10

BUMPING INTO IRIS on Tuesday night had been a stroke of luck. He'd been in turmoil, wondering whether to contact her, and what to say if he did. The open mic night was perfect because it was casual and he already knew she got on with his friends. There was no pressure, they'd just had a lovely night hanging out with everyone.

His friends were reading more into it. He didn't blame them for assuming that things were getting serious between him and Iris, despite his protestations. He'd never taken a woman to the open mic night before. In fact, he'd never taken a woman to anything he did with his friends. Realising that scared him a bit, because it reinforced what he already knew; that Iris was special.

He was on his way to collect her from the hotel. He had an amazing day planned for them. They would need to make a quick stop on the way, but he'd factored that into his timings. Since it was Thursday, and he was back on the tour rota with Iceland Adventures, he had swapped days off with Olafur. Any of them would have swapped with him. They were so thrilled that he was taking Iris out on a date, as they thought of it.

Siggi had been busy telling himself that it was not a date. It was two friends going on an outing. It was the only way to keep himself in check, to stop his emotions from running away and beginning to hope. While he wanted to respect that she didn't want to start anything with him, on some level, he knew he was trying to change her mind. And if taking her on an excursion that would blow her mind might help his cause, that was what he'd do.

He pulled up outside the hotel, the engine running because the road wasn't wide enough to park there and go inside to fetch her, but he knew Iris well enough now that he'd bet on her being on time. He was right. Less than a minute later, she walked out of the hotel, opened the back door of the jeep to throw her stuff on the back seat and climbed in the front next to him. Siggi watched her do all of this as if it were something she did every day and took it as a good sign that she felt comfortable to make herself at home with him.

‘ Góeur morgunn!'

‘ Morning!' She put her seatbelt on, and then gave him a bright smile that lit her face up.

‘Coffee?' He handed her a thermal mug from the cup-holder in between them.

‘You're a mind-reader, thank you. What's the plan?'

‘We have to make a stop to pick up some equipment.'

‘Oh, it's a surprise?'

‘I think it will be a good surprise,' Siggi said, glancing over at her. She looked pleased. ‘How did it go at the IMO yesterday?'

‘It was great. We modelled some of the data I've collected and Bjarkey thinks it's giving some extra depth to what they're picking up from their own monitoring, which is great. She's getting hold of a couple more portable seismometers that we can set up in other places in Hraunvik to see if that enhances it even more.'

Iris's enthusiasm was infectious and Siggi was happy to hear all about her data and her monitoring, even if he didn't understand what it all meant. ‘That's great,' he said.

‘Yes. It's very positive. Now I need to write up what I have so far and send it back to my lab. I'm hoping that they'll let me extend my stay.'

‘Really?'

‘I hope so. The outcomes are very positive. It would be a shame to leave now, before I can see it through to a proper conclusion.'

‘You mean before an eruption?'

‘Or whatever is going to happen. The data is pointing to it not being an eruption of a volcano but something else.'

‘Because there is no volcano in Hraunvik, and yet you are monitoring it.' Only now had it dawned on Siggi that this was the case. He knew the entire country was constantly monitored for seismic activity that predicted volcanic activity and eruptions, yet he knew that the closest volcano to Hraunvik was the one he had taken Iris to at the weekend, and that was some way from the town. ‘What do you think will happen?'

‘We think there are some old lava tubes filling with magma.' She glanced at him and he could see that she wasn't telling him everything.

‘Near the town?'

‘Perhaps. It's too soon to say.'

‘I need to know, Iris. I have people in that town.' He needed her to understand why it mattered to him.

‘I know. But I don't understand why you wouldn't knock on their door if they're your family?'

‘It is complicated.' He hated himself for replying with such a cliché, in an attempt to close down this line of questioning.

‘Okay.'

He could hear the confusion in Iris's voice. He didn't blame her. He was being vague. But he wasn't about to explain his life story to Iris. Not now, not today, when they should be enjoying themselves.

They pulled up at the industrial unit on the outskirts of Reykjavik where Iceland Adventures stored all of their equipment.

