12
“GO OVER IT again,” Coral says, a glass of wine in one hand and a strawberry dipped in Nutella in the other. I’ve just relayed the whole evening with Joel to her, hoping she’ll be able to explain to me why I backed off when I did. “And you haven’t left anything out?” She pops the strawberry into her mouth.
“No. That’s everything that happened while I was there.” I have a glass of wine in hand too; alcohol is definitely needed to unlock the secrets of my mind. But I’m thinking I would need a lot more than the glass I had at dinner and the half-drunk one in my hand before my lips loosen and real truths come out.
Her eyes narrow. “While you were there? What happened while you weren’t there?”
“Why would you ask that?” I choose my words carefully, wondering what she might have picked up on.
“Because it’s an odd thing to say, ‘while I was there’. Where else did you go? Who else did you see?” She opens her mouth and sucks in her breath so fast it makes a noise in her throat. “You saw Flynn, didn’t you?”
What the hell? My face brightens to a shade even redder than my hair. “How would you even know that? Did he tell you?”
Her eyes widen. “Oh. My. God. You did see him. I was just guessing but I was right! Wow. You let him cock-block you.”
“Why would I let him do that?”
“Because you’re into him.”
“I’m not. Flynn annoys the fuck out of me. I don’t understand why we keep going over this.”
“Then explain to me why, when you went and bought dusty pink lingerie to entice goody-two-shoes Joel into the sack, you ended up coming home before midnight without sexy times under your belt?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I feel like he’s too good for me. Have you thought of that? Maybe I feel inadequate around him. Maybe it was you who got into my head and cock-blocked me with your whole ‘don’t do something just because a guy wants you to’ speech before I left. Have you considered that?”
She shrugs and looks at her nails as if I’m boring her. “I would’ve thought that if I wasn’t right about you seeing Flynn. Tell me what happened with him.”
Holding a hand out to the side, I look up at the ceiling. “Nothing happened. He saw me in the bottle shop and helped me pick wine.”
“You let him pick your wine?”
“Yes.”
“You never let anyone pick your wine.”
“He chose a good bottle. What was I going to do, put it back out of spite?”
“Wow.”
“What?”
“Just. Wow.”
“What?”
“You need to take a really good long look in the mirror. I can’t believe you don’t see this. You like him. Big time. It’s all over your face. Plain as day.”
“I don’t like him. I like Joel. Why are you trying to force the issue?”
“Because I’m your best friend and I can see you making a huge mistake.”
“Maybe I think you moving back to London with Shane is a huge mistake.”
She folds her arms across her chest and purses her lips, looking at me with her head slightly tilted. “You don’t think that. You know Shane and I are meant to be together. What you wish is that we were staying in Australia. And you wish that for your own selfish reasons. It has nothing to do with what’s best for me.”
I press my lips together. “You are so annoying.”
“But I’m right.” She is.
“Joel is perfect, I’ll have you know.”
“Before Flynn came along, I would have been inclined to agree with you. But now I see that he’s just not perfect for you.”
“I think you’re wrong.”
“You know I’m right.”
“You are so annoying.”
She shrugs. “Help me finish these strawberries before the Nutella cools down and we can’t dip them anymore.”
Pouting, I pick one up and coat it with a thick layer of choc-hazelnut heaven, biting into it so it sticks to the insides of my mouth and I can’t speak anymore.
This conversation hasn’t been helpful at all. Coral is wrong. Flynn has nothing to do with any of this.
***
My alarm goes off at seven thirty, causing me to groan while I roll over and shut it off. I move my tongue around in my mouth, trying to get rid of the cotton wool feeling that coats my tongue. There was a lot of wine imbibed last night. A lot. And somewhere in the middle of it all, Coral and I decided we were going to join this shark-feeding expedition at the aquarium. Although, I have to wonder if feeding sharks while hungover is a smart thing to do.
Dragging myself out of bed, I shuffle to the kitchen where I find Coral drinking a large glass of an orange-coloured liquid. By the sweet citrus scent in the air, I’m guessing it’s Berocca.
