Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. Stephenie Meyer owns anything and everything relating to Twilight. I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended and in order to keep it that way, No reproduction, copying, reposting, downloading, or any kind of redistribution of this story is allowed. This is to cover my arse as much as yours! And finally, the Original characters, plot, names, nicknames, songs, poems—anything I created from my very own brain—are all the property of the author of this fanfic, My-Bella. Unauthorized use of the material is plagiarism so please be kind and don't steal my creations.
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Chapter 10 – Wanna Skiff With Me?
Wednesday, June 4th
Sitting in a chair near the cabin door with her knees drawn up to her chest and her chin resting on top, Bella took in all of the activity in front of her. They were going in the water today—Whit and Edward. They had spent all of yesterday waiting for the right time to get in but the opportunity had never come.
The randomness of the cloud cover is making for poor light reflection and low visibility beneath the surface. It was such a technical way for Edward to say he didn't like the look of the water. Bella had found it fascinating to see him in his role as head of MMR, and to see the way he put the safety of his crew before his wants. With the way he'd been too jazzed to sit still and eat breakfast yesterday morning, she had honestly expected him to get in the water despite not liking the conditions. But he had stayed onboard. The disappointment had been clear on his face when he'd called off the recon session he had spent so many hours planning and prepping. He had spent the rest of the day quiet and contemplative, keeping to himself and only speaking when directly spoken to; she had missed his voice.
Today was different. The water was crystal clear, the sun was bright, and the sky was a cloudless baby blue. All of the tools from yesterday were once again laid out on deck with Gopher standing at the ready to hand them out. He was so quiet this morning, completely unlike the time she'd spent with him in the past few days. He seemed to be waiting for something from Edward because while his body never moved, his eyes followed every step Edward took.
Lee was sitting cross-legged on the deck checking the tape and battery in the video camera one final time. She was in charge of documenting their work today and had seemed pretty pleased with the assignment when Edward had given it to her this morning. She had her hair piled onto her head in a messy bun, making it easy to see the faded black words on the back of her light blue shirt—Team Masen Crew. Bella had seen Gopher in one yesterday and it made her wonder if they all had them.
Speaking just a little above a whisper to keep from disturbing the others, Bella asked Lee about her shirt. "Lee, do you all have crew shirts like yours?"
"We've all earned crew shirts like mine," Lee replied as she uncrossed her legs and began to stand. Edward reached out to help her up and the two exchanged a look. Bella was certain it was a meaningful look and not just a glance. A simple glance wouldn't have ended with Lee rolling her eyes.
Bella thought back to the conversation she'd overheard on her first day on the boat, the one where Lee had asked him how he wanted her to behave … Has he asked her to give me a chance? Will she listen if he did? Bella wondered.
A shadow fell over her, blocking out the warm sun and she leaned her head back to see who was standing there. Brown met blue and Bella smiled as she took in the nice smile on Edward's face, remembering how she'd first seen it in the park when they'd talked about how Lizzy had come to be with him.
As sweet as his smile was, it was no match for the sight of his bare, toned, and tanned chest. His wetsuit was only halfway on, pulled up enough to cover sensitive areas while showing enough skin to leave no doubt he was less than fully dressed beneath the material. Her seat in the shade was no protection from the heat scorching her skin as she took in the mouthwatering display in front of her. Her sudden surging desire to trace the planes of his chest was almost strong enough to make her forget why she'd been anxious all morning.
But not even the sight of Edward's half-naked body had squashed her fears, despite her urge to drool over how sexy and perfect he looked in his wetsuit—or was that technically out of it? She wasn't sure; she only knew feeling aroused and anxious at the same time was not a good combo.
"I've got a proposition for you, Guppy."
His choice of words had her blushing at the track her thoughts had gone down, thoughts she had no intention of sharing with him. He'd gotten so weird the other day when they'd been dancing and she didn't want him to pull away like that again.
"This is my lucky mask," he said as he held out the scuba mask and attached snorkel for her to see. "If you leave the safety of your chair and take charge of it until I'm ready for it, I'll take your shift as Gopher's helper tomorrow."
Her face answered before her voice, her nose scrunching and the corners of her mouth turning down. "That's a tempting offer, but I'm going to pass this time."
Edward squatted down so that they were face to face. "I know you're not staying once we go in the water. I'm not going to push you on that at all today. I made you a promise and I'm going to stand by it. But I believe if you're going to trust me—to trust us—then you have to be part of the team."
"I want to be part of the team. But just like you, I made a promise I want to stand by. I promised to be aware of my limits and right now, I feel like my limit is the seat of this chair."
If he was disappointed at all, he didn't say it or show it. "Another time then, Guppy."
"Thanks," she said, smiling and feeling relieved that he was being so understanding.
He headed back over to the others and hung his mask off the railing right beside where Whit was sitting.
Whit was dressed in a black wetsuit with red piping, holding a short, round canister fitted with a mouthpiece. Bella knew from past snorkeling expeditions with her uncle that it was a spare air and she wondered why he would use that instead of being fitted with a tank. She made a mental note to ask Edward later when they looked at the video together.
