Page 25 of Collide

“Chill.” Petty laughs, sputtering into the mouthpiece. I’m still choking as I try to explain myself. Petty pushes me forward, and I wrap an arm around a rung of the metal ladder. He pats me on the back, thumping me hard between my shoulder blades.

“I thought you were a goddamn shark,” I sputter, gasping for air. Petty laughs.

“I’d definitely eat you any day.” He’s teasing. I’m not shocked or offended or ready to press charges against him, but within a heartbeat, he’s falling off the side of the ladder he clung to.

“You’ll never get near her.” Gage’s voice echoes off the bottom of the boat, menacing and full of meaning. Why is he acting all Neanderthal?

“He didn’t mean anything by it,” I say, my voice still rough from salt water and coughing.

“He’s going to apologize.”

Petty comes up from the water, shaking his head so the shaggy curls flip to the side. “You fucking cut me,” he barks at Gage.

Well, yes, he was hurtful in how he acted…

“Look,” Petty comments, lifting his leg, and sure enough, a huge gash from his leg hitting the ladder under the water bleeds into the ocean. And then the thought of sharks returns.

“Ivy?” Gage looks at me, cupping my face. “You’ve gone white.”

I shake my head slowly. “Shark,” I whisper as I see Jared swimming toward us and a small dorsal fin off to the side.

“Jared,” Petty yells as Gage pushes me upward, calling out, “Up. Now.”

I scramble to the decking and then move out of the way for Gage and Petty to follow. I can’t take my eyes off the shark near Jared. My heart races again, and I clutch my hands to my chest. A towel wraps around me as well as two strong arms.

“Stay right here,” Gage says, and something forces me to move. I break free of the towel and grip his arm.

“You’re not jumping in, are you?”

Thankfully, Gage doesn’t have to answer me as his friend pops up on the ladder, climbing quickly and flipping his body to stare out at the dorsal fin.

“Did you see that? Did you fucking see that? I swam with a shark.”

“You were under attack,” I say, but Jared laughs.

“She was swimming parallel to me.”

“She almost had you,” Petty embellishes.

“Any second, she would have bitten your leg,” Gage adds, but there’s a hint of laughter laced under his voice.

“Or gnawed on your big dick,” Petty says.

“Dude,” Gage says.

“Eww,” Jared follows.

“How do you know he has a big dick?” I ask, and thankfully they all burst out in genuine laughter.

By the time we take our seat on the upper deck, the story has embellished to Jared fighting off the shark and the gash on Petty’s leg is a shark bite even though he wasn’t anywhere near the creature. I laugh as the two try to impress a gaggle of girls, one of whom bandaged Petty’s leg. Gage sits close to me, our sides pressing together. He’s wrapped a towel around me again.

“You’re shaking,” he mutters, slipping an arm around my back. “Cold?”

“I think it’s shock. I was really scared.”

“I told you I’d never let anything happen to you. Why did you swim away?”

I shrug, uncertain I can explain my rationale or irrational behavior. “Pregnancy?” I say squeamishly as if it excuses me.