Nic's Devotion: An Endless Series: Book One (35 page)

     Nic actually looked chagrined. “I’m not all that happy
with it either.” He muttered.

     I was still embarrassed, but I wasn’t able to stop my giggle
at his predicament and expression. Turning I walked self-consciously to where
Carl was waiting for us knowing Nic was probably starring at my butt the entire
way.

     “Have you ever been scuba diving?” Carl asked Nic as
soon as we walked up.

     “No, just snorkeling.” He answered.

     Carl immediately went into explaining how the equipment
worked. Since I’d been dozens of times I went and grabbed a wet suit my size.
Dunking it into the oversized sink I began wiggling into it.

     “Hey, pay attention boyo. I’m sure she’s fun to watch
but what I’m telling you could save your life.”

     My head swiveled to see Nic watching something Carl was
doing his face flushed red. Face red again, I went back to putting on my wet
suit with a lot less wiggle and just more tugging. Grabbing a size that would
fit Nic I walked over to find them practicing with the air tanks.

     “Well, you a fast learner. I think you be okay. Go
ahead and put that wet suit on that Carrie’s got and then we’ll suit you out
with the air tanks.”

    Nic knew how to put on the wet suit, and then Carl was
fitting us both with the air tanks. I helped Carl with his and then we headed
for the shark tank. Carl checked Nic one more time before we climbed in the
water. I could see by Nic’s expression that he was nervous but excited.

     “Nic, you okay?” Carl asked over the underwater
microphones once we were in the water.

     “I’m good.” He replied.

     “Care Bear?”

    “Good.” I replied.

     “Holy shit!” Nic suddenly exclaimed.

     I turned and watched a shark swim past Nic almost
brushing against him.

     “That’s a Mako shark, Nic.” I said excitedly.

     “These things are tame, right?” Nic asked twisting in
the water. I could see that he was anxious about what else could be coming up
behind us. 

     Carl chuckled over the line. “Carrie, your friend is
funny. Boy, you can’t tame sharks, but they been fed good, so they all happy
and lazy. But there always a chance that you might look good as dessert.”

     “That’s not all that reassuring.” Nic muttered.

     “Don’t worry, Nic, they won’t bite. They’re familiar
with humans.” I assured him.

     “Yeah, as snacks.” He joked.

     I laughed over the line. “Relax Nic; you don’t want
them to smell your fear. It’s like catnip to them.”

     “Carrie! That’s not funny.” He growled.

     Carl laughed over the line giving the impression that
it certainly was.

Chapter Thirty

NIC

     We swam around and I thought I was catching on pretty
well to the whole scuba diving thing if not the swimming with the shark’s
thing. Carrie glided gracefully through the water and around the sharks like it
was something she did every day, and I guess it was. She stayed close to me
laughing and pointed out every shark recounting everything about them. I barely
paid attention to the facts she was telling me, I was more fascinated by her
personality in these surroundings.

     She was more relaxed and comfortable than I had ever
seen her, and I was a bit awestruck at how fearless she was in a tank full of
predators. At one point she grabbed hold of the fin of one shark and held on as
it swam around. I about had a heart attack thinking it was going to twist
around and snap at her for daring to touch it like that. She tried to get me to
do the same thing and I actually latched on to one for a couple seconds until
it jerked slightly causing me to let go instinctively in self-preservation.

     I wasn’t going to find out if it had jerked in an
effort to turn and gnaw my hand off.

     Carrie laughed and gave me a thumbs up for my bravery,
and hey, I accepted it pretending that it hadn’t scared the shit out of me.

     We spent about thirty minutes down in the tank before
Carl directed us back up. Sitting on the side of the tank I took off my mask
and breather as Carrie did the same. Her face was lit up in compete joy and she
never looked more beautiful…even with mask lines on her face.

     “That was completely, totally, and absolutely awesome.”
I said giving her an enormous smile. Her face just brightened more and I swear
I was almost blinded.

