Silencing Joy by Amy Rachiele Page B

still chilly out.
    “Come on in. The water is great,” Will said
with a watery wave of his hand. Yuck was the only word that
came to my mind. I slid my pants off, and goose bumps sprouted on
my legs.
    I whined at Will, “It’s too cold for
this.”
    “The water’s beautiful,” he said, mimicking
my whine.
    I finally shrugged out of my sweatshirt and
walked to the edge of the dock to sit down. Thankfully, the suit
was a black one piece. All I needed was for a bikini to ride up on
me.
    Will glided through the water over to me, and
I slipped down into it, never letting go of the dock. He reached
for my hand and tried to pull me away.
    “No, no. I’m all set right here.”
    “Come on,” he chuckles. “There are no sharks
in here. Well...maybe one.” He made his hand into a claw pretending
to bite me.
    “Ha ha. Very funny,” I said, not the least
bit amused with his joke.
    He attempted to get me away from the dock,
this time reaching for my hand that was clutching the wooden
planks. I didn’t budge.
    “Wait, let’s try this.” Will turned his back
to me. “Put your hands around my neck, and I will swim you around
until you feel more comfortable.” Hmmm, I thought to myself. How is squishing my wet body against his supposed to make me
feel MORE comfortable?
    “I don’t think so,” I told him. Will pivoted
back around.
    “What do I have to do to get you to
cooperate? You are VERY difficult, you know. I am beginning to
think you’re a hostile witness.”
    “Oh, ha ha,” I deadpanned again. “The jokes
keep coming.”
    As soon as the words left my mouth, Will
submerged into the dark water. I nervously looked around for him,
watching for ripples in the surface. Nothing. A tiny inch of
panic reverberated up my spine.
    Without warning, Will sprung up in front of
me, catching me off guard. He grabbed my hand off the dock and
rocketed us away and out in to the water. I squealed in shock as I
was pinned to him. Waves of water sloshed around us as he swam on
his back. I had no choice but to cling to him.
    After a minute or two, he slowed. He tilted
back up and put his arms around my waist to hold me above the
water. I automatically put my arms around his neck. The situation
had an intimate quality to it. I tried to look anywhere but at him,
which was hard considering his face was only inches from mine. The
silence between us was uncomfortable. Will broke it.
    “Now, do you want to try it my way?”
    Without waiting for an answer, he switched
easily from me on his front to me on his back. With forward
movements of his arms, we were gliding gently on the water.
    “Watch my hands...”
    That was all I remembered Will saying because
a peaceful pleasure came over me. The warm water against the
chilled air, the swishing and swaying of waves, and touching Will
combined together, converging into contentment. Looking at the
water this close up was like trying to see through a murky green
glass bottle. I tried not to worry too much about what lived in it.
I concentrated on the soothing pleasure it offered, a welcome break
that eased my tired nerves. Just for a few minutes, I was not
afraid.
    Will made his way over to the dock and a
little shock of disappointment shot through me. He turned around,
holding me so I wouldn’t slip under the water.
    “Are you even paying attention to me?” he
asked, holding my gaze in his.
    “Sort of,” I said softly.
    “I hope you pay better attention in those
photography classes of yours.” He smiled. I smiled back.
    Silence again. Awkward...
    Will assessed me, as though he were trying to
see right through to my core. He glanced at my lips. At that
moment, I could see he wanted to kiss me. Even with my limited
experience, I knew that’s what he wanted.
    I had never had a boyfriend. I kept to
myself, did my own thing. At least that’s what I thought I did.
Maybe, it’s how I explained to myself why I shut people out. Wow, that’s pretty deep, Joy.
    “Do you want to dry off?” he