"Mase, you locked and loaded yet or what?" Whit asked. "It's starting to get hot sitting here waiting on you."
The noise Edward made was between a laugh and a grunt. "Almost done. Gotta make sure the waterproof case is sealed all the way." He was kneeling down with the oddly shaped case right in front of him.
He had explained over breakfast that the case was wired so the button on the left handle controlled the flash and the button on the right handle controlled the shutter. It looked entirely too high-tech and expensive for Bella to be anywhere near it with her track record with technology.
Edward lifted the case and got to his feet, his back muscles rippling under his golden skin with every move he made. His rising was some kind of signal to the others because Whit hopped off the ledge, Gopher stood up straighter, and Lee lifted the video camera to her shoulder.
After a small beep that sounded loud in the quiet air, Lee began to narrate. "Wednesday, June fourth. Masen Marine is in the South Pacific, looking to document and tag tiger sharks. Rosalie Hale, videographer. Jasper Whitlock, still photographer. Emmett McCarty, on-deck hand. Edward Masen, team leader."
"This video is being made for instructional purposes for our intern," Edward said as he looked directly at the camera. "We're going to start with marking water conditions and taking samples. We'll follow it up with Whit getting some shots of the underwater conditions before we make contact. Once we've reviewed the images, we'll see if we can get a shark or two close to the boat and tag them using a twenty-four hour transmitter."
Gopher held a large clipboard with a deep bottom and Bella watched closely as he opened it and pulled out a few clear, tubular bottles. He handed them to Edward and then pulled an ink pen from behind his ear and poised it over the paper attached to the top of the clipboard.
Edward climbed down to the platform that sat just above the water's surface at the very back of the boat. Bella couldn't see what he was doing now but she could hear things being called out and see Gopher writing them down. Part of her wanted to leave the safety of her chair and walk over there, to see with her own eyes what Edward was doing. But she didn't know if she could trust herself to just observe and not beg him to stay out of the water.
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Whit handed his air container to Masen and then climbed down to the platform. After slipping his feet into the flippers waiting there for him, he took his air back and fit the rubber mouthpiece into his mouth.
Masen asked him with hand signs if he was "okay" and "ready". Whit nodded to both so Masen called up to Gopher for the camera. While Whit was going to be busy getting the test shots of their area, Masen would be watching his back. It would also give him the opportunity to view the conditions below with his own eyes and ensure his plans didn't need revising.
After asking once more with hand signs if Whit was "okay" and "ready", Masen helped him to sit on the platform and then slowly sink beneath the calm blue water. They didn't want to have any large splashes disrupting the water and attracting attention before they were ready to make contact.
"Lee, how are we doing on the angle?" Masen asked while pushing his arms through the sleeves of his wetsuit.
"I've got a perfect outline of his body," she replied.
"Keep him in your sights as much as you can." He looked up at Gopher and held out his hand. "Need my watch."
Gopher leaned in to Lee and plucked it from her back pocket, then passed it down to Masen. "I made sure it was synced with Whit's. Checked it twice."
"Good work. You keep this up and I'll give you a shot at working in the water soon," Masen said as he checked the tightness of the watch on his wrist. Once he was satisfied it wasn't going anywhere, he climbed halfway up the ladder, planning to grab his mask. He ended up stopping instead to see if Bella was still sitting near the cabin door.
He wasn't surprised by her absence, only at how disappointed he felt over it. He knew it was unfair to her to feel that way since she had told him she would leave as soon as they went into the water. She wanted to make sure what happened at the ocean center didn't occur again and he respected her for that.
"Looking for this?" Bella asked, suddenly dangling his mask in front of him.
A slow smile spread across his face as he looked up at her, feeling a mixture of surprised, shocked, and impressed. He was impressed with her bravery, knowing it was no small task for her to be helping to send them into the water with the fear she harbored and struggled to manage.
He also felt pride in both of them, the same as he had when he'd gotten her to say "shark". Her presence right now meant they had trust between them and it was proof he was making progress with her. He wasn't foolish enough to think he could have her in the water in a week, but he did believe he would get her in before the summer ended.
"One of us is in the water," he said, watching her face to gauge her reaction. She had the kind of face that spoke louder than words, showing her true feelings in the depths of her brown eyes and the lines along the bridge of her nose.
"I know. I saw him go under." Her face was relaxed and her eyes were still playful. She wasn't forcing herself in some silly attempt to impress him. She wanted to do this for herself.
He pressed her just a little to make absolute sure he was reading her correctly. "And yet you're here."
"Karma," she said, shrugging and grinning. "Figured if I left without making sure you had your lucky mask then I was doomed to suffer a horrible fate of some sort."
"Right," he replied, grinning just as wide and not believing her bullshit excuse for a second. She could keep her reason a secret for now if it made her happy, but he'd get the answer out of her eventually.
