Chapter 9

After the Exchange, Sipho and I walked back to the villa in a comfortable silence. We were both processing what had just happened, but it wasn't the heavy, awkward silence I'd feared. It was the silence of two people who had just shared something profound and needed a moment to let it settle.

When we got back to the villa, we showered together, washing the salt and sweat and sex off each other's bodies. Sipho was gentle, lathering my skin with soap, kissing my shoulder, my neck, my forehead.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, his voice soft under the warm water.

"Good," I said, leaning back into him. "Really good. You?"

"Same. I keep waiting for the guilt to hit, but it's just... not coming."

"Maybe because there's nothing to feel guilty about."

He turned me around and looked at me, water streaming down his face. "You're amazing, you know that? Most people would be falling apart right now."

"Most people haven't been reading the books I've been reading," I said with a small smile.

Sipho laughed. "There it is. The books again."

We dried off and dressed in our robes, then headed out to the lagoon. It was a sheltered cove on the south side of the retreat, where the ocean was calm and shallow, perfect for floating and recovering.

The water was warm and clear, and we waded in until we were waist-deep, then let ourselves float on our backs, staring up at the blue sky. A few other couples were scattered around the lagoon, but everyone was quiet, lost in their own post-Exchange bliss.

"I need to tell you something," Sipho said after a while, floating beside me.

"What?"