the rest of her body and the bulky life jacket up and over. Okay, not so easy. She dropped back in the water, took hold of the seat and attempted to drag herself in head first.
    ‘What are you doing?’ he asked.
    ‘Well, I’m not playing hopscotch with the sharks down here. I can’t get in.’
    Creased brow, small smile. ‘Throw a leg.’
    She did, and he grabbed the back of her buoyancy vest, picked her up and rolled her in – not unlike a big fish, really. She lay on the seat, staring up at the deep blue sky, feeling the salt dry on her skin. ‘I imagined you’d do the kind of sailing that involved champagne and high heels. Not that I’ve got heels but a stiff drink would go down a treat right now.’
    He laughed. ‘I’ve got a boat like that in Sydney Harbour but I like the real thing. I haven’t done this in ages, didn’t realise how much I’d missed it. It’s great, isn’t it? Look, there’s wind coming. Time to get over here and make good on your job description.’
    ‘Can’t I be ballast from here?’
    ‘Only if you want to get rolled back into the water.’ As he said it, the wind snapped at the sail and the boat heeled over.
    Dee crawled across. He showed her how to sit on the lip of the boat, gave her a rope to hang on to and they took off across the water.
    ‘Lean out!’ he called, his voice slipping away on the wind.
    She swung her head and saw him leaning backwards, almost parallel to the water. ‘No way!’
    ‘Come on, Dee. We won’t go anywhere unless you put in some effort. Just don’t let go of the rope.’
    ‘What happened to “you won’t have to do anything”?’
    ‘I was kidding.’
    She edged further out, tested her back in the position, put her weight against it and they cut through the water. Wind blew across her face like a cold blast from a hairdryer, dragging at her ponytail, drying her eyes. Water slapped beneath them and sprayed over the bow. Don’t let go, Dee. Don’t fall in. And stop smiling so much – it lets the water in.

Chapter Twelve
    The wind died as quickly as it arrived and heat hung about them like a solid object as they floated adrift on the lake.
    Dee stretched out on her back. There wasn’t a hint of a cloud in the clear, blue dome overhead and the sun was a fireball not yet directly above them. She dropped a hand over the side, flicking water across her face, wishing she was clever enough to design a wetsuit that knew when to keep you cool. ‘Can’t we do something?’
    ‘Start the engine and motor back.’
    ‘Great.’ Dee sat up and bumped knees with Ethan in the cramped space. ‘How do we do that?’
    He repositioned his legs, one either side of hers. ‘You get out and kick while I stay here and steer.’
    ‘Right, no motor on a sail boat. Very funny.’
    ‘Actually, we captains use this down time to test our crew on the finer points of seamanship, get them to tie knots, climb the rigging, scrub the decks, that sort of thing.’
    ‘I’m pretty sure freelance crews are exempt.’
    ‘Is that right? Sounds like my freelance crew could