“Want one?” she asks, tilting the glass toward me.
“I think that’s a good idea.” I set about making one for myself and grab a couple of painkillers while I’m at it. “How much wine did we go through last night?” I ask, looking at the empty glasses in the sink.
“Three bottles. I told you ordering those monthly wine boxes was a bad idea.”
“I’m the one who told you they were a bad idea. It’s only a couple of good bottles mixed in with crappy stuff. That’s why we have such shocking headaches.” When I lean over, it feels like my brain falls forward and lands against the front of my skull, making me wince. Then I lift an empty bottle out of our recycling bin, squinting at the label. “I mean, who’s even heard of Botobolar?”
She snatches the bottle out of my hand. “I liked that one. It’s organic too.”
“Then it must be good,” I say with a chuckle, lifting my glass for a mouthful of my Berocca. The B vitamins hit my stomach and I swear I can feel them absorbing right into my bloodstream. “Now this stuff is good.”
“The hangover cure of the gods.” Coral finishes hers off. “Wanna hit Maccas for breakfast? A sausage and egg McMuffin and about five hash browns are just what my stomach needs to cope with this whole shark-feeding thing.”
“Are you sure you want to do it? I mean, they’re not expecting us, and we are pretty hungover. I’m thinking the original movie idea was the best one.”
She shakes her head. “Shane knows we’re coming. I spoke to him last night.”
“Slurred to him more like.” We both laugh, knowing there was no way her words would’ve been completely coherent in that phone call.
“So, showers, and then we go eat. Shane said nine sharp.”
“Yeah, so did Flynn.”
She frowns, but I can see a spark of interest in her eyes. “Did he now?”
Kicking myself for letting that slip, I tell her the part of Flynn’s and my conversation that I had purposely left out. “He invited me when I saw him last night.”
She grins. “So... it’s a date?”
“No. It’s shark feeding.”
With her mouth forming an O, she sucks in her breath. “It’s a double date. I’m so excited now.”
Shaking my head, I put my glass in the sink and start walking to the bathroom. “I’m taking the first shower, and I might just use up all of the hot water after that comment.”
“Ruby loves Flynn,” she sing-songs, teasing me as I close the door. Instead of protesting, I just turn on the shower and get ready—she doesn’t listen to me anyway.
13
“MORNING, LITTLE ONE.” Flynn grins, mischief in his eyes as Coral and I approach the aquarium in Manly after almost missing the ferry over here.
“I’m here for Coral,” I inform him, standing back while Shane hugs her and whispers in her ear, calming her nerves. “She needs moral support.”
“Looks like Shane has that covered.”
“Where is everyone else?” I look around, frowning because I expected Elliot at the very least, and perhaps Brad.
“I’m not sure what you heard, but we four are it.”
My brow knits tighter. “I thought this was a group thin
g.”
“Relax, Rubes,” Shane butts in. “Stop overanalysing everything. We’re here to have a good time.”
I open my mouth to ask more questions, but then a man with a black polo shirt that reads ‘Shark Dive Xtreme’ on the front comes out to greet us.
“Mate, how’s it going?” He claps hands with Flynn, obviously familiar with him on some level.
“It’s been a while,” Flynn responds, patting the guy’s shoulder with his other hand. His name tag says he’s Clancy.
“Been busy with work, man. Who’s your friend?” Clancy looks my way, his eyes doing the usual foot-to-face sweep that most men do.
Flynn gestures for Shane and Coral to come closer. “This is Shane and Coral. They’re getting a shark dive in before they jet off to London for God knows how long.” Clancy nods in their direction. “And this is Ruby. She says she’s here as Coral’s moral support, but I see a love of danger in her eyes—she just really wants to feed the sharks.” Flynn gives me a wink. I kind of want to hit him.
Clancy looks amused, his eyes flicking between Flynn and me as he rubs his hands together against the cold. “Well then, Ruby, you’ve come to the right place.” Then he turns to include Shane and Coral in his speech. “We’ve got a lot of hungry sharks in there waiting for their breakfast. So, if you’ll all follow me, we can get the dos and don’ts of the dive out of the way before we get you suited up.”
