Page 43 of Captivating Nights

Chapter 30

THE SHUTTLE PULLED UP out front of Wave Chaser Ltd, and Cali could see the small fleet of boats docked at the pier. She’d been looking forward to scuba diving since she’d booked this trip. The fact that she had to do it alone did bother her slightly, but it wasn’t anything she hadn’t planned on when making reservations for this trip.

She’d never imagined meeting one person, much less two, and spending day and night with them. Cali had made preparations and plans, assuming she’d be alone. With her bag in hand, she walked inside the small building and up to the counter. An older woman, wearing a tropical sundress, smiled toothily at her. “Are you here to snorkel or dive, miss?”

“Umm, dive,” she responded and grabbed the small plastic bag that held her diving certification and wallet. Cali handed her the piece of paper and then retrieved her photo identification and credit card. “Do you know how long the excursion usually takes?”

The woman compared the name from her driver’s license to the name on the certificate and once satisfied that she was who she claimed to be, rang up the ticket. “You’ll be out on the water for a few hours, but should be back by early evening. We provide the equipment, free of charge, but if you want to purchase any of the underwater photographs, there is a nominal fee for those.” She pointed to a wall of pictures and added, “You can browse through those when your dive is finished. Do you have any questions?”

Cali shook her head. She’d researched this type of activity and even watched numerous videos of others on their dives. Her instructor had prepared her well for what to expect, and she wished that Emily and Natalie could’ve been here with her. After all, they sat through the safety presentations and everything else with her.

“Well, Tony will be your dive guide and he is on the third boat. It’s the one called Rapture,” the woman said as she handed Cali her credit card back.

She stuffed it into her wallet and with her ticket in hand, walked toward the exit. On her way, she’d passed the gallery of pictures and hoped she’d actually look good in one of them because she planned to buy a few to show her friends. What better way to describe something than through a photograph? Smiling, she stepped back outside and walked down to the waiting boat. There were already some other people on board, testing out their equipment. She handed her ticket to Tony and then took her place on the boat.

Excitement filled her at the thought of diving deep down into the beautiful blue water lapping against the boat. She had no idea what kind of wildlife she was going to see, and while slightly fearful of sharks, almost anything else would be awesome. Once she had taken her seat, she was handed a box that contained a number of essential items such as wetsuits, fins, and masks. Adrenaline started to course through her veins at the realization that she was about to do this.

“Welcome to Wave Chasers,” a woman said loudly, interrupting her thoughts. “My name is Kay and I’ll be your co-guide today. If you haven’t already, please don your wetsuits and get your gear ready to test. We’re going to head to Dog Island, which is one of the most popular dive sites in all of the British Virgin Islands. There, you’ll be able to explore underwater sea mounts, huge coral canyons, a plane wreck, and with moderate waters today, an abundance of marine life.”

Cali removed her shorts and because of her petite size was able to easily find a wetsuit that fit. She had all of her other gear next to her and while waiting for further instructions, she continued to listen to Kay.

“Dog Island is about a fifteen to twenty-minute boat ride from our dive shop. The location is perfect for divers of all levels. The marine life you should expect to see includes turtles, stingrays, angel and trumpet fish, barracuda, and on occasion, a nurse shark or two.”

Someone in the boat gasped at the mention of a shark, but she hoped that she did see one. There was no way she wanted to be face to face with a great white, bull or tiger shark, but a smaller one from the nurse variety sounded exciting. Kay was still talking about other marine life common to this area, so she started to inspect her equipment. She’d been subjected to a two-hour video on the dangers of scuba diving, but wouldn’t let those freak occurrences stop her from having a good time. The only thing that would’ve made this excursion better was the inclusion of Xavier and Zane, but she wouldn’t even allow their absence to put a damper on her high spirits.

When Kay finally stopped talking, Tony came by to check on the equipment and tell everyone how to put it on correctly. Calista thought she’d remembered everything her instructor in Boston had told her but forgot something about the regulator. It was a good thing he was here to help or else that could’ve been disastrous. Eventually, they’d reached their destination, and she noticed two other boats nearby. Hopefully there wouldn’t be too many people in the water. This would most likely be the only time she’d ever go scuba diving in her lifetime and didn’t relish the thought of having to share it with too many other swimmers.

“If everyone would take their places on the side of the boat,” Kay and Tony both told everyone, and Cali quickly followed their instructions. “We’re going to practice underwater breathing first. If you will, place your head in the water.”