‘This looks interesting,' Iris said. The note of sarcasm in her voice wasn't lost on Siggi, and he knew he needed to turn things around if it was going to be the day he'd hoped for. He needed Iris not to care what his connection to Hraunvik was. For now.

‘Come on,' he said. ‘And bring your coat. It'll be cold inside.'

Iris followed him, pulling her coat on as they walked over to the door.

‘Wow, this is impressive,' she said, as Siggi flicked the lights on and revealed the well-organised equipment store.

‘It does not look like this at the end of the summer,' he said. He began pulling dry suits from a rail, holding them up in front of him and squinting at Iris to see which would be a good fit.

‘We're not going diving?'

‘Not quite.'

‘Swimming?'

He shrugged, trying to keep the secret a little longer. ‘I think this one looks like it will be a good fit. He held it up closer to her and nodded, then began sorting through a pile of neatly-folded inner suits. They were basically insulated jumpsuits to wear inside the dry suit.

‘Can you dive?' she asked him.

‘Yes. Can you?'

‘I did a PADI course before I went to Indonesia, but I didn't have chance to dive in the end.'

He hadn't expected her to be able to dive, but anyway, it wasn't necessary for what he had planned.

‘Choose a pair of these for yourself,' he said, handing her a plastic box full of goggles. ‘And then some of these.' He pointed to a box of neoprene gloves and thick woolly socks.

‘We're going snorkelling,' she said triumphantly.

‘Yes. Is that okay?'

‘Of course! I love swimming. I don't know if I love swimming in Iceland, but I'm willing to give it a go.'

Relief swept over Siggi. ‘I hope the only part of you that will be cold is your face.'

‘I can cope with that. And don't tell me where we're going. I want it to be a surprise.'

‘You like surprises?'

‘Love them. And how often does anyone actually get a surprise, especially a good surprise? It's a very thoughtful thing to do. Thank you.' She blushed and looked away from him.

‘You are welcome, Iris.' His mood lifted. She thought it was a good surprise. His heart swelled and not for the first time, he wondered what he was getting himself into.

They reached Thingvellir National Park around an hour later. It was a windy day, but bright with fluffy white clouds being blown across the blue sky. The water was sparkling, inviting-looking, although at a couple of degrees warmer than freezing, it wouldn't feel like it looked.

‘Oh my god!' Iris said as they pulled up into the carpark. ‘We're going to snorkel in a fissure!'

Siggi nodded happily ‘It is the Silfra fissure. It was created almost three hundred years ago by an earthquake.'

‘And it's between the tectonic plates,' Iris said, almost reverently. ‘I knew you could walk between them in Iceland, but I didn't know about this.'

‘That is my job.'

‘No,' Iris said, looking at him with tears in her eyes. ‘You didn't bring me here because it's your job, Siggi. You brought me here because you knew what it would mean to me.'

Their eyes locked for a moment. Then Iris leaned in and softly kissed his cheek.

It was so quiet, he could hear them both breathing. He had hoped he might break down her barriers, but he wasn't sure what to do now that he seemed to have made some progress. He wanted to cup her head in his hand and kiss her, properly, but he was also certain that wasn't a good move. It could break the spell he'd begun to weave.

‘Ready?' he asked.

She nodded. ‘Never been more ready for anything.'

As he'd suspected she would be, Iris was already wearing thermal under layers, so they both sat on the tailgate of the jeep, took off their top layers, pulled on their inner suits and woolly socks, then stepped into the drysuits. The back had an opening across the shoulders that closed with a heavy metal zip. After stepping in, you had to put your head through the tight neck opening, put your arms in the sleeves and then have a friend zip you up. Siggi was halfway into his suit when he heard Iris laughing. The kind of laugh that makes you weak. He popped his head out and adjusted the neck of his suit so that it didn't feel like it was choking him, then turned to see that Iris was bent double, with no sign of her head.

‘Help me!' she said.

‘Here.' He put his hand through the neck hole and found the top of her head, guiding her to the opening.

‘Oh!' she gasped as she popped her head through. ‘That was harder than it looked!'

They zipped each other up, put on hoods, and the goggles and snorkels before finishing with flippers and gloves.

‘Ready?' Siggi asked.

