Chapter Fourteen

We swim back to the boat after a while. It's more because we're both hungry than because there's nothing left to see. We could stay all day at the reef and never grow tired of it. However, my stomach is growling and so is Christopher's.

“That was amazing,” Christopher says, flopping into the boat. He takes off his mask, leaving a big red mark where it pressed into his skin. He's grinning from ear to ear. “Did you see that stingray? And those little blue and purple fish?”

I laugh, enjoying his delight. “I'm glad you liked it,” I tell him. I stand in the middle of the boat, wrapping a towel around my torso. I hand him a towel from the stack near the unused snorkel masks.

He drops onto the bench, wiping his face with the towel. “Liked it? I loved it.”

He sighs with pleasure, leaning back against the back of the boat, his eyes closed and grinning. He squints one eye open against the bright sun, the grin still plastered on his face. The red goggle marks change his serious face into som