"I must have gone insane."
What was I thinking?
She could not believe he had tricked her into joining him in this thrilling adventure. "I should never have listened to you, Lucas." She shouted while catching her breath.
She was never careless. She always had a good head on her shoulders. But at that moment, she let him drag her along with his plans without thinking.
"Just relax and enjoy it." He encouragingly replied as he leaned on the boat railings while he watched her submerge half of her body in the deep water. "Let go of your fears."
It was easy for him to say when he was not the one on the spot. She was not an adrenaline junkie. She had never dared to do dangerous stuff until today.
She never even broke the speed limit, afraid to be stopped by the police. She always prided herself on being a good girl, never breaking the rules.
"I don't think I can do it." She was having second thoughts as she stared at the cage around her.
The thick steel bars were supposed to protect her from the sharks's attacks. But still, it did not give her comfort as the thought of those sharp teeth tearing her flesh plagued her mind.
"Yes, you can." He suddenly bent down on his knees and reached for her, tapping her on her chin. "I know you are strong and brave. Besides, sharks are harmless. Your fear is just in your mind."
She did not know why or what happened. But she suddenly believed him. She found his words reassuring as she completely let go of the handle and started submerging under the water in the middle of the cage.
At first, she could not see anything as her eyes adjusted to the slightly opaque water. But a few seconds later, she noticed the movement in her left peripheral vision.
Damn! It's scary.
She wanted to scream, but the oxygen mask on her mouth prevented her from doing so. Instead, she could only intensely swallow and pant heavily for air as she worked on overcoming her fear.
Calm down!
She could only make it worse by panicking as she slowed her movements. Then, she focused her eyes on the shark coming her way.
Face your fears. See! Nothing to it!
She urged herself to relax and enjoy the show. After all, it was all it was. "Your fears could not hurt you." Suddenly, her husband's voice echoed inside her head.
He was right.
She never thought his voice and his words would make her feel safe. But it did. Despite his cold demeanor toward her, his presence had always been her haven for some inexplicable reason.
She monitored a shark as it swam closer. So far, she did not find it threatening as it just minded its business. Then, another one appeared. But just like the other one, it did not seem to care about her presence.
"You see, Andy! It was not that bad." He shouted when she came out of the water, alive and still kicking. At least she still had all her flesh intact the last time she checked.
"Let me see if you can do better than I did." She challenged him, convinced he was no better than her.
As far as she could remember, her husband never had time for fun. He was a workaholic. Aside from being married to her, he was also married to his job.
"I guess it is my turn." Her husband checked his gear before jumping into the water without hesitation.
Instead of going to the cage, to her surprise, he dived into the open water with the sharks. Of course, she did not expect that.
Damn! That was bat shit crazy.
Had he lost his mind?
She could not help but be concerned for his safety. "Is that safe?" She shouted out of fear, seeing the sharks swarming around her husband.
Thankfully, her husband was not alone as the professionals swam with him. Still, she could not help but gasp every time a shark came near his vulnerable body. One bite, she believed, was all it would take before that shark shredded her husband into bits. Then, he would lose a hand or a leg. He could die.
"Don't worry, Lucas is an expert." One of the crew, handling the dive, assured her as he stood next to her. "He knows exactly what he's doing."
"Are you sure?" She could not help but feel skeptical as fear gripped her, thinking her husband might be in danger.
After a few minutes of watching him, she finally felt at ease. She supposed the man was telling her the truth as she witnessed how her husband played with the sharks as if they were his pets.
She guessed this was another part of her husband she did not know about. She always thought he was all work with no play, but clearly, she was wrong.
"That was amazing." She had to admit as she watched her husband swim back to the boat with all his limbs still in place.
"Wow! I'm impressed." She clapped her hands as her husband returned to her side with a smug smile. "I am now going to eat my words." Admitting her defeat.
Her husband, without a doubt, had outdone her. She could not imagine swimming with a shark without a cage, let alone several of them.
"So, what is next?" Oddly, she seemed to be looking forward to another venture with him. Or maybe she just liked spending time with him other than in the office.
"I thought we could hang out on Chase's boat and have lunch." He suggested, telling her that his friend offered his facilities services for their day out.
"That sounds fantastic. I guess I can eat a horse after that." She could already feel her stomach grumbling.
The fear and excitement consumed most of her energy. Now, she needed replenishment.
"And here I thought you would lose your appetite." He jokingly said.
Soon, he escorted her to a mid-scale yacht that could hold at least twenty people. But today, it was just them with the crew of five people.
"This is nice." She thought it was a welcome change from the daredevil adventure they just had earlier.
She could already feel the soothing wind blowing her hair away from her face. It was exactly what she needed.
A relaxing moment in the middle of the ocean, underneath the clear sky and the mighty sun.
"I think you deserve a break." He stood beside her by the railing as the boat sailed toward the deep sea. "I hope you like it."
Truthfully, she never thought she would enjoy his company. But she did. She never expected that he could be fun to be with.
Moreover, she never thought he had a sense of humor. "Surprisingly, I do." She confessed while staring into his eyes.