Trust him to have such a good memory.
The staff instruct us on how to hold the zip wire before we plunge into the pool. ‘Wait until you are closest to the water and let go,’ one of the guides says, as though hurtling through a massive cave and dropping twenty feet into an underground pool is something I do every day of the week.
He must sense fear in me. ‘Questions?’
‘Yes,’ I say, trembling. ‘Are there any alligators in there? Should I be worried?’
He starts laughing. ‘No. Hahaha. Alligators! Hahahaha. No!’ He looks at me as though I’m insane. ‘No alligators in whole of Mexico. Alligators in Florida. Long way away.’
What a relief! I am seriously going to watch all theBlue Planets when I get back home.
‘Florida is a state in America.’ Cam leans across, his lips twitching.
‘Is it really? Thank you. Good to know.’ I turn my attention back to the helper as he guides my hands to the zip wire and puts them firmly on the crossbar.
‘Seriously, lady. Don’t worry. No alligators here. Only crocodiles! Big, big crocodiles!’ the instructor says, giving me a push off the ledge. ‘Biggest in world, hahaha!’ he yells unnecessarily.
After an eternity of screaming, I land with an almighty splash in the pool. I splutter to the surface to see Cam and the two staff are howling with laughter at my expense. Cam leaps off the ledge and hurtles down the zip wire to splash into the water beside me.
He emerges to shake water from his hair and flashes me an excited grin. ‘What do you think?’
‘Loved it!’ I say.
‘Want to go again?’
I’m never doing that again as long as I live.
‘I might swim a little first.’ Adrenaline is pumping through my veins. I take a few deep breaths as the shock turns to curiosity. Every rock surface is reflecting the sun, and the water is causing a rainbow of colours to ripple around the cave. People are splashing about around us on various rope swings and bridges.
‘It’s like a movie set for Indiana Jones,’ I marvel. ‘The water is so clear.’
‘It’s thousands of years old,’ Cam says, treading water. ‘The waters have healing powers. Local myth says they can fix you. Fix the soul, so you can be reborn. Start again.’
‘I’d like that.’
‘Me too,’ he says.
‘I’ll start again as Beyoncé or Taylor Swift.’
Cam laughs at me. ‘You’re better just being yourself. You are enough. Repeat after me. I, Libby Jackson, am enough.’
It’s almost like he wants me to fall in love with him.
‘You’re right. I am enough. It’s time for me to try new things. Move on,’ I say, bobbing around, trying to converse while keeping an eye out for creatures lurking under the surface.
‘Moving on sounds like a plan. I have an idea,’ Cam says as the instructors start shouting from the rigging for people to clear a space. ‘We could… if you… I’d be… the village… on a date… No one from… would see us.’
He’s giving me the strangest look.
‘We should give it a try!’ he yells over the nearby splashing. A group of tourists are ruining our private moment.
‘Give what a try?’ I yell back.
‘Me and you,’ he says, pointing a finger back and forth before flipping out of the water like a dolphin to dive back underneath.
Splash, splash.
Oh, my God. Can this be happening? Is he suggesting a secret romantic liaison?