"You gonna take this thing or what?" she challenged, shaking the mask a little.
He reached out for it but grabbed her wrist instead. "Thanks for pushing yourself to stick around a little longer."
"Thanks for understanding this is my limit."
He let go of her hand and took hold of his mask, then jumped off the ladder and landed on the platform below. After wetting the mask in the water and fitting it over his face, he gave a thumbs-up to Lee, Gopher, and Bella, and then turned away from them.
"We'll be safe. You'll see," Gopher said, causing Masen to smile at the concern the man showed toward Bella. "And don't forget. Whatever you make for lunch, keep it light or you'll be scrubbing the after-effects from the deck all afternoon."
And there's another example of not knowing when to shut up, Masen thought as he pulled his flippers on. He secured his snorkel in his mouth and then let his body slip beneath the surface of the cool, clear water.
Masen was in a completely different world now, one full of blues that changed hue with the location and penetration of the sun's rays. He turned until he found Whit and held a hand up until his friend gave him a thumbs-up in response. Once he was sure Whit was perfectly fine, he began to slowly turn and take in his surroundings.
They were pretty deep out so he couldn't see the sandy ocean floor beneath him, though he knew it was there from past deep dives in this area. It would be a whitish brown that made the water cloudy when disturbed. He also knew if he swam far enough in any direction he'd come to a coral structure teaming with marine life. The only reason they'd chosen an open space like this one was because of the species of shark they wanted to tag. Tigers needed to be approached in an open area to keep them from feeling trapped and defensive.
The movement of the water and the change in lighting revealed a school of fish off to his right and he slowly swam toward it, wanting a closer look so he could identify the species. When he was close enough to see they had a silver coloring to them, he realized two things … One, the fish in the school were much larger than he'd first thought. Two, these were skipjacks—food to sharks.
Masen headed back to Whit and jerked his thumb upward once to signal for them to surface. One thumb jerk meant you could finish what you were doing first and then surface. Two jerks meant to surface immediately but slowly and to be extremely cautious. Three jerks meant to get your ass out right away. They'd never had to use three yet, and had only used two on a handful of occasions.
Whit freed one hand from the camera to tap his watch and then showed four fingers to Masen.
He gave his friend the hand sign for "okay" and then floated nearby, staying out of the camera's range while watching Whit's back.
Exactly four minutes later, as Masen was obsessive about timing such things, the two of them surfaced. Gopher jumped down to the platform and hauled them both out of the water. He then took the camera and air canister from Whit. "How's it looking down there?"
"Goddamn gorgeous," Whit replied with a wide smile. "I could have taken underwater shots all day long and not been bored." He turned to Masen after shucking both of his flippers behind him. "Why'd we come up?"
"Skipjacks in the area," Masen answered while rubbing his drenched hair with the towel Gopher had just given him.
"That's a good sign for the tagging," Lee commented from above.
"It is," Masen agreed. "We need to get our gear on for that and get back in as soon as we look at the photos."
"I'll dry the case so we can get the memory card out of the camera," Gopher offered, already climbing the ladder with it clutched in one of his hands.
"I'll get the tanks ready," Whit offered, getting to his feet.
"I'm booting the laptop up now," Lee called out.
"Be right there," Masen replied, speaking loud enough for them all to hear him. He wanted to watch the water for just a moment and track that moving swirl of dark blue. He had to make absolute sure they didn't attempt to tag right in the middle of a feeding area.
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Bella had thought her agitation would lessen once she was inside the boat and not directly in view of the water. She had been under the assumption that if she wasn't seeing them in the water then she could forget that was where they were. As the old saying went, her assumption was definitely making her feel like an ass.
When she had first left Edward standing on the platform, she had come inside planning to sit at the dining table and work on some ideas for her first blog entry. She had drawn the short straw and would be the second person to post. Edward had made them draw this morning to give the winner—or loser depending on how you looked at it—plenty of time to come up with a good idea. She had turned on her laptop and had set her notebook and pen aside, ready to come up with some great ideas.
But then she'd decided to read Edward's entry for guidance and had found it to be about tagging, the very thing they were out there in the water to do right now. The image of him underwater wielding a skinny pole with a tag on the end against a large shark sent a shiver down her spine even as it made her skin break out in a sweat across the bridge of her nose and along the back of her neck.
She couldn't sit still after that. She also couldn't go back outside. She tried going downstairs to see if Esme needed help but once she was standing in the hall, she couldn't go into the office knowing her fear was written all across her face.
She went back upstairs and into the captain's area, thinking that looking at the maps spread about would calm her nerves. Of course, the first thing her eyes landed on was the map and overlay of shark swimming patterns Edward had shown her a couple days ago.
She closed her eyes and forced her body to take in slow, deep breaths, trying to will herself to calm down. She was so focused on making her heart and lungs listen to her that she was completely unaware of her hand frantically twisting the watch around her wrist.