“Can I ask one question?” Coral pipes up, her face a little paler than normal ever since Clancy mentioned the hungry sharks. “Has anyone ever lost a body part, like their hand, on one of these dives?”
Clancy attempts to hide his grin but fails. “Not since the last guy,” he jokes.
I swear I hear her gulp. “What?”
“It’ll be fine,” he assures her. “I’m actually the one feeding the sharks.”
“So we don’t have to feed them ourselves?”
He laughs. “No. We’re not in the business of letting random people put their hands near those razor-sharp teeth. However, I’m not going to lie, it is dangerous. You’ll be standing in the middle of a feeding frenzy. But if you follow the guidelines and don’t wiggle your fingers around like a fish, then you’ll be just fine.”
When he starts walking into the building, we follow after him—me walking about a metre to the side of Flynn, and Shane walking with his hand around Coral’s shoulders while she mutters about what a terrible idea this all was.
“You know the instructor?” I say by way of conversation.
“I do.” Flynn nods.
“Care to elaborate?”
He turns his head and smiles. There’re those dimples again. “Nope.”
Rolling my eyes, I end any further desire for conversation by dropping back to walk with Shane and Coral. After that, we’re so busy going through the education part of the morning that there isn’t much time for talk.
That is, until the instructor drops this bomb on us....
“Due to the nature of the session, we only permit two divers in the water at a time.”
“I bags Shane,” Coral calls out immediately, grabbing onto his arm.
I turn and scowl at her. “What are you, two?”
She gives me this sweet little smile as she tilts her head to rest on Shane’s shoulder, and I decide that yes, she is a two-year-old.
“I guess that puts us together, little one.” Flynn leans toward me and nudges me with his arm. All the little hairs on my body stand on end and I move away so he isn’t in touching distance.
“Maybe give the pet names a rest? We’re barely friends.”
Shane coughs and the word “burned” comes out along with it.
Flynn just grins, unfazed. “I’ll win you over,” he says.
I shake my head, almost laughing at his audacity. “I don’t know why you keep trying.”
“I don’t know why you keep resisting.” His dark eyes meet mine.
“Because I already have a boyfriend.”
“Whom I’m yet to meet.”
“Are you saying I made him up?”
Instead of answering, he asks a question in return. “Why are you so adamant that my interest in you isn’t platonic?”
I hold his gaze. “Is it platonic?”
“All right, time to move into the dive pool.” Clancy claps his hands, causing Flynn to look away before he’s had the chance to answer.
Great timing, Clancy. Not that his answer really matters—he would still be the wrong kind of guy—but it’s always nice to be proven right.
“I think you guys should go first,” Coral says after we’ve finished in the practice pool and are waiting to go into the shark tank. “I think I need a bit of extra time to prepare myself. And, if you come out alive, I’ll know everything is OK.”
“Sure, I don’t mind going first,” I respond, reaching across to squeeze her hand. We all look a little like human-sized seals standing around in skintight wetsuits that cover us from head to toe.
“I don’t mind going in second, babe. But,” Shane starts, and all eyes are on him. “Wouldn’t you rather go in before they start eating instead of during? The information said that they enter a bit of a frenzy.”
Coral stares, unblinking. I think her skin looks a little green, but the suit around her face is kind of puffing her cheeks out, so everything looks a little weird to me.
“Shane,” I hiss, taking hold of her hand again to try and console her. “Don’t worry, Coral. They wouldn’t let people do this if it wasn’t safe.”
“They don’t let people do this,” Shane adds, and I swear I want to slap him.
“What the hell, Shane! Shut up, you’re freaking her out.”
“Well, they don’t—not like this, anyway. Normally, they only take two people in for the whole session. But they’re bending the rules for your lover boy over there.” He lifts his chin toward Flynn, who’s making that neck cutting symbol that means ‘shut the hell up’.
