wind. She hoped he’d find every artifact from the Pride, even if that meant she’d have less time with him and the time they’d get together had to be at the spur of the moment. Wasn’t that another part of loving someone? Wanting them to have everything they’d ever dreamed of?
Her hair whipped across her face, and Zev slid his hand along her forehead, threading his fingers into her hair along her scalp, pushing it away from her face and holding it there. He stepped closer, his eyes holding hers as he said, “I love you, Carls.” He said it so passionately, it almost sounded like it held more of a message.
“I love you, too. Are you okay? I know you’re nervous about me getting overwhelmed, but I’m going to be fine.”
“I’m better than I’ve ever been. I know you’ll be okay.” His grip on her hair tightened as he brought his face closer to hers and lowered his voice to say, “It’s just that you’re here, and we’re about to dive for our treasure. How many stars had to align for us to come together again? For us to be in this moment? I feel so damn lucky I want to shout it out to the world.”
He pressed his lips to hers, and she thought, I want to shout it, too.
“Are we going to dive or make out?” Ford asked.
“I’m starting to think you’re jealous,” Randi said.
“Give us a sec.” Zev grabbed his phone and said, “Remember-when picture?”
Her heart leapt. “Yes!” As he lifted the phone to take a selfie, she knew it wouldn’t matter if they’d taken a picture or not. Like all the other things they’d ever done together, she’d never forget a second of this trip, because every minute with Zev was unforgettable. After he took the picture, she said, “I just want you to know that this has already been an unforgettable experience, and even if we don’t find anything down there, this has already been the best adventure of my life.”
“Every day with you is the best adventure of my life,” Zev said. “It always has been.”
Ford gave them a hurry-up look, but he was smiling. Carly knew he was happy for his friend. She put her face next to Zev’s, both of them grinning as he took a selfie.
“Get in here, you two,” Zev said, waving Randi and Ford over.
“Maybe we’ll get a place on the sacred Goonies collage!” Randi said as she put her arm around Carly and Ford put his arm around Zev.
Zev took the picture and said, “Let the hunting begin!”
They put on their equipment and went in search of treasure.
ZEV HELD ON to the handles on either side of the magnetometer, while keeping his eye on Carly to make sure she was okay as they made their way toward the ocean floor. Ford was on her other side. He’d given Ford strict instruction that if they got into trouble, Carly’s safety came first. Zev had always worried about her, but nothing compared to what he felt now that he knew what it was like to be without her.
Carly gave him a thumbs-up as she descended into the cold, dark depths of the sea. He’d purposefully taken her down a good distance from where they’d blasted the seafloor so she would have a few minutes to explore areas that hadn’t been affected by the blast. He was glad he’d thought ahead, because as excited as she was to get to the site, watching her explore was his best adventure yet. He reached for his underwater camera clipped to his equipment, capturing her beauty as she touched rocks, crustaceans, and everything else she could get her pretty little hands on. She picked up a starfish, eyes wide as she pointed to it, posing for the picture. Even underwater excitement radiated off her.
Behind her Ford was keeping watch in the murky water.
Zev was acutely aware of their time limit, but after a minute or two, Ford mimed tapping his foot. He was ready to get moving. Zev was anxious to see what they’d find, too, even though he’d already found his real treasure. He gave Carly another few seconds before getting her attention and pointing in the direction of the site. As they swam across the ocean floor, he took great pleasure in how his thoughts had changed from I, my, and alone to we, our, and together.
The seabed surrounding the crater looked like a whole different world with the natural ocean