I ventured into the bathroom, half-asleep, and looked in the mirror to see red staring back at me. I rubbed my eyes, shook my head, and refocused. My haphazard sunscreen application yesterday had not kept my skin safe from the blazing star in the sky. “Ashhhh …” I whined. When I walked out of the shower, I found her staring in the mirror at herself. She looked like a beet wearing a blond wig. We both lathered up for half an hour before leaving the room. Sunburn sucked, but sunburned sunburn was sleep suicide.
Ash and I played some cards at Thanassius’s, and the game got a bit heated. I was crushing her. We decided to give each other a little space, so I left for the platform, and she stayed to read at the café.
To both my disappointment and delight, Chris was not there. I loved the little kid, but he was exhausting. I walked to the top of the platform, and for some reason I just didn’t feel like jumping. I let my legs dangle and meditated. As I was deep in thought, the warm air and soft music of swimmers put me in a trance. My mind wandered from fantasy football, to my family, to what we would do when we got home. I lay down on the platform and fell asleep. I woke up to the sound of nothing but water hitting the platform. I looked around and realized it was dark out and everyone had left. I had a moment of panic.
It wasn’t going to get any lighter (unless I spent the night), so I got a running start and tried to cover half the swim with my jump. I landed in the sea, and the fear of sharks filled my thoughts to the point that I swam back like my life depended on it, which it very well could have. Who was the last person to leave the platform? I knew they’d seen me sleeping. Dick move, last person. Dick move.