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“Or not,” I said and he laughed.
“I bet you’re a hard woman to pick up in a bar.”
“Is that what you’re trying to do? Pick me up in a bar?” I had meant the comment to be fun, flirtatious even. But as I spoke, I leaned in closer to him, I didn’t even realize I was doing it until I had. When Jason’s eyes darted to the front of my dress and down it I felt a pleasant thrill as desire filled me.
“Why do I feel that the tables have suddenly been turned on me,” Jason asked and leaned closer to me.
“Would that be a problem?” I teased and smiled up at him.
“Depends on what you’re looking for. What do you want?”
It was too much of a loaded question and one I wasn’t ready to answer, one I didn’t know the answer to. “I’m not that different from any other woman. I can be picked up at a bar, if I want to.”
He leaned away from me and finished off his drink. The spell had been broken and I knew it was for the best, but I still longed to have him look at me the way he had a moment before.
“The riddle, what do you think it means?” Jason asked as he pushed his drink to the bartender asking for another.
“I figured out the second part but I couldn’t figure out the first. It’s a ship, I think. But I’m not sure where it would be. There are a lot of ships in Monterey,” I said.
“Ah, that makes sense. I figured out the first part, it’s the ocean and now the line “deep below” falls into place. I know where we need to go next.”
“Diving?” I realized what he was getting at or what Kevin wanted us to do. “There has to be dozens if not more shipwrecks all along the coast here. How do we know which one he wants us to go to?”
“Possibly, but there’s one that’s more famous than all the others and I think that’s where he would want us to go. It was also one of the first places that he ever went diving.”
“Where is that?”
It fascinated me at times how much Jason knew about his father that I didn’t. I wondered if there were things he just kept from me or that he never got around to sharing. I could tell that Jason liked that he had some of his father that I was never going to have, but the same was true with the relationship I had with Kevin.
“Point Joe. It’s a spot filled with shipwrecks along 17-mile drive just on the south tip of the drive.”
“I have never been to 17-mile drive but I always wanted to. I guess we’ll be doing that tomorrow. And diving. Are you ready for it?”
“As I’ll ever be,” Jason said and then took a sip of his drink. His eyes held mine as he asked “Are you ready to be my partner?”
He was asking if I could be his dive partner for the dive, something that all divers should have for safety as well as it helped to enjoy the dive if you did it with someone else. We would be on what I was sure was some rocky shores and might even need to get a boat to get to the spot, assuming the weather let us. We would need to rely on each other as we had the last couple of days but on a completely different level. I loved diving but I was picky about who I dove with. Ultimately, they could have my life in their hands and if someone had asked me a week ago if I would have gone diving with Jason, I would have told them they were crazy. But as I looked at him, I knew he was asking me not only if I would go diving with him tomorrow but if I would be willing to be a partner in more.
I didn’t know how to answer him because I started to see what it could be like if we were involved and all I could do was softly nod my head.
Chapter 12
Jason
Are you ready to be my partner?
I thought about my question and the looks that Natalie gave me throughout the night and as we went to the dive site the next morning. Name, recognition, and money all allowed us to get a divemaster, boat, and equipment to go dive at Point Joe the next day. It had almost been too easy and I wondered if they had known we would be calling them.
It was a bit cold and crisp but the winds and seas were relatively calm and it looked like it would be a good day for a dive. We could have gone from the beach as the spot we were going to was only in about fifty feet of water but we had both agreed the boat would be easier, quicker, and less of a hassle. I think Natalie wasn’t sure how well I could handle a surf entry and a surface swim to the site. I just thought it would be easier and more enjoyable to be on the boat then trying to do a long swim and wear ourselves out.
Natalie had been quiet when we had met in the lobby and had a quick bite before heading to the dock and the boat. I wondered if she slept as poorly as me and had thought about my question and if she had an answer for me. I could tell she knew I was asking more than just being my dive partner but my partner in other things. The sexual chemistry and tension between us kept growing and I felt like it would burst. I had to resist the urge to take her hand, or even better yet, kiss her all day yesterday.
I left her alone, I wasn’t sure how she liked to prepare herself for a dive and if she had gone since my father had passed. I knew they had dove frequently when he was alive and I could imagine this was just another painful reminder of what she had lost. I had only gone diving with my father a handful of times but they all had been memorable. For me, I was cherishing the times that I had with my father while Natalie seemed to just concentrate on the fact that she wouldn't have any more.
As we got closer to the site, Rick, our divemaster and guide said, “We should be at the site in about five minutes. There are numerous wrecks in this area but none of them are intact. You will still see some wood and metal left over from the ships and the critters that have taken up residence. We will start the dive in about sixty feet and then make a wide circle checking out the sites. We might get lucky and see a few sharks. There are some octopus that like to take up residence in the area and I will see if I can find them. We’ll check our air and make sure we start heading up when we reach 1000 psi, do our safety stop and be done.”
“Sounds good,” I said and looked over at Natalie.
“Yeah. Let’s get this over with,” she said and turned to get ready.
