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Her lips part slightly and she inhales softly. I expect her response to be something along the lines of, “I’m so sorry this happened to you,” or “You just haven’t met the right person.” But, like always, Charlotte surprises me. “I won’t try to convince you that I’m different from those who tried to take advantage of you. I’m going to let you see that for yourself instead.” She smiles sweetly at me.
I don’t know if it’s the atmosphere, our hands tightly holding on, my hand on her cheek, or the radiating smile she’s flashing at me, but my heart pounds faster and faster until it feels like it’s about to burst.
An emotion, something dangerous but amazing, far more powerful than mere attraction threatens to squeeze my heart, but I push it back. I don’t tell her that I’m already seeing just how different she is.
13
CHARLOTTE
After three days, our journey finally comes to an end and we arrive right in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. However, my excitement at finally being in the middle of the world’s largest ocean isn’t as great as I thought it would be and I know exactly why.
I knowthat it has everything to do with Christopher Young and how being alone with him for these past few days has been such an amazing experience. Aside from the kiss we shared and the awkwardness that resulted from it, being alone together has been quite the magical ride.
Last night especially, with the stars and Chris opening up to me, is something I will always remember and won’t ever take for granted. I gained perspective on why he pushed me away and refused to take things further between us and I perfectly understand.
It’sobvious that Chris has many demons to conquer and this is something he has to do himself. It makes me sad that this means we have no real chance together and I want to rage at the women who broke both his heart and his trust.
How darethey attempt to break a man with a beautiful soul like him? How dare they turn him into someone who always has to be on edge, wondering if everyone around him has ulterior motives? How dare they come into his life and turn it upside down? ‘How dare they?’ I yell in my head.
As much asI wanted to comfort him and tell him that I am nothing like them, I held myself back, because I could see that that wasn’t what he needed at the moment. At the end of the day, it’s left to Chris to make that decision for himself.
So,I let my attraction to him and feelings take a back seat and I settle with being his friend. Because he is right, I do deserve more than he can offer me right now.
I lookto my right and see him staring right back at me with a full-blown grin that mirrors mine. We are both dressed in our diving gear with our backpacks strapped carefully and tightly to us. We stand at the very edge of the boat deck. The boat has been shut down and anchored to the sea ground. Everything is ready and in place for us to take that next move.
Chris’smile grows wider. “Are you ready?” He nods at me.
“Hell yes, I am.”I nod back, giggling at the adrenaline rush that is pumping through my veins. At the very same time, we pull our oxygen masks in place and grab each other’s hands. Chris counts to three and on the third count we dive headfirst into the ocean.
I have never felt morealive than at that moment. We let go of each other’s hands as soon as we are underwater, but we never stray from one another.
Swimming alongside each other,I can’t help but marvel at everything around me. The coral reefs, the sand beneath the ocean, the organisms that are too tiny to see unless you look close enough, the aquatic life, and even something as ordinary as the seaweed.
Everything excitesme and I point out things I find interesting to Chris while my other hand holds onto the backpack strapped around me.
I watchas Chris pulls out a compass to find the underwater lab and when he figures out the direction, he points forward and I follow. Soon enough, a massive, cylindrical shaped metal habitat comes into view and as we get closer, I am able to read the blue writing on it: Young Technologies.
Chrisand I swim faster and almost immediately, it becomes a competition to see who gets there first. I win the race, but I’m pretty sure he lets me win. I pump my arm in the water as soon as I’m at the entrance to celebrate my victory and I can see the amusement in Chris’ dark eyes when he shakes his head.
He reachesmy side and places his hand on the hatch, turning it until it creaks open. Then, he turns to me and waves me in with a smirk. I swim in and he follows, turning the hatch back in place to lock us in.
Chris yanksoff his oxygen mask. “Home sweet home,” he says. “Well, at least for the next three months.”
I look around me,studying the place we are in. “I love it.” I grin at him.
“The lab is madeup of three compartments. The one we are in grants access back into the ocean via the wet porch which is that chamber over there equipped with a moon pool. Through hydrostatic equilibrium, the moon pool keeps the air pressure inside the wet porch the same as the water pressure at this depth, about two point six atmospheres.” He points at the chamber on the far left. Then he continues to walk towards another door. “This is the smallest compartment, the entry lock, and it functions as an airlock where the team will wait while the pressure is being adjusted to match either the wet porch or the main compartment,” he says when we step inside. Then, he heads to the closed box attached to the wall on his left and presses some buttons before turning back to me. “Done,” he winks.
“How doyou know all these things?” I ask, watching him with awe.
Chris shrugs.“I made it a point to pay close attention to what I was spending my money on. The details, structure, emergency escape plans… it’s the logical thing to do.”
I nodin appraisal at the way he says it so casually like it isn’t a big deal. “Well, I can assure you that a lot of rich people build technologies like this every day, but they never bother to go out of their way to learn about them. In fact, it says a lot that you are on this expedition with us. You could just as well have sent the team here and received feedback in your cozy office back in New York.”
Chuckling beneath his breath,Chris comes to stand before me, lowering his head so that I can feel his breath on me. “You forget that I am a scientist too, Charlotte.” He steps back with a smile and proceeds to open the door to the last compartment.
It takesme a moment to recover from my erratically pounding heart and sweaty palms from how close he was to me seconds ago. He holds the door open for me, closing it the second I step inside. “Thank you,” I mutter, still reeling from the effect he has on me.
I almost sighat how weak I am. Hadn’t I made up my mind that being here with him will be different than on the ship and I would finally move on? I looked forward to the team arriving, so we wouldn’t be alone together anymore and I’d be distracted with work. However, the team won’t get here until tomorrow which means I have one more day to control my urges. At this rate, it’s highly possible that I will combust from how hot and wanton Chris is making me with that smile of his.