In her head, she knew this was different. She knew this was a controlled environment with seasoned professionals. But the fear and panic worked hard to convince her that those things didn't matter against a giant beast with razor sharp teeth. All she knew about tiger sharks was what she'd heard Jacob's cousin Seth saying one day about how they were the garbage cans of the ocean, eating anything and everything in sight, even license plates.
The sound of voices broke through the bubble of anxiety around her—no, that wasn't truthful. His voice broke through. Bella's eyes flickered open, still wide and wild but also a little calmer. She became aware of what she was doing with her watch and stilled her hand, checking her skin to make sure she hadn't injured herself.
After a few deep breaths, she forced her lips up into a smile and headed toward the back of the boat to find out what was going on. While it may have seemed to her that they were in the water for a long time, she knew it had only been about twenty minutes since she'd glanced at her watch after leaving Edward outside.
They were consumed with what they were doing and no one noticed her slip out of the door and press herself against the wall, one hand clutching the doorframe to give her something solid to hold. She wasn't sure if their being out of the water already meant the sharks were here and she figured if she stayed pressed against the wall, she wouldn't be able to see the water or what might be in it. She hoped it would help her keep a lid on her fear and stop her from making a fool of herself. And from disappointing Edward.
Once again, his voice was louder than the panic inside of her, giving her something other than the rapid beating of her heart to focus on. "I'm thinking ten feet out and five feet apart," he said as he pointed something out on the screen to Whit.
Whit nodded while tightening the ponytail he'd made of his long, wet hair. "I think that's a good distance."
"No, that's going to be too heavy for what he's doing today." Bella was so sure the 'he' Lee was speaking of was Edward that she turned her head to find out what the woman was doing.
Lee held open the lid of a large steel chest that Gopher was kneeling in front of. He had some sort of shiny metal thing in his hands that Bella didn't recognize. She wanted to know what it was but not more than she wanted to focus on Edward just in case this might be the last time she ever saw him.
Stop that, she scolded herself while clutching the doorframe tighter and trying her hardest to reign in her fear. Nothing had been said or done to make her think any of them were in danger. Except for knowing they are going to get back in the water and there will definitely be sharks this time, she thought.
"I think two should be plenty to attract them with," Edward said, grabbing her attention again.
"Skipjacks are on this side, right?" Whit asked, pointing at the computer.
"A little further left," Edward corrected. "Close enough to help attract but far enough out that we're outside the feeding zone."
Feeding zone. Bella wasn't sure if those two little words were going to make her break out into hysterical crying or manic laughing—she only knew she was on a ledge and could tip over either way with the slightest push. She clenched her eyes shut and clutched the doorframe as tightly as she could, welcoming the pain in her fingers as a distraction from the panic welling up inside of her at the mental images of these people who were already important to her becoming a meal to sharks.
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"Mase, we've got an audience," Whit said in a low, confidential tone.
Masen smiled while keeping his eyes fixed on the computer, rechecking his plan one more time. "I was hoping she'd come back out. That's progress."
"I think you better take a look before you start patting yourself on the back," his friend warned.
He looked up and the moment his eyes found her pained face, everything that had been important in his world just seconds ago faded away. All that existed was this young woman struggling to be brave and to be part of something that terrified her in ways he completely understood. He wanted her to know he understood. More than that, he wanted her to know she wasn't failing as long as she was still trying.
In the seconds it took him to cross over to her, Masen noted that getting her hand off the doorframe would probably do more harm than good in her current state so he took hold of the one she had flattened against the wall of the cabin. His fingers slipped between hers and then pressed into her warm flesh, giving her something physical to feel and focus on, something to distract her mind.
He had planned to open the conversation with a compliment but her stillness had him giving out a command instead. "Breathe, Bella."
Her chest finally started to rise and fall again and she slowly blinked her eyes open. Wild and wet and somehow still gorgeous despite the panic showing in them.
Masen smiled and squeezed her hand a little tighter while teasing her to try and get her to relax. "Should I have made 'continue to breath while on board' a rule for you?"
The bridge of her nose wrinkled and her head tilted to the right as she stared at him, seemingly confused by his words. Then all at once that look faded away and was replaced by a soft smile and a pink blush. He could tell she was still close to her line but she wasn't in danger of tipping right over it any more.
"I'm glad you decided to try and come back out," he told her, being completely honest. "I know this is a struggle for you. I just hope you know that as long as you're trying and really giving it your best, then you can't fail even if you can't stay out here."
"You really think that?" she asked. He could hear the strain in her voice despite her trying to hide it by whispering.
"Failure is giving up in the face of adversity. You haven't given up yet so therefore you haven't failed."
"Masen, we're ready for you," Lee called out.
Typically, this would be where Masen dropped whatever had distracted him from his work but this time he felt there was something more important. Some one.
