My chest swells, and my pulse skips as I savor the moment—his hand holding mine, the faint hum of water, and the gentle giant moving beneath.
I nod, my voice catching. “Fuck yeah, I’m ready!”
His grin widens, and for a moment, it feels like the whole world is holding its breath just for us.
I can’t stop smiling, my cheeks already ache from it. I nod so hard that my ponytail shifts against the back of my neck. Maverick’s grin mirrors mine, and without saying a word, we move to the edge together.
“Three,” he says, squeezing my hand. “Two… one.”
We jump, and the water swallows us whole.
For a moment, the world is a blur of bubbles and muted light. Then I surface, pulling my mask down over my face as Maverick pops up beside me, shaking water from his hair.
The instructor hovers nearby, signaling us to follow. We slip underwater, and everything shifts.
Down here, sound is replaced by the slow thrum of my heartbeat and the faint hiss of my breath. Shafts of light pour down from above, shifting and dancing over the sandy bottom of the tank. Schools of small, silver fish move in unison like liquid mercury, scattering as we drift through.
The whale shark approaches us from the far side of the tank, massive and graceful, its speckled body dotted with constellations of white. My chest tightens at its enormous size—gentle yet commanding, like a dream drifting through the water.
I glance at Maverick beneath the goggles, and he’s watching me instead of the shark. His eyes crinkle behind his mask, the corners lifting like he’s memorizing every second.
The shark swims close enough that I could reach out and run my fingers along its ridges. Its eye briefly swivels toward us, unbothered, as if giving us permission to share its space.
Bubbles rise from Maverick’s regulator as he drifts nearer to me, softly looping one arm around my waist. Weturn together, weightless in the blue, following the creature as it moves toward the light.
Time stops.
All I hear is the steady rhythm of my breath, the muted swish of the whale shark’s tail, and the faint warmth of Maverick’s palm against my side, grounding me in this surreal, endless blue.
maverick
. . .
The aquarium is empty. It’s silent except for the faint hum of the large tank pumps and the occasional whoosh of water against the glass.
I’d been very clear earlier with the manager and told him I wanted it to be just us.
No cameras.
Total privacy.
Now it’s exactly how I imagined—just her and me, bathed in the soft glow of string lights I had hung earlier, with ocean shadows gently moving across her skin from the tank in front of us.
We sit cross-legged on a blanket I spread out in front of the largest window in the building, towering above us and framing the slow, unhurried drift of the whale shark behind the glass. Dinner is already here—two perfectly cooked filets, mashed potatoes so creamy they’re almost butter, roasted vegetables, and a small ramekin of molten chocolate cake waiting on the side.
I eat, sure. But mostly, I watch her.
She’s leaning forward, elbows resting on her knees, forkin one hand, humming softly after each bite. The light highlights her face, her lashes brushing her cheek with each blink, her lips curling around the rim of her water glass.
Fuck, she looks so beautiful.
The glow from the tank casts ripples of soft blue and silver across her skin. Her features appear sharper from some angles and softer from others.
I swear, even the fucking ocean’s got nothing on her.
She’s mid-bite when she notices me.
“Still staring, Hayes?” she teases with a raised brow.
