The Same Deep Water Read Online Free Page B

eyes don’t match.
    I drain my glass and wipe the condensation from my hands onto my skirt.
    “Another?” he asks.
    “No thanks, I have to get back to work.”
    “Had enough of me already?” He arches a brow. “Two months apart and this is all I get?”
    “Sounds like we’ll be spending a bit of time together,” I say.
    “I have all the time in the world for you, Phe.” Alarmed at the intensity, at this stunning man eager to spend his remaining time with me, I fight the unusual blushing that flares on my cheeks.
    “I’m flattered,” I reply.
    “So, are you up for this then? Me and you, a step out of life once in a while?”
    “What do you mean?”
    “I have a list, so do you. I need something in my life to distract me from crap, so do you. How about we get to know each other better, too? Could be fun.”
    “Really? What kind of fun did you have in mind?”
    He grins, revealing the sexy dimples. “Whatever you enjoy doing.”
    In the bedroom or out? I’m not pursuing that line of thinking. I just met the guy. The real Guy. Sure, Phe, how long do you think you’ll hold out against the sexual presence humming around this man?
    Guy taps my notepad. “Ten things. I challenge you to one this weekend. Today is Monday, call me later in the week, and tell me which item you’ve chosen.”
    “Already?”
    “Make it a good one.” He drinks deeply from his bottle, the man from the pages of a magazine with his cover story as bright as mine. In my experience, the gregarious people are often paddling furiously under the water, and in Guy’s case, I know this is true.

 
    Chapter Four
     
     
    1. Get a tattoo.
    2. Sleep beneath the stars.
    3. Visit London.
    4. Swim with dolphins.
    5. Kiss in the rain.
    6. Attend a masquerade ball.
    7. Learn to surf.
    8. Write and publish a book.
    9. Ask a stranger on a date.
    10. Fall in love.
     
    I smooth the page I’ve ripped from my notepad and pin it to the fridge with a round, blue magnet, smiling at the crazy list. Imagine how my prim and proper grandparents would react to some of these. My housemate, Jen, wanders into the kitchen, a wave of floral perfume heralding her arrival.
    “Have you seen my phone?” she asks.
    Her platinum blonde hair is coiffed into the 1950s style she spends an inordinate amount of time perfecting, face carefully painted to match her image.
    “There.” I point to the phone half-buried beneath today’s mail.
    “Thank you!”
    Jen’s holding a pair of pink heels; her eclectic dress sense reflects her job at a retro boutique nearby. Tonight her outfit consists of tight, black capri pants and a sweetheart neckline, candy pink top.
    She drops a matching pink shoe to the ground and slips her foot in. “What do you think of these?” She wiggles her foot.
    “Very pretty.”
    Jen steps forward and peruses my list. “This is interesting. What is it?”
    “A bucket list.”
    “That’s so cool! Have you done anything on here yet?” She runs a long fingernail along the paper. “I’ve done three of these.”
    “Really?”
    She points to her arm where the cartoon-coloured pin-up girl peeks from beneath the cap sleeves of her top. “Several times for some of them! Tattoos, asking guys on dates.”
    “Do tattoos hurt much?”
    “Depends. Why? Is that the first thing you want to do on the list? Start with a small tattoo if you do.”
    “Start?”
    She grabs her phone from the counter. “Oh, yeah, once you’ve had one tattoo, you’ll want more.”
    Maybe not as many as Jen whose body is covered in a bright inked canvas.
    “Almost forgot. You had a call before. I let it ring through to the answer-machine. Why don’t you give people your mobile number?”
    I can guess who, only one person ever does. “I do, my gran doesn’t like calling my mobile.”
    “Okay. Weird, but fair enough. I’ll catch you later.” She pauses. “Unless you want to come out this evening?”
    “Seeing Cam?”
    Jen and Cam, her boyfriend, are normally glued at