Page 35 of Deep In Love
“We’re going to about a thousand meters today,” Vivian announces.
Mateo, Jett, and I stand behind the control system that resembles a spaceship, and Lucas twists the camera with a joystick, searching the water column asPoseidoncontinues down through the photic zone.
“There are five main zones of the ocean,” I explain to Jett, who watches the video feed with rapt attention, “epipelagic, mesopelagic, bathypelagic, abyssopelagic, and hadalpelagic. Right now, we’re in the epipelagic zone—or photic zone—the area of the ocean where sunlight can penetrate.”
Mateo winks when thewordtumbles from my lips. My cheeks flame, and I lose my train of thought.
Darkness creeps in asPoseidondrops into the aphotic zone and the temperature decreases on the monitor.
“Wow…” Jett trails off as pitch black consumes the camera before the floodlights flash on, illuminating the deep abyss.
“We’re entering the mesopelagic zone, also referred to as the twilight zone,” Mateo says, “where species begin to utilize bioluminescence.”
There’s little more than darkness and debris for over an hour, and as the minutes continue to tick by, a blanket of boredom fallsover the room. Jett whispers to Sofía, and Doug sits across from them, making faces each time one giggles.
Mateo scribbles down notes about the environment and some of the small cnidarians, and I pretend not to stare at him like an idiot.
It’s hard work.
Finally, Vivian calls out, “I think I see something,” and everyone in the room scrambles toward the screen, surrounding her and Lucas.
We all hold our breaths, leaning in, and Lucas zooms the camera while Vivian adjusts course. Small iridescent columns of light pulse and shimmer in the darkness like a beacon.
As Vivian moves the ROV closer, the floodlights illuminate the organism, allowing the dark, blood-red hue of its body to luminesce as it floats in the water column. Lucas zooms in further, and the bright red of its stomach comes into view.
“That’s a bloody-belly comb jelly,” Mateo says, awe lacing his voice. “Most light can’t reach this depth, and red light is the first to go, making the jelly invisible to its prey.”
“This is absolutely bonkers!” Jett smacks my back in jest, and I catapult forward, directly into Mateo’s chest. “Holy shit, my bad.”
Jett scrambles to help me, but Mateo’s strong grip holds my bicep, keeping me standing. His finger dips beneath the hem of the sleeve, swiping against a small scar. I felt brazen this morning when picking out my outfit. Whether it was Mateo’s emboldened words at the bar or the softness he offered me this morning, I left the long-sleeve cardigan in my duffel bag.
And when he returned from the lab to tell me Vivian was deploying the ROV, and registered the bare skin—saw the scars I’ve spent years hiding—he nodded approvingly and uttered words I immediately googled and will never forget.
Te ves deslumbrante.
You look stunning.
And the shocking part, the one I’ve struggled to accept, is that Ibelievehim.
“I am so, so sorry,” Jett says, his arms flailing for emphasis. “I’ve been hitting the gym, and now I don’t know my own strength…”
His arm darts out, and I narrowly avoid getting whacked again.
“Maybe we keep our limbs at our sides,” I say, stepping out of the danger zone.
Jett nods emphatically, focusing back on the screen. Mateo hovers nearby, not close enough to touch, but with so little space that my skin is lit aflame, a thousand firecrackers dancing along my arms. He shifts, leaning to grab his water bottle, and the overwhelming, intoxicating scent of his cologne permeates the air.
Doug films the room, focused on Vivian and Jett, who chirps a mile a minute, hands waving enthusiastically in the air.
I have made it my mission to avoid Doug and his camera at all costs. I start to slink back, but he swings around, focusing on Mateo and me. My heartbeat quickens, thudding faster and faster, but I’m paralyzed by fear.
The short-sleeve top was a horrible idea.
I’m sure I look like I’ve seen a ghost because the camera falls and Doug offers a quizzical look. “Are you okay?” he asks.
“Mm-hmm.” Freaking out at the mere idea of millions of people viewing me online. No big deal.
Doug shrugs and moves on, and I creep to the back of the control room, out of the camera’s aim. The screen is visible if I squint and stand on my tiptoes, so I can do my job just fine in the back corner.
