Greed

chapter 14

I banished the last thought as I grabbed a cheese bread and ripped it in two. Remember. No caving, I warned the butterflies crowding my stomach. I would eat the free food, enjoy the free trip, and leave. That was all.

We ate in silence for a while. It was a quiet, the type that sprouted from uncertainty rather than discomfort. How did you act during a first date with someone you'd been married to for five years?

"Don't you need to go back to Bangkok soon? You've been gone for a while." I asked vanishing the silence that's filling our brunch time. Except for client meetings, he could do his job remotely, but P'pai liked to know exactly what was happening in his office.  I didn't believe for a second that he'd leave it in others' hands for this long.

"I'm staying on top of things while I'm here," he said, confirming my belief.

"Right."

"Did you have something planned for us today besides meals?" I asked remotely after some time.

"I'd rented canoes for this afternoon," P'pai said cautiously. "Why?"

"So nothing in the morning?" I ignored his question.
He shook his head.

"Good." I made an executive decision on the spot. "Because we're going to the market."

Prapai's POV

"Which one do you like better?" He held up two scarves. "I can't decide."

I stared at them.  "That one." I gestured at the one on the right

"Perfect. Thanks." He bought the one on the left. "Why are you laughing?"

"No reason." I knew He'd choose the left one. When it came to shopping, he always went with the option I discarded.

After we exhausted the market, we ate lunch at a nearby oyster bar and made our way to the canoe rental. Sky and I had gone canoeing during our honeymoon, and I thought it'd be a nice throwback to happier days.
We were good together once. We could be good together again.

Unfortunately, neither of us had gone canoeing in years, and our skills were...rusty, to say the least.
"Maybe this wasn't the best idea," sky said as the boat wobbled.

He glanced around us. "We should've asked for a guide."

"We don't need a guide." I shifted, the canoe rocking with my movement. "We're perfectly capable of maneuvering a little wooden boat."

He glanced back at me. "Is this another one of those man things? Like how you refuse to ask for directions when you're lost, but now you're refusing to ask for help when you're in danger of tipping over."

"We're in the middle of a lagoon," I pointed out. "The time for a guide has long passed." Besides, I wanted sky to myself; I didn't want a random third wheel ruining our date. "Trust me. It'll be fine."

"If you say so." He sounded doubtful.
Despite his misgivings, our canoe steadied the farther we went. My tension eased, and I settled back to enjoy our surroundings.

I understood why sky loved Phuket so much. It was— "Oh my God!" He gasped. "Is that a dolphin?"

"I don't think there are—ky, no!" It was too late. He twisted his body to the right, and the canoe tipped over, dumping us into the cold water.

His scream and my curse warped the peaceful air.  Luckily, we'd dislodged ourselves during the fall and avoided getting trapped under the boat, but treading water in the middle of a fucking lagoon hadn't been part of my game plan.
I let out another, more colorful curse.
I glanced at sky, whose shoulders shook as he covered his face.