     Leaning forward I gave her a kiss. “That was the best
damn surprise anyone has ever given me, thank you.”

     “You’re welcome.” She grinned back at me.

    “Do I get a kiss too, boyo?” Carl asked giving me a look
while taking off his gear.

     “I don’t want you feeling left out, Carl.” I stood up
and walked toward him.

     Carl shoved the air tanks in my hands with a grin
instead. “Boyo, they hanging heavy on you, yah? Turn around so I can get your
gear off.” He said with a twirl of his finger.

     If Carl was referring to my balls, then yeah, they
always were around Carrie. Both Carl and Carrie showed me how to pack up the
gear and then we were changing back into our clothes and saying goodbye. Carl
gave Carrie another bear hug and made her promise not to wait so long between
visits again.

     We left through a back door and leaving reminded me of
when we entered and Carrie’s brusqueness toward the girl behind the glass. She
wasn’t normally like that with other people and it was nice to know I wasn’t
the only one getting jealous in this relationship, and surprisingly, observing
hers had only gotten me hotter for her.

     “That really was one of the best times I’ve ever had,
it’s a no wonder that you’re going into marine biology if you can do that stuff
all the time.” I said after we’d climbed in the truck.

     “Was it better than lacrosse?” She asked with a grin.

     I frowned thoughtfully. “That’s hard to say. It was
right up there if not a close second. It was just so damn stimulating swimming
with something that could just as easily take a bite out of you. If I could
stick check them without the fear of losing a hand, then maybe.” I said
grinning.

     “I love being down there. It wakes up everything in my
body, being surrounded by the water and the feeling of weightlessness. When I’m
down there every worry I have just floats away…pun intended.” She grinned.

     “So, Care Bear, what’s the story with Carl and how come
you’ve never told me about him? You two see seem pretty close.” I asked, not
understanding why she hadn’t told me about someone who seemed to have such a
close relationship with her when she had so few of them.

     She sighed and gave me an apologetic look. “I met Carl
at a pretty low part of my life. I was going to the aquarium almost every day
soon after I got back from the hospital. I was living with a hostile stranger,
my mom never meeting my gaze or talking to me. I was spiraling down into a deep
depression. To get out of the house I started going to the aquarium. With my
school I.D. it was basically free and it settled my soul.

     After several weeks Carl came up to me and started up a
conversation about the tank I was sitting in front of. Each time I came in he’d
find me and tell me something new about each and every fish they had and some
they didn’t. Carl has a degree in marine zoology and he’s been working at the
aquarium almost from the time it started up. Back then he didn’t have a degree,
but he loved everything about it so much he went back to school to get one. He
was the one that brought me in as a volunteer slash apprentice and taught me
everything he knew. He’s the reason why I’m going into the field. I don’t know
what made him come up to me the first time, but he changed my life. He saved me
in a way. I never brought him up because you have to know Carl to appreciate
him, and he’s really special to me. Carl was part of the surprise.”

     Man, every time I heard part of her past I wanted to
cry for her. Hearing her describe how depressed she’d been because of her
mother’s actions had me reflecting on the ‘what if’s’. What if it had spiraled
too far? What if she’d reached a point where she couldn’t have handled it
anymore and just thrown it all in? I wanted to go back to that aquarium and
give Carl the kiss I threatened him with and a big ‘thank you’. I had an idea of
what had drawn Carl to Carrie; he’d seen the sadness in her and being the kind
of guy he was he had wanted to help her.

     I squeezed Carrie’s hand. “Thank you for the surprise,
for introducing me to Carl, and for sharing that story with me. I’m glad and
beyond thankful that he was there for you when no one else seemed to be. You’ve
had two great people to help you through something awful, and it shows me where
you’ve gained the optimism and strength you carry around with you. You’re an
amazing person, Carrie.”

