Page 63 of Deep In Love
It hovers in the water column, no longer than the size of a ruler, but its teeth, abnormally long and protruding from its jaw, mark it as a predator. Without the lights, its ultra-black skin would make it nearly undetectable in the deeper sections of the ocean, where light can’t penetrate.
My jaw is agape as the Pacific viperfish moves closer to the camera, shifting to display its razor-sharp teeth and large eyes.
Jett hyperventilates in the corner, fanning himself, before shrieking, “The camera, Doug! Record this on your camera!”
Doug jerks awake, startled, but hurries to follow Jett’s command to film the momentous occasion. Until this moment, we’ve seen very little outside of the bloody-belly comb jelly and benthicinvertebrates. I inch closer to the screen, reveling in this moment, in the rarity of witnessing the creature in its natural habitat.
“Diurnal vertical migration,” I say, offering no context to the scientific term, too enthralled by the small creature.
Its features aren’t flashy or beautiful; rather, the creature is built to survive in an environment designed against it. In a world where bright scales draw attraction, it’s camouflaged itself. In a domain where it’s kill or be killed, it’s evolved teeth to attack and defend. It adapted to survive, its beauty secondary to its primary goal: to thrive in an inhospitable habitat.
Mateo’s intoxicating cologne fills the air before the weight of his hand falls on my lower back, invading my personal space.
“It’s beautiful,” he says, and my chest tightens.
Is it beautiful?
I don’t think so.
It’s gnarly and dangerous, a perfectly designed predator, but I wouldn’t describe it as beautiful. There’s nothing inviting about a viperfish; it’s ugly—alien.
“What’s diurnal vertical migration?” Jett asks, hovering over Vivian while she works.
How the fuck did he get across the room so quickly?
“It’s a migrational pattern where organisms will move to shallow waters at night, then return to deeper depths during the day. We likely caught the viperfish moving up the water column to feed,” Mateo says, his hand still glued to the curve of my spine.
Jett nods enthusiastically, childlike joy overtaking his features, as he watches the viperfish disappear when the ROV breaks the surface.
“This is the best day ever,” he says, throwing his arms around Vivian. “Thank you for finding him!”
Vivian chuckles but peels his arms off her to finish driving the ROV to the retrieval location.
I begin to collect my belongings—computer, notebook, colored pens—when Mateo returns to my side and takes my tote bag from my hands, sliding his own things into the bag before flinging it over his shoulder.
“We’ll see you guys at dinner,” he says to the room, before nodding toward the door. I’m rooted in place as he walks away, and when he realizes I’m not with him, he walks back to me, takes my hand, and intertwines our fingers.
Mateo pulls me out of the control room, and my skin tingles where our palms meet. My heartbeat is in my throat, stopping any words from forming.
Once we’re alone, Mateo utters the words that strike fear, and buried anticipation, into my heart.
“It’s time to talk, bruja.”
Chapter 19
Charlie
“Talk?” I croak, nerves eating away what confidence I have left.
The sound of the door falling shut is deafening in the quiet space. Mateo places my bag on the desk and perches on the edge of the mattress, patiently waiting for me to move closer, but I can’t.
Every moment on the boat has led to this moment—this one conversation—and it holds so much weight that I’m crushed by its intensity. Every emotion I’ve spent years suppressing now lingers at the surface, and I’m petrified he’s going to see more of me than I’m ready for.
“Charlie.” My name is a caress, spurring me to move, and I drop into the chair across from him. He lifts a brow but allows me the space. “I won’t bite…unless you want me to.”
It takes a moment for his joke to land, but when it does, I level him with a glare.
“There she is,” he purrs, bracing his elbows on his knees as he leans forward. “I told you yesterday, but I’ll say it again: I want to date you, Charlie. And I know this is an unorthodox situation,but I want the chance to get to know you outside of normal circumstances.”
