10. Stevens

TEN

Stevens

We can only sense that

in the deep and turbulent recesses of the sea

are hidden mysteries

far greater than any we have solved.

~ R. Carson

I ’m sitting on my sailboat in the harbor admiring some rare underwater shots my friend sent me of the Pacific Hagfish Eptatretus stoutii. It’s a primitive fish that lives below 600 feet and often far deeper. Gene and I went to grad school together. He’s into mixed-air tank diving to extreme depths. He sends me shots like this out of the blue every few months. I’m never disappointed.

I’m so focused on the photos I barely notice Ben climbing aboard my boat.

“Hey, man. What’s up?” he asks.

“Hey. Just looking at some photos a friend sent me.”

“Photos of … a girl? His dog? His vacation?”

I turn my phone around and Ben’s face is priceless .

He rears his head back and an expression of disgust overtakes his features. “What is that thing?”

“It’s a Pacific Hagfish. Otherwise known as a slime eel.”

“And your friend sent you this pic?”

“Yes.”

“Time to get some new friends, my man. That’s not the kind of pic friends send friends.”

I chuckle. Then I decide to have some fun.

“The slime eel has five stomachs.”

“For what?”

“Digestion, of course. And …” I wait for maximum impact. “They can emit a bucket-full of slime instantaneously when they are frightened or threatened.”

“Dude! Gross! And you wonder why you’re single. There are some things that should just not be discussed. Even between friends. Buckets of slime are definitely in that category. You do wonder why you’re single, don’t you? If not, I don’t. Not anymore.”

He’s shaking his head and smiling, but then he shudders and says, “Gross, Dude! Gross!” while he flicks his hands as if they have slime on them, followed by a dramatic demonstration where he sticks his tongue out in sheer disgust.

“Man. How do you expect me to even get in the ocean after your slimy overshare?”

I’m laughing. I flash Ben another photo. I’m an older brother. I know how to poke fun when I’m getting a reaction out of someone younger than me. And this? This is more entertaining than it should be.

“This isn’t funny, man.” Ben makes a disgusted face again, but then he smiles and shrugs off his reaction. “I’m going to have nightmares of that creature sliming all over me. And to think. I came here to apologize for teasing you about your fanboy crush on Alana Graves.”

My laughter dies down at the mention of her name .

“Uh huh. That’s what I thought.” Ben points at me. “You need to put that phone away.”

If he only knew I spent two whole hours with Alana yesterday.

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t just show me the world's weirdest creature right now, and do what I came to do.”

“That isn’t the world’s weirdest creature by a long shot,” I assure Ben.

“You need to get out a bit more, Stevens. I’m not kidding. Get a dog. Date someone—preferably a human.”

“Is that what you came to say?” I stand and walk to the mini fridge in my cabin. “Want something to drink?”

“Do you have pop?”

“I do.” I grab a soda and bring it up to Ben. “Sorry. I … nah. I’m not sorry.” I laugh again.

“You’ve got a dark side, bro. I never knew. You actually enjoyed making me squirm like that.”

“I did. I’ll admit it.”

Ben chuckles and opens his can. “Look, I know I teased you about Alana, but I don’t want you to miss out on meeting her just because I was being … well, me. Summer’s serious. If you want to meet Alana, we’ll invite her over to a barbecue or something. Just say the word.” He pauses. “But you can’t talk about that stink eel with Alana—at all.”

“Slime eel.”

“Whatever. That gigantic sea worm is not up for discussion. Talk about … normal things. Her movies. Your … nah. Just her movies, I think we’re safe there.”

“I appreciate the offer, and you coming out here. I really do. I think I’m good, though.”

“She’s really not that intimidating. Just keep it in mind.”

She is one hundred percent that intimidating. At least, she was at first. On the boat ride home I managed to keep things quiet and chill so she could unwind. She looked like whatever happened in LA took the wind out of her sails, so I just put the boat in motion and did the job I was hired to do.

“I will keep it in mind. Thanks. Want to take the boat out for a bit?”

“Nope. I’ve got to go. Summer gets really tired these days, so I’m cooking her dinner tonight. I’ve got to stop by the store to pick a few things up and then I’m going back for a few lessons before I cut out for the day.”

“You’re a good man, Ben.”

“I’d say the same about you … but, then there’s the whole showing your friends inappropriate underwater pics …” He laughs.