Iris nodded, her eyes glistening with excitement. He turned to walk towards the metal steps that led into the water and felt her grab his hand. This was no time to ask what that might mean; it was probably just because it was awkward walking with flippers on your feet, so he gave her hand a squeeze and led the way to the water.

‘I'll go first,' he said, and went down the steps. He waited on the bottom step, his hands ready to help guide Iris in if she needed him to, but she confidently came down the steps, and he moved to the side to allow her into the water next to him.

‘This is amazing,' she said, treading water as she scrabbled to find the end of her snorkel.

‘It is amazing,' he said, ‘but it is important to make sure that you do not get cold. As soon as you feel a chill, it is time to get out. It may be only a few minutes.'

She nodded earnestly. He knew she was used to working with risk and that she'd take him seriously.

‘Let's go.' He settled his snorkel into his mouth, then reached for Iris's hand again, and they floated onto the top of the water, face down.

He looked over to her but couldn't see her expression since she was busy looking down into the fissure below them. Some people freaked out at this point and got straight out, unable to cope with the unknown depths beneath them, but Iris's grip on his hand didn't waiver and he took that as a sign that she was in her absolute element. He pointed ahead of them and gently kicked away from the edge, further into the stretch of water. The water was always crystal clear and you could see around a hundred metres down because of it. The colours of the rocks mesmerised Siggi, and he knew Iris would know how they came to be those colours, what their composition was, and everything about how the fissure had come to be. And that excited him.

In the end, they spent around fifteen minutes in the water, floating along near the surface for around the two hundred and fifty metres' length between the entry and exit platforms. Siggi climbed up the steps and waited as Iris continued to float for another minute or so before she climbed out too.

‘My face is numb,' she said, trying to lift her goggles up. ‘But it was worth it.' She was glowing.

Siggi grinned and helped her to take the goggles off. She mirrored the action with his goggles and they stood for just a moment, their hands either side of each other's faces, before Iris leaned into him and kissed him. On his mouth.

‘That is not fair,' Siggi said, softly. ‘My lips are too cold to feel that kiss.'

‘I'll try again later, then.'

He knew it was the intensity of the moment that had led to the kiss. That Iris's emotions were heightened by the adrenaline of what they'd just experienced. But he wanted to believe she meant it.

He bent down to undo her flippers, helping to take them off before he did the same himself. They carried the goggles and flippers in one hand while they held hands with the other on the short walk back to the car park.

‘Siggi. That is the most amazing thing I've ever done,' she said, once they'd got their suits off, dressed and were sitting in the jeep with the heater on.

Siggi poured hot chocolate into two cups from a flask that he'd retrieved from the boot.

‘Here. I think you are the only person I have ever met that I knew exactly where you would love to go the most.'

‘It was so incredible. To think that even while we were swimming in the fissure, the plates were moving further apart.'

‘Incredible,' he echoed, watching the look on her face of sheer joy.

‘And the colours of the rocks. I mean, I've never seen anything so clear underwater before. There was almost no sense of there being anything between us and the bottom of the fissure.'

‘I know,' he grinned.

‘I'm sorry. I'm going on,' she said with a bashful smile, looking down at the drink in her hand.

‘Don't be sorry, Iris. It is wonderful that you enjoyed it so much. That is why I wanted to bring you, to make you feel like this.'

She brought her gaze up to meet his and reached for his hand. ‘Can we have another go at the kiss?'

He could see in her eyes that it had taken a lot for her to ask him that, and he wanted to reassure her that there was nothing he'd rather do. He touched her cheek with one hand, resting his thumb gently on her bottom lip. Their eyes were on each other all the time, the intensity between them building.

‘Just checking that you have warmed up,' he said.

She gave an almost imperceptible nod.

He leaned in and kissed her softly, moving his hand to cup the nape of her neck as they kissed more deeply. This was it. Everything he'd been hoping for.

They kissed for what felt like hours, neither of them wanting to pull away, except for the briefest time to exchange a smile, their eyes glinting just as they had after they'd swum the fissure, but now for entirely different reasons.

But where it would lead, and what they had started by giving in to the kiss, Siggi had no idea. And right at this minute, he didn't care.