Alone Together • JJ Maybank

Nine.

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Pope shut off the engine just as we saw the faint outline of the wreck glimmering below the surface. "And, that's about the gist of it." He looked towards me with a smile.

"OK, you're a terrible teacher, Pope. I didn't get any of that." I laughed, nudging his side as I sat next to him behind the wheel. He had been talking me through the basics of how to drive a boat the whole journey here and I was honestly really interested to begin with. But after one too many technical terms that I had no idea the meaning of, I mentally switched off, not having the heart to tell him as he seemed so excited to teach me.

I watched as the smile on his face dropped to a frown. "Maybe you're just a bad student." He mumbled.

"This one's empty." Kiara's voice caught my attention as she sat at the front of the boat beside John B. "You took empty tanks!" She exhaled deeply as she picked up the other tank to check. "OK, this one's a quarter full. Enough for one of us." The sarcasm was clear in her voice.

I looked at John B who remained silent like a naughty school boy being told off. "I love it when a plan comes together." Pope sighed beside me, putting his feet up on the dash.

"Does anyone know how to dive?" Kiara asked, looking around at us.

I shrugged when she looked in my direction with a small glimmer of hope in her eyes. "I can barely swim underwater, so..."

"It's kind of a Kook sport." JJ was leaning on the side of the boat directly in front of me. I had been trying to avoid staring at him the whole journey out here, but couldn't help myself now as he spoke.

"I read about it." Pope's voice grabbed my attention again.

Kie sighed. "Great, Pope read about it, so someone's gonna die."

"You put the whole thing in your mouth and breathe. How hard can it be?" JJ looked around at all of us, desperate for any sign of encouragement.

I shook my head at him with a sympathetic smile when he looked at me. "I think it's probably harder than that."

"It is." Pope agreed with me as he explained more. "If you come up too fast, nitrogen gets into your blood and you get the bends."

"Bends, like, bend over..." A cheeky smile formed on JJ's lips as he bent forward suggestively. I laughed, causing his eyes to flicker momentarily from Pope to me.

"The bends can kill you." Pope interrupted with a matter-of-fact tone, causing JJ to stand up awkwardly with a hint of blush creeping onto his face.

"I can dive." John B stuttered, not sounding convincing at all. JJ was quick to accept his offer but Kiara and I stared at him with a mixture of confusion and concern clear on our faces.

"You serious? Since when can you dive?" Kie asked, knowing the answer.

"John B, we can find another way." I tried to get the boy to see reason, pushing my sunglasses on top of my head to get a better look at him and hoping he will change his mind.

"It's fine, I'll do it." He quickly looked away from me.

Pope dropped his legs from the dash, grabbing a lose piece of paper and rummaging around for a pen. "Let me do some calculations real quick." He muttered from beside me, but I couldn't help to notice Kie whispering under her breath to John B before moving away from him with a huff.

JJ moved closer, leaning over me as he looked at the notes Pope was jotting down on the paper. Our legs bumped together, my breath getting caught in my throat when he rested his arm on my shoulder. I tried my best to concentrate on Pope mumbling out different numbers and depths, but all I could think about was the warmth radiating from JJ's hand on my skin.