Page 91 of Deep In Love
Twelve takes later, Jett is satisfied with my introduction. I try to make my escape, but he hauls me back onto the deckchair. His exuberance is overflowing, but I have zero idea why he’s giving it to me. He spent the last hour yelling at me and sighing in disappointment.
“So…you and Blondie?” He waggles his eyebrows, and the top of his beanie falls over his eyes. He shoves it back up. “Your date lookedamazeballs.”
“Uh…”
“Have you kissed her?” His voice jumps a few octaves, and my heartbeat skips, I’m so startled. “You have to tell me everything. Love is super dope.”
Doug gives me a knowing look as he passes, packing up the recording equipment. He reaches down to pull the microphone off my shirt while he whispers, “Jett can’t stop talking about how you two are falling in love.”
I cough, hacking up half a lung at his casual words.
Is that what Charlie and I are doing? Is she falling in love?
He squeezes my shoulder, and Jett waits with anticipation. I sigh.
“You have to swear on the Brotherhood of Catan not to say anything to Charlie,” I say, and Jett nods emphatically. “We kissed.”
He leaps from his chair, throwing a fist into the air in celebration. “Have you told her you love her?”
“Slow your roll, man.”
“You’re right. I’ll be more chill.”
He bounces up and down. Nothing about him screamschill, but I drain the last of my coffee, rising from the deck chair. “I gotta go make Charlie a coffee before she wakes up.”
Jett’s goofy grin mirrors my own.
“She’s beautifully grumpy in the morning.”
I’m nearly out of sight when he screams, “Go get your girl!”
Vivian adjusts the trajectory of the ROV, shifting it to the right to scan the seafloor. It’s been a quiet morning, only having reached two thousand meters a half hour ago. Charlie sits in the corner with Sofía, sipping on her iced coffee, the both of them focused on their laptops.
The camera jerks back to the right, and Vivian starts jamming buttons, increasing the zoom. A sharp inhale is the only sound in the control room, and then her hand flies up in the air, waving around frantically.
She hits me in the abdomen. Hard.
“Mateo,” Vivian hisses. “Is Charlie paying attention?”
“What? No,” I cough out, pain spidering out from where her punch landed.
Charlie bops her head to her music, none the wiser I’m being beat up by Vivian.
God, she’s adorable as she mouths the words to her song.
“Get over here,” Vivian whispers, and I step closer to the screen. The air is ripped from my lungs.No fucking way.Wild excitement blooms on her face as her head jerks to Charlie.
A haze of disbelief settles over us both, a momentary silence followed by surprised laughter.
“She’s going to fly off the handle,” I warn.
“Go get her!”
I take a few deep breaths to cool the enthusiasm thrumming in my veins, and only when I’m confident I won’t blurt out the news do I tap Charlie on the shoulder.
She rips out an earbud, One Direction blasting from the small speaker.
“Hi.”