He kept his focus on Bella while letting Lee know he'd join her soon. And then he let Bella in on the plan the team had come up with. "We're going to drop two buoys that have long strips of polished metal attached with high tension wire. They'll be ten feet out from the boat and five feet apart. The shine of the strips will draw the attention of a tiger or two close enough for me to use a harpoon to attach a twenty-four hour tracker while Whit videos it all. Lee is going to take still pictures from above, probably from the skiff since she'll be closer to the water's surface that way. Gopher's going to be on the skiff too, ready to haul us out of the water if we need it but I honestly don't believe we will. We're in an open area with plenty of light and the water is calm with a high visibility rate. It's about as perfect as conditions can get."
Bella finally relaxed enough that her hand dropped from the doorframe. He smiled at having been able to calm her as he reached out and took hold of that one too.
"I have a job for you, Guppy. I want you to go inside and look up skipjacks. You're going to tell me all about them when you and I sit down after dinner to watch the video Whit and I are about to make."
"What's a skipjack?" she asked, finally showing something other than panic in her expression.
Masen couldn't help the pride he felt or the cocky smile it produced at having aroused her curiosity. "That's what you're going to tell me, Guppy."
She gave him a half smile that barely lasted a few seconds and then she squeezed down on his hands to the point where he really felt it. "Don't be cocky in the water, okay?"
"I never am," he promised. "No place for it there."
"I'm sorry I'm interrupting."
"Are you doing the best you can right at this very moment?"
She thought about it and then gave a slow nod.
"Then don't be sorry for what you didn't manage. Be proud of what you accomplished. You were never meant to stay on deck past the first person getting in the water. You stayed until I did and then you came back out. If anything, you exceeded expectations today."
She finally gave a true smile. "That sounds like something a teacher would write on a report card."
He gave her hands one more squeeze and then let go. "Get inside, Guppy. You have an assignment and I expect to be dazzled by your knowledge tonight."
His teasing was met with pleading. "Tell me those aren't just words. Tell me you really expect to see me tonight."
Alarm bells went off in his head—she wasn't just afraid of the sharks. She was afraid for him. She wanted reassurances that he would go in the water perfectly fine and come out that way as well. He wasn't sure what to do with that, only that he had no intention of doing anything that might discourage it.
"Eight-thirty tonight, I'll see you in the office, ready to watch the video and talk about skipjacks," he promised.
She tried to speak but in the end she could only give a shaky nod. Masen gave her a smile and then turned her by her shoulders and sent her inside, closing the door behind her.
When he turned around to get back to business, he noticed Lee standing stock still with her arms crossed in front of her and her eyebrows raised in question. He understood why she would be confused by his behavior, and he certainly wouldn't be surprised to find out it hurt her some to watch him do something for a virtual stranger that he hadn't been able to do for her. He wished he had some easy explanation to give her, some way to erase any pain she felt over this. But all he could do was tell her the same thing he'd told her back when their attempt to be more than friends had failed … He loved her and he was sorry it wasn't in the ways she needed and deserved.
But that was all for later. For now, they had a video to make.
"Harpoon's corked but ready. Tag has a fresh battery and the signal was tested twice," Gopher stated as he held a special shirt in one hand and a pair of gloves in the other.
Masen slipped the chainmail shirt on over his wetsuit first, with Lee helping to make sure it covered his arms and torso correctly. But he only took one of the gloves, knowing from experience that having this type of glove on the hand with the harpoon tended to make his aim off.
"Good job on picking the lighter heft chainmail," he complimented Gopher. "But I want to use a regular glove for the harpoon hand."
"What if the shark turns on you after you poke him?"
"Then I'll lift the chainmail hand to protect myself. I'd rather have to turn my body to deal with an annoyed shark than be off on my aim and have to poke at him twice."
"See, this is why you're the boss," Gopher replied, both teasing and being completely honest.
As soon as he stepped away to find the glove Masen wanted, Lee pounced. "Maybe you shouldn't get in the water right now. You don't seem to be completely focused on what we're attempting to accomplish today."
He wanted to offer her comfort but he also wanted there to be no doubt that he was still completely in charge of himself and their mission. "Lee, my focus is exactly where it needs to be for every member of this team. I understand your concern, and I will address it with you, but not until after we've finished with the tagging."
She shook her head as if to say that wasn't good enough. "Masen, even after everything we went through with Whit, I have never once been afraid for you to get in the water. Until today. All it takes is a split second of inattention."
"I know what it takes. I know the risks. And I know my mind is fully focused on tiger sharks." He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "I wouldn't risk myself any more than I'd risk any of you." He walked away after because he knew standing there arguing with her wouldn't help anything. He joined Gopher and the two of them climbed down to the platform.
Gopher put the chainmail glove onto Masen's right hand first and then he lifted his left hand to take off his watch and make way for the rubber glove.
"Don't lose my watch," Masen warned.
"No way, bro. I'm handing it off to Lee first chance I get," Gopher promised.
"Keep an eye on her, okay? She's kinda annoyed with me and it's making her worry."
"I always do, Mase," Gopher said as he finished pulling the glove onto Masen's hand. With the suit on, it was time to add the air tank and test the pressure.
Masen was congratulating Gopher on a job well done when Whit joined them, holding the video camera in its waterproof casing. "Mase, give this a once over and make sure I closed the case right."
