Marni by Aileen Fish & Perfect Match

Author:Aileen Fish & Perfect Match [Fish, Aileen & Match, Perfect]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aspendawn Press
Published: 2018-05-08T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

Shortly after lunch the following morning, Marni stood beside Matt on the beach wearing a snug-fitting swim mask with a snorkel stuck to its side.

Matt put his mouthpiece in his mouth and loudly sucked in air. “You ready? Let’s go.”

She tried to quell a panic attack. Swimming was fine, but relying on that little tube for air frightened her.

“What’s wrong? I promise we won’t swim out far enough to see sharks.” He held out his hand.

She took it and stepped forward, but didn’t put her snorkel in place.

He pointed to her mask. “That thing works better in your mouth.”

Forcing a weak grin, she bit down on the mouthpiece and drew in a breath. Her chest tightened, and she swore silently. She was being childish.”

“Can I help?” Matt asked. “We can stay along the shore if you prefer.”

She nodded, taking the snorkel from her mouth. “You can go out if you want, I’ll just wait here and you can tell me about it.”

He studied her for a bit. “You should have said something.”

“I did. Sharks come a lot closer to shore than the reef.”

“You really are afraid of them? Have you ever swum past where the waves break?”

“Why bother? The water’s just the same.”

Looking out at the ocean, he didn’t speak.

“Seriously. Go ahead. I’m fine here.”

Matt took her hand. “We were further out than this the other day. Come on just a little bit.”

She stepped forward. “Really, Matt, it’s not worth the time. I’m having fun.”

“Having fun arguing with me, huh?” He drew her out a few more steps. The water was only up to her waist, with small waves breaking over them and threatening to knock her over.

She took his example and bobbed over the next wave. Matt dropped his shoulders below the water. “You can pretend to be deeper than you are. Try it.”

“I went underwater last time. I’m not afraid to wade here.”

“So underwater without a snorkel is fine, but swimming on the surface with one is scary?”

Marni searched for a way to put her fears into words. “The end of the snorkel is open. When I dive down to look at the coral, what if a fish gets in there? Or some seaweed? And I can’t breathe?”

He smiled but didn’t laugh. “I can honestly say I’ve never heard of that happening.”

“That doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen.”

Adjusting his snorkel, Matt said, “We’ve got these things on, it’s a shame not to use them.” He rolled over and lowered the mask into the water.

Surely Marni could do that much without bringing on a panic attack. For her first attempt, she kept the mouthpiece out and just looked around underwater. Swirling sand made the water cloudy, so she stepped forward, then again. The water only reached her underarms, so she wasn’t panicking. Yet.

Matt stood and took out his snorkel. “What do you think?”

“There isn’t much to see here.”

“True. You have to go further to find fish.”

“That’s the problem. I want to see the fish, but not get close. I need a glass-bottom boat.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.