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He swam closer, taking hold of her arms. “Are you okay?”
“No, you idiot.” She splashed him as she coughed. “You scared me.” Cough. “And I took in a bunch of water.” Cough.
“I’m so sorry, Mer.” He absentmindedly smoothed her hair back from her face over and over, waiting for the coughing to subside. The feeling that he’d hurt her in any way made him sick to his stomach.
When she calmed, he pulled her close. “Better?”
“Mhmm.” Her small hands rested on his bare chest.
He kissed her forehead. “I think I’m on dishwasher duty tonight.”
She let out a giggle. “That’s right, you are.”
He smiled. “Lay back in the water with me.” He proceeded to lean back and let his feet and arms float until he was flat on his back again. “It’s relaxing.”
She did as he asked, and he reached over and took her hand.
“Did you ever look for shapes in the clouds when you were younger?”
“Sometimes.”
They floated in comfortable silence, staring up at the sky.
“That one looks like a turtle,” Gus said.
“Which one?”
“See that big oval cloud?”
“I think so.”
“There’s a smaller round cloud sticking off the right of it for the head and four little ones off the sides, like legs.”
“That’s not a turtle. It’s a teddy bear.”
“Pfft. How is it a teddy bear?”
“See on the head, there are a couple of bumps sticking off the top, like ears.”
“No way, the head is round. It’s …” The cloud morphed as he spoke. “Oh, man, I see it.”
They laughed and floated there for a while, and Gus felt happier than he had in a long time.
“What happened at work?” he asked.
“Nothing major, really. Just some small fires I had to put out. Mostly, I was messing with you so I could win.”
He let go and splashed at her once, which led to her sinking in the water and splashing him full force. He had no choice but to reciprocate until they were laughing so hard they had to stop to catch their breaths.
“Are you hungry?” Gus asked on an exhale.
“Famished.”
“Want to go out?”
She smiled. “Sure.”
Gus pulled up in front of On the Shore, a popular LA eatery, and walked around to open the door for Merritt. He handed his keys to the valet, and in an instant, the paparazzi were in their faces.