Fishpond

Brea and Lev steered the skimmer to the center of the lake, away from the fishermen on the docks and the children swimming in the shallow shores.  The speedboat shuddered to a half, bobbing in the crystal blue water.

"I can't believe you've never been swimming on the surface!" Lev cried out.  "In Mother Nature's own waters!"

"Well, I have swam in the underground hot springs.  If that's not 'Mother Nature's own waters', I don't know what is!" Brea replied defensively.

"Nothing like the surface.  You'll see.  Cool, clear aqua as far as the eye can see."  With that, Lev tore his shirt off and dove into the water with a whoop.

Brea hesitantly looked over the edge of the boat.  She could see straight down to the pebbled bottom.  A small school of fish swam under the vessel.  Real live fish! she couldn't help but exclaim mentally.  She slowly undressed to her swimsuit before sitting on the top rung of the small ladder, dipping her feet into the water.  Unbeknownst to her, Lev had slipped under the boat and was approaching her vulnerable toes.

He admitted that he could opt not to sneak up on her, but how fun would that be?  He reached out and tickled the sole of her foot.  With a screech, Brea jumped as if electrocuted and splashed into the water.  As she plunged, Lev grabbed her by the waist and hauled her back up to the surface.  "I thought you'd never join me!" he laughed.

Once she had calmed down, she had to admit it was pretty funny.  She pulled from his grip and dipped back under the water.  The deep clarity surprised her, as did the refreshing coolness despite the sun's harsh rays.  A school of sunny yellow guppies swam past her eyes, followed by a family of electric purple fish.  She knew they had to have been genetically engineered - nature alone could not create those vibrant colors under the sea.

She surfaced for air and said to Lev, "Okay, this is actually pretty great.  Still nothing on a good hot spring," she added as a warning.  "You'll see."

With a laugh, he replied, "Ready for me to show you the real wonders, then?"  When Brea nodded, he grabbed her hand and guided her back under water.  She was surprised to find herself blushing at the casual contact between her and Lev, but pushed it to the back of her mind, and followed him to the marvels of the surface waters.