“Why would they do that?” I look at Flynn, who drops his hands to his sides, then shrugs.
“Because you wanted come. And I know people.”
“So you just bend whatever rules you want because you can?”
“I simply called in a favour. There’s nothing illegal going on.”
He doesn’t get it. Just like when that cop was chasing him over his hat—it doesn't seem like a big deal, but it is. To me, it is. It’s what makes him everything I should be staying away from. He’s a rebel—the bad boy that devil sitting on my shoulder gets all excited about because you never really know what’s coming next. I need stability.
“My God. What am I even doing here?” I pull the headpiece of my wetsuit back and remove my gloves. “This is insane.”
“Please tell me you’re not leaving.” Coral grabs my arm, her fingers digging in through the thick material. “I can’t do this without you here.”
“You’re not even diving with me.”
“But I need you.”
Looking into her wide eyes, I take a deep breath and let myself relax. If I left now, I’d be the worst best friend in the world. I came here for Coral. I knew Flynn would be here and I came anyway because my friend asked me to. I don’t have that many opportunities left where I can be there for her. I have to go through with it.
“Of course not,” I reply, putting my gloves back on. “I’ll go first and you can watch and see that everything is fine. Sharks don’t even like the taste of people.”
“Yes, but they love the taste of seals and that’s exactly what we look like,” she responds.
“It’s going to be fine,” I assure her, even though I’m crazy nervous myself.
Clancy has just asked if we’re ready. I tuck my hair back into the hood of my suit.
“As I’ll ever be,” I say.
“You two are first?” he confirms.
I glance at Flynn and nod, my heart starting to hammer in my chest as we get closer to the platform that will let us into Shark Cove.
“Get
ready,” Flynn says, smiling at me. There’s excitement in his eyes and not a hint of nerves. He’s a true adrenalin junkie.
“Is this more dangerous because of this favour you called in?” I ask when we have our dive gear on our backs.
“Relax, little o—” He presses his lips together to stop himself calling me a pet name. “Ruby,” he corrects. “It’s no more or less dangerous than any shark-feeding experience is. Just remember everything that Clancy has taught you and you’ll be completely fine—all fingers intact.”
I look down at my gloved hands. I really don’t want to lose a finger. “Swear it on your life,” I tell him. “Actually, don’t swear it on your life. Swear it on the life of the person you care most about in this world.”
“Fine,” he says, turning to meet my gaze, his eyes hard. A beat passes before he continues. “I swear this dive is perfectly save, Ruby. I swear it on your life.”
My mouth drops open. His words slam into my chest like an emotional wall, sucking the air from my lungs and rendering me speechless. I literally cannot speak so I just follow along, feeling a little numb as we enter the water and follow our guide. A massive stingray swims over my head, but I watch it as if I’m in the middle of a dream, detached from the reality I’ve entered.
Turning to my left, I lock eyes with Flynn. He gestures for me to watch on as another guide enters the water with a large white bucket at their side, ready to start the feeding. But I don’t look on. I’m not really taking in anything. Suddenly, I’m more afraid of Flynn than I am of the four-metre shark swimming centimetres away from me, its giant teeth protruding from its mouth like a predatory smile.
Did he seriously just say that I’m the most important person in his life? In what way?
We need to clasp our hands in front of us so the sharks, turtles and stingrays don’t think our fingers are food. I force myself to look around, to try and take in the beauty that’s all around me even though I’ve been rocked to my core. I mean, I knew Flynn was interested in me. But I didn’t think he was that interested.
Watching the guide wriggle a fish near a sea turtle’s mouth, I hear the little angel and devil voices in my head, always there whenever my life leans off tilt. The devil is having the time of her life. Not only are we standing in a shark tank, which feeds her love of adventure, but the guy she’s been whispering about for weeks has just dropped a bomb of feelings on us. The angel, meanwhile, is reassuring me with inspirational quotes about making life about what I want from it, reminding me that Joel is the man I logically chose, and with good reason.
A Beautiful Danger (Beautiful #7) Page 8