Masen's eyebrows lifted as he took in his best friend's serious expression. "You bring me this after I get the gloves on? What the hell, bro?"
"Just wanted to see what you would do," Whit replied with a laugh. "Lee already checked it for me."
"You realize I'm about to give him a harpoon, right?" Gopher asked, looking between the two friends. It never failed to amaze him the times and ways these guys would press each other's buttons.
"Yeah, I know. Mase isn't going to do shit to me. He'd be lost without my guidance, both at sea and in life."
"Just get ready to be my extra set of eyes down there, jackass," Masen told him while accepting the corked harpoon from Gopher. "You know what to do?"
Gopher nodded and then used his fingers to tick off his tasks. "Drop the buoys ten feet from Galeos. Park the skiff five feet out on the other side of the buoys. Use the digital binoculars to watch for both tigers and skipjacks and use the spotlight to flash you if I see something. Keep an eye on Lee. Pull you guys out at the first sign of trouble."
"Good." Masen was further pleased by Gopher immediately putting Whit's tank on without having to be asked. He also made sure both men had their flippers on snuggly.
"Anything else?" Gopher asked as he stood.
"You and Lee get on the skiff and get the buoys set."
"The buoys are already on board so I just need my lady love," Gopher said as he hopped onto the ladder and started to climb. He only went up about half way before calling out, "Oy! Gorgeous! Wanna skiff with me?"
Lee's laughter was heard loud and clear. "Did you work on that long?"
"Bring that smile over here and I promise to tell you." He climbed back down, leaving room for her to join them all on the platform. She finally appeared with the large SLR camera hanging from her neck and a spare air in each hand. Even though both Whit and Masen would be using a tank this time, it was still their rule to have a spare air just in case.
"Thanks, Lee," Whit called out, glad she'd noticed what he'd forgotten and saved him a trip back up to the deck.
"You all would be completely lost without me," she said as she tossed the canisters down to Gopher.
"You'll never hear any of us doubting that outside of teasing you," Masen promised her.
"We know what side our bread is buttered on," Gopher added.
"Bro, you really gotta get some sayings that don't involve food," Whit said, laughing and shaking his head slightly.
Gopher plucked Lee from the ladder and set her down gently as he asked, "Babe, do you mind that food is always on my mind? Second to you at all times, of course."
Lee shrugged. "As long as food stays second, I'm cool with it."
"Go to work," Masen said, pointing toward the skiff and holding back a grin. He didn't want Gopher to get the crazy idea that he was starting to like him a little more. At least not at a time when he needed the man to be completely serious and focused.
"Team Masen!" Lee shouted with a fist-pump into the air.
The guys repeated her chant, all of them smiling and glad to be a part of their team and their family. Once Lee and Gopher had pulled away in the skiff, Masen and Whit took turns jumping backward, clearing the boat and descending beneath the surface of the Pacific, ready and excited for a day with the sharks.
"~~~^~~~~^~~~^~~~~^~~~^~~~~^"
"That first tiger was scrawny. Had to be an adolescent," Gopher said as he reached across the table for another roll.
"Yeah, but that second was beautiful. Easily a fourteen-footer. And probably over a thousand pounds too," Whit happily shared.
"How much bigger do they get?" Bella asked from her nestled spot between Esme and Edward. She couldn't say she was a big fan of the topic of dinner conversation but she loved how excited they all were to share what they'd seen today. Being around them while they were all so relaxed and happy was keeping away all of the dark thoughts she'd had earlier in the day, allowing her to join in with them now.
"The cap is like twenty-five feet and two thousand pounds," Lee said, smiling as she answered the question. "But they grow so slowly that most barely make it to eighteen feet. Especially in the past decade when they're overfished so damn badly."
"If I ever come across one of those finning ships," Whit said, practically growling.
"Easy man. Don't go Doctor Doom on us," Gopher said, putting a hand on his shoulder and making everyone laugh.
Whit shook his head. "I just don't get how they can be so damn cruel like that. You take a beautiful creature out of the water, you cut off its fins, and then toss it into the water to die. That's like cutting off a man's arms and legs and tossing him into a pool. You know damn well he's gonna die without his appendages."
"These guys don't see sharks as beautiful creatures, though," Edward said as he set his glass down on the table. "They see them as a means to an end. They cut the fins, they get paid. As bad as that is, it's worse to be the person eating the fins. You're creating an industry that kills animals in a cruel way. And not just a few animals either. We're talking millions of mutilated sharks tossed into the oceans. And for a damn meal? That's some sick shit right there. But because a shark isn't as cute and cuddly as a puppy, it's hard to get anyone outside of the scientific community to give a damn."
"But we aren't talking about that tonight," Lee said, smiling brightly. "We are talking about the beautiful tigers we saw today and the female Masen tagged. I can't wait to see what kind of info she gives us over the next twenty-four hours."
"What did you guys name this one?" Esme asked.