Cali had gone through this during her certification, and this time remembered the regulator, and as the group practiced clearing water from the masks and attachable parts, both her nervousness and excitement grew. She was actually about to jump into the middle of the ocean. Holy fuck! She forced herself to remain calm, repeating the actions over and over until the guides were certain that everyone had the breathing techniques down.

Finally, they were given the all clear, and she lowered herself into the water. What was always described as the silent underwater world was anything but that when she was fully submerged in the sea. She could hear the loud bubbling sounds of her own breaths but once she calmed herself down, could focus on the small schools of tropical fish swimming by. Unable to resist temptation, she reached out and touched the fins of a yellow and purple one, causing it to dart off. She giggled and once again was greeted by a loud gurgling sound.

Despite her surroundings, she was calm and followed her guides and the other passengers as they descended to a lower depth. Almost immediately. Cali could see the various bright colors of the coral and multitude of fish darting in and out of every available crevice. The reef itself stretched as far as she could see from left to right. It was truly a magical experience. Wanting to get closer, she simply swam down. Her body felt light and provided the same sort of weightless sensation she felt the night before when suspended by rope in the Dominants’ villa.

She continued to swim alongside the others, careful not to touch the coral, and time seemed to stand still. By the time Kay and Tony had pointed up in instruction for everyone to return to the boat, she’d also seen a few eels, reef squid, crabs, and even an octopus. This was truly an experience she’d always remember. As everyone ascended toward the surface of the water, she finally saw what looked like a nurse shark swimming a few feet below them. It was completely unfazed by their presence, not even showing the slightest curiosity as to who the masked intruders were, before it disappeared.

And just like that, it was over. She broke the surface of the water at the same time as everyone else, and they all scrambled onto the boat. The other vessels that were there when they’d first arrived were now gone and it was only the Rapture bobbing in the small waves. She removed her scuba gear and had to peel the wetsuit off. When all the equipment was placed back into the plastic crates, she watched as Kay did a head count. It appeared that everyone had made it back to the boat, so Tony gave the captain the all clear.

Cali expected the motor to roar to life but nothing happened. After the afternoon she’d just had, the first thing she wanted to do was get back to the resort and tell Xavier and Zane all about it. She looked expectantly at Kay, who by this time had a worried expression on her face. The two guides were talking amongst each other, using hand motions to emphasize key points in whatever they were talking about. While they handled the situation, she grabbed her towel from her bag and began to dry herself off. The sun from above was still warm and helped in that endeavor. She’d finished with the task and then placed her towel back inside her bag as Kay approached the small group of them.

“We’re having mechanical issues with the boat right now. We’ve called the dive shop and asked that another be sent out here to us,” she explained. It was unfortunate, but Cali still didn’t get why she was still so upset. It sounded like the crisis was averted, unless there was something else that she hadn’t mentioned.

Before Cali could even think up other doomsday scenarios, a loud rumble of thunder sounded from above, and she now knew what had caused the panic in the other woman’s face.

“There’s a patch of rough weather expected, so we’d like to go over the safety instructions once again.” Kay continued to ramble on about life preservers and emergency rafts, but Cali was more focused on the rapidly darkening skies.

The thunder continued to rumble and flashes of lightning streaked across the sky. Great! So much for a magical afternoon. The waves picked up in intensity, causing the boat to rock. She remembered Kay telling them that Dog Island was about fifteen to twenty minutes from the dive shop, so hopefully the rescue boat would be here soon. Another loud clap sounded above her and then the skies opened up. Large, heavy raindrops pelted the entire group. When everyone else grabbed a life jacket, Cali did too.

She quickly put it on, hoping that she wouldn’t have to go into the water because the boat had capsized or sunk. Tony told everyone to huddle together, so she scooted down her seat to join the rest. The rain was cold, and the speed in which it fell felt like small darts bouncing off her skin. This would be the perfect weather to have when lying in bed, reading a book. Unfortunately for her, she wasn’t in bed, she was in the middle of the fucking ocean in a thirty-nine-foot boat that had broken down. Larger waves crashed against the still vessel, occasionally splashing the group with their spray.

Cali shivered and pulled the strap of her life jacket tighter. She also sent up a few silent prayers all the while cursing her assurances to Xavier earlier that morning. She wasn’t all right and with every passing second, she became more scared. Mentally backspacing her thought, she realized that ‘scared’ wasn’t quite the right word. When another loud crack of thunder boomed followed by a deadly streak of light, she realized that ‘fucking terrified’ fit much better.

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