Compared to your glamorous over-achieving not spontaneous enough ex-girlfriend?‘Erm, very. I mean extremely.’
‘Extremely?’ Cam asks, trying not to laugh at me.
‘Yes.’
As in not in the slightest.
‘You’re wearing a bikini underneath the gown, correct?’
I nod slowly. ‘Sort of. It’s one strap short of being a single shoelace.’
I just have time to notice Cam’s eyes widen. ‘How about a swim? You said you wanted to do something amazing before you leave, didn’t you?’
He swings the car into a car park area packed with buses and people coming and going. I slip on my new clothes over the bikini while Cam turns his back to give me some privacy. It’s a chance for me to appreciate his clean, smooth lines. He is literally the perfect shape. Not big and bulky, just lean, and athletic, the sort who could sweep you over his shoulder in the event of an emergency and still be able to save the dog.
A waft of roast pork follows me around. ‘I hope I don’t attract every wild carnivore in a ten-mile radius,’ I joke, discreetly pulling my new denim shorts into place to avoid a camel toe situation – that crafty, gummy old doll has given me a size too small. I smooth down the top, also close-fitting, before asking Cam where we are.
‘Probably the most magical place on Earth,’ he says, causing ripples of excitement to flood my brain.
We approach the entrance and Cam pulls out some American dollars before we trek through the forest to an opening. We reach a busy scene. People are stripping down to their swimwear, kicking off their shoes, throwing bags onto wooden benches and racing over to a large wooden platform to queue up. There’s an excited buzz and much animated chatter. We go overto do the same. I get the feeling that Cam is purposefully trying not to look at me in my skimpy bikini.
Once we have joined the queue, it is very fast moving. As we get to the front Cam’s face lights up. ‘Hold onto your bikini straps!’ he says. ‘This will blow your mind.’ He points to a large wooden structure with all manner of pulleys, ropes and harnesses.
‘What is it?’ I ask him but before he has a chance to answer, we are being strapped to a harness each and two men are lowering us gently into a huge sinkhole in the ground. It is surrounded by lush green plants and leaves and there’s a bright turquoise pool down at the bottom.
‘Oh, my word!’ I squeal as soon as we clear the fauna and are lowered further down on the rope. We pass through the gap into an underground cave full of sparkling stalactites and glistening rock formations. It is terrifying and breathtaking at the same time.
Cam and I look at each other. He seems very excited while I am petrified and cling tightly to the rope. Within seconds, we reach another wooden platform like the one above and again two staff members unclip our harnesses.
‘Wow,’ Cam says, as he looks around. ‘You okay?’
‘No,’ I say nodding my head. ‘I mean yes. No.’
‘You wanted to challenge yourself, right?’
Trust him to have such a good memory.
The staff instruct us on how to hold the zipwire 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 the Blue 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 zipwire 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 zipwire 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.