Whit lifted his hand and slowly slid it through the air. "Ahe. 'Cause she was just like a breeze. Slid right on in so gracefully and then was gone."
"But not before I got an amazing shot of her dorsal fin breaking the surface of the water," Lee stated.
"Yeah? That's nothing compared to the video I have of her practically swimming right up to Masen to be tagged," Whit countered.
Edward shook his head. "That was some crazy luck. I've never had one do that before."
"No, you just had one jump right the hell over your head," Gopher replied with a belly laugh.
"Oh, I remember that!" Lee exclaimed, pointing a finger at Edward. "We were surfing off of West Palm Beach in Florida."
"Yep," Gopher agreed. "Whit had just caught a wave and Mase, Lee, and me were waiting for ours and out of nowhere, this shark—"
"Spinner shark," Whit interrupted.
Gopher picked right up where he'd left off since he was so used to interruptions like that. "…comes up out of the water and does a spinning back-flip right over Edward's head."
"He nearly fell off his board," Lee added with a laugh.
"And you did fall off yours," Edward pointed out.
"Yeah, but it was because I was laughing so hard at you!" she reminded him.
"It jumped over you?" Bella asked, looking up into Edward's face.
He was grinning as he nodded. "Yeah, right over me and back into the water. It missed Gopher by about a foot, if that much."
"Yeah, I was smart enough to get the hell out of the water after that but the three musketeers kept on surfing," Gopher said.
"Why the hell not?" Whit questioned. "The spinners weren't looking to harm us and the waves were epic." He turned his attention to Bella. "Do you surf, Guppy?"
"No, not me. I don't get that far out into the ocean often. I prefer snorkeling," she answered. "But my friends love it and are in the water as much as possible. Jacob's even won a few competitions. Leah is hoping for her first win this year. They're going to Cocoa Beach later this month to compete."
"Professional or amateur?" Lee asked.
"Oh definitely amateur. They love it but they don't want to make careers out of it. Leah's a vet tech and Jake's a motorcycle mechanic. They both do what they love every day and get to surf on top of that."
"Perfect lives then," Esme said.
"Well, almost," Bella replied with a laugh. "Perfect would require Leah to stop snoring and sounding like a freight train coming through the house, and for Jake to remember to wash his hands outside before going into the house and leaving greasy fingerprints on things."
"Getting back to the surfing," Lee said. "You have to let us teach you to surf, Bella. Even if you only do it here with us."
"Thanks, but I—"
"Come on, Guppy. You'll love it," Whit encouraged.
"I don't think I'm coordinated enough for that. I have two left feet when it comes to certain things," she argued.
"Mase, tell her she has to let us have one day," Lee demanded. "Just one day to show her how much fun surfing can be."
"She'll be hooked. Guaranteed," Whit added.
Bella tensed next to Edward, wondering if he would really order her to do something so crazy. They all might be okay with surfing in waters deep enough for a shark to be right beneath them but she certainly wasn't.
Edward gave her that nice smile that made her feel safe around him and she immediately relaxed, positive that whatever he was about to say would be in her favor. "Guys, let's let Guppy get used to all of us first before we toss her onto a surfboard."
"I think this would be an excellent stopping point to clear the table and grab dessert," Esme suggested. No one said anything but Bella felt certain that was Esme's way of telling them to end the conversation for now just in case Edward's answer hadn't been good enough.
"~~~^~~~~^~~~^~~~~^~~~^~~~~^"
"I wish the skipjacks hadn't moved closer and forced us out of the water," Whit lamented while licking the end of his spoon clean of all ice cream remnants.
"Yeah, me too," Masen agreed. "But we can't control a school of fish any more than we could a shark."
"Still, it was a great day," Lee said, smiling and looking a little wistful to Masen's eyes.
Whatever had happened during her time on the skiff with Gopher had definitely put her in a better mood and he was happy she had talked so much with Bella tonight. He had the feeling Bella thought Lee didn't like her when nothing could be further from the truth; Lee just didn't know her yet. Ever since Whit's accident, Lee had become extremely protective of him and Masen, which made her extremely suspicious of strangers being around them.
"Honestly, Mase, between the three of us. Were you worried at all when that female came right up to you?" Whit questioned.
"No," Masen answered with a shake of his head. "Though she did startle me for a second when she turned her head right in front of me and her blunt nose almost touched my mask."
"I can't believe you stayed still with her right there," Lee admitted. "I would have moved. I know it."
"That's why he puts you on the skiff," Whit replied with a chuckle. "You'll spook yourself and the shark and all hell will break lose down there."
"Mase?" Lee was looking at him as if she truly expected him to disagree.
"Lee, you do a lot of things well," he started. "But close up without a shark cage is not your forte."
Gopher must have felt the conversation was too serious because he redirected the conversation. "Have you guys ever thought a shark was a tiger only to have it get closer and realize it was just the sun reflecting of the skin? Because to me, the markings on the tiger look more like underwater sun reflections that actual stripes."