     A blush spread across her cheeks and she returned my
grip. “Nic, you are an amazing person too, and I’m thankful that you came into
my life. You know, I didn’t just take you to meet Carl; I wanted Carl to meet
you. He’s important in my life and so are you.”

     “And that right there means the world to me.” I said
kissing her knuckles. “Carrie, I want to ask you something, but I’m not sure
how you’ll take it?” I gave her a sidelong look truly anxious on how she’d take
my request.

     “What?” She asked, looking at me curiously.

     “You’ve spent the night at my house twice now but it
only came about because of something that happened. I was wondering if you’d
spend the night with me tonight, not for anything sexual, but because I want
you there. I wouldn’t be pressuring you for anything. I just like knowing that
you are there next to me, and waking up to you lying next to me is even better.”

     She blushed and a small smile twisted her lips, but
then an expression of doubt puckered her face. “You have a game tomorrow; me
being there won’t mess with your schedule or anything will it?”

     She was picking at her coat but I could see she wasn’t
discomfited by the conversation, only interested in the idea, and that had me
smiling in relief and satisfaction. “I don’t have to be at the stadium until
eleven, so that leaves us plenty of time in the morning. We can wake up late,
have breakfast together, and then you can either head out with me or Amanda. We
can stop at your room and grab what you need for tonight and tomorrow.”

     Her gaze tracked my way for a second before returning
to her coat. “The other guys won’t mind?”

     “Nope; Amanda spends the night all the time.”

     She looked out the window and then her gaze met mine.
The blush was still prominent but she was smiling hesitantly. “Okay.”

     I wanted to do a fist bump in the air but settled for
an asinine smile. “Cool.” Her smile twitched at my reply.

     We went by her dorm so she could grab what she needed
and then headed to the house. It looked empty when we arrived; everyone off
doing their own thing.

     “Why don’t you go up and use the shower and I’ll grab
us something to eat and a movie for us to watch.” I said.

     “You don’t need help?” She stood there looking a little
lost.

     “Nope, go ahead.” I gave her a kiss and a gentle push
toward the stairs. She probably needed a little time to herself to get relaxed
to the idea.

     Going through the DVD collection I grabbed a few
choices. It was mostly guy movies but Carrie seemed to like action flicks. I
whipped us up three grilled ham and cheese sandwiches; two for me and one for
her, and added some fresh carrots, snap peas, pineapple, and strawberries.
Piling it all on one serving platter with some bottled water I headed up the
stairs.

     I stepped in my room to find Carrie sitting on my bed
wearing long white underwear and one of my shirts that reached to her knees. It
was the same shirt I’d given her last time, and it was making my groin twitch
seeing her in it. She’d blown dried her hair and it was black silk falling
around her face and down her back. God, I loved seeing it down. I liked it when
it was up though too; it made her eyes and striking Spanish features stand out
that much more.

     She looked down and smiled self-consciously. “Is it
okay that I borrowed your shirt? I wasn’t thinking when I grabbed my sleep
shirt; it’s kind of short and I wanted something longer.”

     “It’s perfectly alright. I like seeing you in my
clothes. In fact, that can be your official sleep wear for when you spend the
night.” Which hopefully would happen a lot.

     Setting the food on the bed I tossed the movies on the
bed. “Which one do you want to watch tonight?”

     She picked them up and then looked up at me incredibly.
“Jaws, Sharknado, and Deep Blue Sea. Are you trying to tell me something, or
just scare me so I don’t go back into the water?”

     “You don’t even have to be in the water for the sharks
in Sharknado.” I said with a wicked grin.

     She picked up the Sharknado movie. “Is it as bad as
I’ve heard?”

     “Way worse. It’s the optimum of B-movie flicks; bad
acting, implausible plot, and people dying in far-fetched ways.”

     She held the movie out with a smile. “You’ve sold me.”

     I moved over to DVD player to put the movie in. “I’m
going to jump in the shower real quick. Go ahead and start eating without me.”