Page 50 of Whispering Waves

He laughed. “You are my personal fetish. Come on. The guys are waiting.”

She pulled the swimsuit on, made sure that the ties were fastened, and grabbed the fins and her suit. He grabbed everything else, including some very fancy masks.

“Hey, can we talk in those?”

He grinned. “Of course. Tono is going to wire them up so we can chat while we swim. Drake gets to drive the boat, and Reg is going to dangle himself over the side like a puppy.”

“Why such excitement over a boat?”

“You’ll see.” They gathered everything and headed to the garage. He had gotten up early and cleared the path.

They drove to the sheltered cove where the boat was waiting. She grabbed her suit and fins and headed to the boat where the guys were waiting and stowing equipment. Drake reached down and took her suit and fins so that she could climb up the ladder. She scampered up the ladder and tucked herself out of the way with her suit and fins. Their equipment started to rise over the edge of the boat, deposited by columns of water.

Drake got it and set it aside. Kimo came up the ladder, and Drake asked, “Can I really drive it?”

“Yes. Since you are now going to be my little brother, you may as well realize that you can share my toys.”

Drake blinked. “Little brother? Oh, right.”

Nina snickered and laid out her suit. They cast off, engines started up, and the large boat moved out of its sheltered harbour. Drake grinned for the entire hour as the engines purred, and they approached the coordinates for the researchers. They slowed and glided to a halt as the ocean ahead of them was alive with whales.

Nina watched the giant ballet ahead of her and breathed deeply and slowly. Kimo stood behind her. “I will be with you, and they won’t come near you. I promise.”

She nodded and exhaled slowly. He helped her into her suit, got her onto the drop platform, and helped her get her scuba gear into place. He got into the water ahead of her and waited for her to step out and into the water next to him.

The silent world closed around them, and Kimo spoke with a slightly nasal tone. “Can you hear me?”

She focused on her breathing. “Yes. Loud and clear.”

“Excellent. Come with me.”

She settled her ballast belt around her, followed him past the ship, along the sandy ocean floor, and smiled at the fish darting past. Kimo continued ahead, and she propelled herself with a short burst of water. He paused and glanced at her. “Did you just... ”

“Yeah. You are faster than I am, and I am seeing this stuff for the first time. I would like to take my time.”

He took her hand and pulled her with him. They slowly made their way to a reef, and he waved his hand at her. “What do you think?”

“Whoa.” There were no other words. Colour, life, and fronds of things that were probably toxic. In the distance, the whales were doing their thing near a drop-off.

Kimo pulled her hand, and they slowly cruised over the reef, occasionally pausing to take in the rays and sharks moving over and around the bright reef occupants.

When a larger shark cruised overhead, she had to remember to breathe.

“And I think that freaked you out a little. Let’s get back to the ship.”

She nodded, and he tucked her against him, moving slowly and letting her see everything that they had seen on the way in. She focused on her breathing and tried to take in the wonder. “Why is everything under the water so freaking big?”

He chuckled. “I can’t answer that without freaking out the crew.”

Drake’s voice came through their masks. “Thanks for that.”

“Anything for you, bro.” Nina chuckled.

Kimo started doing barrel rolls with her as they got closer to the boat. She was laughing when he helped boost her onto the platform.

He was up beside her a moment later, and she removed her fins and got the gear off. Kimo boosted her up the ladder and got the equipment squared away. He was examining each piece and testing it before rinsing it off.

She grabbed the T-shirt and hauled it to the freshwater shower at the edge of the deck. The suit peeled off reluctantly, and she got the salt off her skin, turning the hose water off. The sun was drying her quickly, and she just hoped—

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