Masen shook his head. "The only shark of similar size with a similar blunt nose is a bullshark and those are such a solid gray that they couldn't be mistaken for a tiger no matter how the sun was reflecting."
"And I would add to that, that the tigers seem to have more dexterity than bull sharks," Whit stated. "Tigers can curve on you in the blink of an eye, kind of like a ribbon, but bulls tend to move more like missiles."
Lee nodded. "Bulls are the bullies of the sea, ramming into anything in their way."
"Kind of like Juggernaut from X-men," Gopher offered, receiving a mix of rolled eyes and snorts.
"Mase, man." Whit barely got the words out between his snorting laughter. "She is out like a light. Be the gentleman your mother raised and help her downstairs."
Masen tried to see for himself but with the way Bella had her head resting on his shoulder he couldn't see her face without dislodging her.
"She wasn't so bad today," Lee mentioned, drawing Masen's gaze to her. "I mean, she definitely needs to toughen up some and participate more, but otherwise …"
"Told ya, Lee. Guppy is a keeper," Gopher said as he let out a huge yawn.
Masen grinned at that but said nothing, choosing instead to try once more to see Bella's face before waking her. He caught sight of one closed eye and her slightly parted lips before her head started to tip forward toward the table. He quickly caught hold of it and woke her in the process.
"I'm awake," she said even as her eyes started to drift closed again.
"Liar," Masen accused, laughing quietly at her. "Come on before you face plant into the table and Whit has to patch up your broken nose."
He wrapped his arm around her and slid her toward the end of the booth with him. When they'd sat back down after getting dessert, Bella had taken the spot against the wall, he'd been in the middle, and Esme had taken the end, knowing she would be the first to head downstairs for the night.
He stood and helped Bella up before letting go but she swayed so much that he had to put his arm around her once again. He also couldn't help laughing again. "Say goodnight to the team, Guppy."
"Night, Team," she slurred with a weak wave.
Whit snorted loudly. "If she's this much fun half-asleep, wait until we get her drunk."
"Oh hells yeah!" Gopher seconded.
"Oh please," Lee huffed. "There's no way she's a drinker."
Masen didn't respond directly; he led Bella away while shaking his head and laughing under his breath. He had no opinion on the matter since he knew it was going to be quite a while before drinking was a possibility for anyone on this boat.
Bella became more alert as they reached the hallway of the sleeping deck. "We didn't watch your video yet. Or talk about skipjacks."
"Guppy, as much fun as it would be to see what half-coherent things you could come up with on skipjacks, I want you fully focused when we watch the video. We can do it tomorrow."
"But I'm throwing your schedule off."
"I won't tell if you don't tell," he joked as he opened the door to her room. She didn't make any attempt to enter the darkened space and it solidified his earlier idea about her—she didn't like the dark. He reached inside to cut on the light and then led her over to sit on the side of her bed.
Her hand closed around his wrist just as he let go of her and she lifted her eyes to his. "I'm glad you're okay. All of you."
He gave her a soft smile as he squatted down to her level, knowing that telling her not to worry would be useless this early into things. He focused instead on building up her confidence in herself and in the team. "I'm glad you pushed yourself today and gave the team your best. We all saw it."
"I promised," she replied, giving him a sleepy smile.
"You certainly did," he said, laughing at the way her eyes were drooping. "Now it's time to sleep," he encouraged, standing and pulling her blanket back for her.
She crawled over to her pillows and then curled herself up into a ball, all the while yawning silently. It was as he slipped the blanket over her shoulder that she spoke again. "Be this nice tomorrow, okay?"
Her words had him regretting his behavior at the ocean center all over again. "Things are different now, Bella. That won't happen again."
"Okay, Edward. I trust you." She let out another long, silent yawn, and then relaxed so completely that it was impossible to doubt she was sleeping.
Masen stood looking down at her, trying once again to figure out what it was about her that made him feel and act so differently. From taking time out of their mission to calm her fears, to protecting her with the surfing thing, to needing her trust just as badly as he wanted it. She wasn't going to give him any answers tonight and he'd been down here far too long to not be missed by his friends—especially Whit.
Masen did the only thing he could do; he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and then headed back upstairs.
A/N:
Hello, lovely readers! We hope you've enjoyed another chapter of Beneath The Surface! We especially enjoyed writing this one, not only getting to put in some real shark knowledge but also getting to show the depth of Bella's determination to change. We were even happily surprised by Masen in this one, finding him to be the most helpful he's been yet! But as all things with Masen, we take it with a grain of salt! LOL My wonderful Parter in Crime, the talented Eternally Addicted, has created a polyvore of the tagging equipment so you can all put pictures to the gear used - It's up on the Blog at www (dot) masenmarineresearch (dot) blogspot (dot) com
And if you haven't checked out EA's new story yet, she'll be posting a new chapter tomorrow night. The story is Somewhere I Belong and it's pretty gosh darn good in my humble opinion. :)
That's it from Team Masen Crew for now. Have a safe and wonderful Memorial Day weekend!