Jaws of Love

Chapter 12

"Chief. Don't you worry about it, chief. I won't be permanent. You wanna see somethin' permanent? Bababoom? Hey, Hoop? You wanna feel somethin' permanent? Just put your hand underneath my cap. You just feel that little lump? Knockanolum. St. Patty's day. Boston."

Drunk.

Hooper, Quint, and Samantha were all drunk off their asses. Not a one of them had any sense at that particular moment.

" I got that beat." Hooper slurred. "I got that beat. It's a moray eel. Bit right through my wetsuit."

Samantha snorted. "You two are a bunch of little girls." She grinned. Carefully she pulled the bottom of her shirt up to reveal a large circular scar. It was the shape of a sharks jaw.

If you looked closely you could easily tell that chunks of her flesh had been torn off when this particular attack happened.

Hoopers eyes widened as he looked at the huge scar covering most of her ribcage. That was definitely not there in college.

"Great White." She said lazily, tracing some of the scar with her finger. "Marty was there when it happened."

Martin grimaced. "Don't remind me."

Quint continued to talk about an arm wrestling contest he had lost, but Samantha decided to walk outside on the devil of the boat.

She looked out on the ocean, letting  the wind whip her hair around as she stood there. It was quiet, and it was peaceful.

After a few minutes, she felt someone standing beside her. She turned to see Hooper looking out into the distance.

"How did it happen?" He asked, never looking back to her. "The scar."

She sucked in a breath, looking away. "I had convinced Martin to come fishing with me a few yards off shore. It was just the two of us." Hooper looked at her for a moment studying her face.

"What happened?"

"I decided I wanted to go for a swim. So... I put on my swimsuit and jumped in the water. What I didn't realize... was that there was a whale carcass a few yards away. There was a White feeding on it. When I jumped in he sensed the splashing. It all happened so quickly I don't remember what happened."

Samantha turned to look at Hooper. "They had to revive me twice that day. Martin had to pull me out of the water." She looked down at her side. "It's been two years and every time I see a White i feel so..."

"I know." Hooper nodded. "It's ok. You don't always have to be the big brave Marine Biologist."

"I almost quit my job." She sighed. "I ended up just switching to specialize in Whale Sharks. But when they started tracking this shark... of course they decided to call me in."

Hooper looked at where her hand sat on the edge of the boat. Slowly he took it, gently lacing their fingers together.

She looked up, meeting his eyes. "It's not the same anymore... is it?"

Hooper glanced at their intertwined hands, knowing what she meant. "It could be." He turned to face her, taking her other hand in his. "We could be."

"Matt..."

"Try." He pleaded. His finger hooked under her chin, bringing her lips closer to his. "Please."

"What if I get hurt again?" Her drunken state made her ask exactly what she wanted to know.

"You won't." He whispered. Their lips were so close, it was almost painful.

"Promise-."

The boat jerked, interrupting them. Hooper grabbed Samantha, steadying her from falling. "I've got you."

She stood up on her own. "Cmon we've got to see what's wrong."

It was like the moment they had shared only a few seconds ago was forgotten by Samantha. Hooper couldn't lie, it hurt, seeing her change the way she acted towards him so fast. But what could he do?

"Start the engines. Fire her up!" Quint instructed. Samantha nodded,  climbing up to the bridge.

"Busted a shaft." She heard Hooper say.

She watched as the three men walked out on the deck, and she followed soon after. She turned to look at Hooper but a gunshot startled her, causing her to whip her head around to look at Quint.

"Excuse me. Quint, what are you doing? Don't waste your time, Quint! Come on!" Hooper protested as Quint shot at the shark.

"I'm gonna have a horrible hangover." Samantha grumbled.

Martin looked at her. "I'm not holding your hair back."