She reached for the cylinder at her feet, cold metal soothing warm fingers. She touched her glasses, remembered that she was wearing them and sighed again, her exhalation drowned by the harsh engine. There were no distractions on the boat. She should really make an effort. He’d been kind, she supposed. Ray angled her legs towards the men.

‘So, how it go last night?’ she shouted over the roar.

‘Huh?’ Richie yelled, startled. Fari began to smile, winking at Ray. She leant back on the bench, tilting her head.

‘How did it go? With the cute brunette we leave you with?’

‘Ah, good man, it good!’ Richie beamed, correcting the wheel with tiny, jerky movements. ‘I goin meet she tonight!’

‘It went good, ee?’

‘Fe true! Yuh set me up with that one real nice.’

‘Yuh couldn’t miss her! She ave her sights set pon yuh!’

Richie laughed. ‘I tank yuh anyway, miss!’

‘She tank her too,’ Fari grinned, clapping Richie’s shoulder.

The engine slipped a gear, yielding a deeper tone. The boat slowed and Ray slipped a pink hairband from her finger, using it to tie back her ponytail while Fari began inspecting the equipment. She joined him on her haunches, blowing into regulators, giving the gauges a once-over. They looked over their own gear, then each other’s. The cloudless sky blazed.

‘First one to find baby lobster gets a rum.’

‘Easy. I want a shark’s egg.’

‘Without the shark, I hope.’

‘I dunno. A small one might be nice.’ She looked into the sun poised just above his shoulder, squinting.

‘How those glasses treatin you?’

‘Fine.’ She dropped her chin. ‘You’re just in front of the sun.’

‘It’ll be better down there.’

‘Yeah.’

They donned their gear in silence. Richie swaggered down the steps, sitting on the sea-blue bench, watching.

‘This reef special, yuh hear? I don’t bring no one round these part.’

‘We’re honoured,’ she said, beaming wide, and then thinking she’d said something wrong because he didn’t smile back. Richie’s stare made Ray conscious of the tight wetsuit, the weight of her breasts. She zipped the suit to her neck, bending to pull on her fins.

‘It real special fe true.’

‘We can’t wait.’

Fari hadn’t noticed Richie’s expression.

She pulled off her glasses, feeling the sting of daylight, and put on the mask, keeping her head down. A wave nearly made her lose balance but she held out an arm, righted herself.

‘All right?’ Richie called.

‘My eyes,’ she aimed at her feet.

‘Ah. I forget.’

Ray kept her head bowed low. They climbed onto the rim, sitting with their backs to sea. There was little breeze. She caught far-away notes of music gently breaking the silence, perhaps from a nearby boat, and threw back her head, closing her eyes. Fari took her hand. They grinned at each other, kissed once, put their regulators in.