Isa was happy Adrian was here with her. If not she probably would’ve spent the three-day weekend alone. She was used to being alone, and didn't mind it, but it got boring after awhile.
"I really suck at surfing," Adrian said after he'd taken his twentieth fall, one where he'd knicked the corner of his board. "I should be banned from itpermanently."
"You're not that bad. Everyone's terrible their first time," Isa said, though she wasn't being honest. Adrian really wasawful.
"We should do something I'm good at," he said. "Also, something that involves being less in the sun, because personally, I'm boilingouthere."
"What did you have in mind?" Isa askedcuriously.
Adrian tilted his head. "Do you havesnorkelinggear?"
Around an hour later, after they'd gotten a late lunch, Isa and Adrian snuck into her uncle's lot. All of the boats were put away for the weekend, but Isa broke into the office and grabbed the keys. They were sailing away before anyone had seen what hadhappened.
"Is your uncle going to kill you for this?" Adrian yelled over the roar of theengine.
Isa grinned. "I've been a good girl lately. I think he worries I'm behaving a littletoowell."
Adrian laughed. Isa steered the boat, but Adrian came up behind her and put his arms around her, wrapping them tightly against her form as she held thewheel.
"It's this way," Adrian said. "No one but me knows whereitis."
Isa grew warm inside at Adrian's comforting form around her. He steered the boat with her until land disappeared and he told her to dropanchor.
"It's here," he said, and he handed her goggles and a snorkel. "I come out here all the time. It's beautiful. The best part is I don't think anyone has foundityet."
Adrian dove in. Isa fitted the goggles to her face and followed him, leaving the snorkel in her handfornow.
What Isa saw beneath the surface took her breath away. A coral reef stretched on for miles below, a dazzling display of rocks and sea plants that were green, blue, pink, purple, and an assortment of other colors. The reef touched the ocean floor hundreds of feet below the surface and went on for as far as she could see. Adrian gestured for her to follow, and she dideagerly.
All kinds of fish swam in the reef. King mackerel swam next to red snapper, and there were swordfish that were as big as she was. Crabs scuttled along the coral next to tuna, catfish, grouper, and even blowfish. Isa counted a few stingrays swimming majestically up and around the towers of coral. She even saw a few dolphins swimming in thedistance.
It was an entire world of its own, and nobody on earth even knew it was here. Nobody, except for her and Adrian. Isa saw in the reef fish she'd only heard of and that the aquarium hadn'tcaught.
Adrian and Isa swam to the surface. When their heads broke Isa had to gasp for breath, she'd been holding it for so long. "Aren't you worried about sharks?" Isa asked. She knew there had to be tons swimming about, this far in the ocean and with so many fisharound.
"Sharks won't bother us. Trust me," Adriantoldher.
Why, because you're some king of the sea?Isa decided to trust him. If he and his merman powers were enough to keep sharks at bay, it was good enoughforher.
Isa noticed that Adrian had trouble swimming in the water… like he didn’t know how to use his feet. His spine slithered up and down in a wave-like motion instead of staying still, and his legs and arms floundered. He was barely keeping himselfafloat.
He obviously doesn’t know how to swim without a tail, Isa thought. She kept a close eye on Adrian, to rescue him just in case he went under. After all, she wasn’t sure if the poor guy still hadgills.
Adrian and Isa snorkeled along the surface to look down at the reef, occasionally diving to get a closer look. Once Adrian grabbed her hand and took her under, close to a school of fish. He kissed her underwater as the fish swam around them. Isa quickly had to swim to the surface, to recover her breath from such a beautifulmoment.
As the day grew late Isa noticed a gray shape bobbing along the surface of the water. "Hey." She nudged Adrian. "What'sthat?"
Adrian peered over her. "That's Moona," Adrian said. "She's myfriend."
Cautiously, Adrian approached the figure. Isa dipped underwater for a second to see that the creature was amanatee.
What was a manatee doing this far out? They liked the warm water near the shores. The manatee swum closer until it was between them. Her big black eyes were lovely. She seemed gentle but swam around Adrian in a way that made Isa think she wasjealous.
"You can pet her," Adrian said. "Shewon'tmind."
Moona's tail rose out of the water to slap down, and the splash hit Adrian intheface.
Isa reached out to touch Moona before she pulled her hand back at the last second. Manatees were endangered creatures and weren't to bemessedwith.