Ben hangs around a little longer. I don’t taunt him with photos of creatures who live on the ocean floor. Instead, I ask how he feels about becoming a dad and he gushes. I know I’m smiling the whole time. He’s going to be a fun father, for sure. His heart’s all in for his family, as it should be.

My phone pings with a text.

“Just a second.” I hold my finger up to Ben while I check my cell.

Brigitte : Layna needs a last-minute ride over to LA this afternoon.

This afternoon? It’s already mid-morning.

Stevens : When does she need to leave?

Brigitte : As soon as you can be ready .

Stevens : Give me an hour to clean up and meet her at the dock.

Brigitte: Done. And, thanks! (and, just a reminder to delete this conversation now).

Stevens : Gotcha. Doing that.

I hit send and then erase the message thread .

“Who was that?” Ben asks.

“Uh … Oh. Work.”

“You leaving us again for a few days?”

“No. Nah. Just gotta run over to Ventura for a thing. And then I’ll be back tonight.”

“A thing, huh? Don’t you sound all mysterious.”

“Uh. Yeah. I guess. Well, I better run. Thanks for coming by.”

“It was good to hang out … all except that eel thing …” He makes a face. “But seriously, if you want to meet Alana, please let me know and I’ll have Summer work something out. It’s not every day a man gets the opportunity to meet one of his Hollywood faves. You should take us up on it.”

“Yeah. Right. Maybe.”

“Okay. Well, travel safely. I’ll see you around.”

“You too. I mean, I’ll see you around. Not travel safely, since you’re walking home and then walking back to the shack. So, safety’s not exactly an issue for you … Yeah. I’ll see you, Ben.”

Ben shakes his head at me and turns to walk away.

He looks back over his shoulder and adds, “I recommend the less is more approach in front of Alana to be safe, though. I’ll carry the conversation if we end up getting her to come over.”

“Yeah. Agreed.”

Ben leaves. I take off right after he does. Less than an hour later I’m on Joel’s boat, waiting for Alana as if I meet her every day of my life. No biggie.

She comes speed walking down the dock and starts talking to me before she even tosses me her duffle. “Thank you. I know this is last minute. I hope you weren’t doing something more important.”

“Than driving you? No.” I shake my head. “I was just on my sailboat with a friend. Not sailing. Just hanging out at the docks.”

“Sounds lovely.”

“It was … interesting.”

Her lips turn up in a half-smile. “This, I have to hear.”

I head to the captain’s chair, fully expecting her to take the seat at the back of the boat, but she follows behind me, her curls wild from under the ball cap she’s wearing—a different one than the one she wore to art class. Her sunglasses are aviators today. They don’t do much to hide her identity, but I guess she’s only seeing me and then that massive security detail of hers. And she’s wearing a pair of jeans shorts, a white T-shirt and a loose coverup with Converse tennis shoes. Her legs are extremely distracting, so I keep my eyes trained on the ocean.

“So?” she asks once I start the engine and back up.

“So, what?”

“The story. What made your time with your friend so interesting?”

“I’m pretty sure you don’t want to know.”

“Guy stuff?”

I nearly choke on my laugh. “No. Not exactly. I just shared a few pictures a dive buddy of mine sent me. They grossed my friend out. I was teasing him with them.”

“What pictures?”

“No. Nope. I … probably deleted them.”

Alana does this thing I’ve seen her do in a movie. It’s a move I’ve memorized. It’s sexy and disorienting, and she’s doing it here, now, at me. She pinches the stem of her glasses and slowly lowers them, incrementally unveiling her crystal blue eyes one millimeter at a time. And then she’s smirking at me.

“You deleted them?” One brow pops up into a disbelieving arch.

“Okay. I didn’t. But, I’d kind of have to jump overboard and never surface if I showed you, so …”

“Come on!” she teases. “You can’t say you showed your friend a gross picture and not share it. That’s just wrong.”

“Really?”

Am I really going to show Alana Graves a slime eel?

“Yeah. Really. Hand it over. Show me the pictures.”

I guess I am. Ben would literally die. Or kill me. I grin thinking of all he said. He’s not wrong. I probably should have kept my mouth shut. Well, there’s no turning back now.

Keeping one hand on the wheel, I pull out my phone and stare at it to unlock it with facial recognition. Then I hand it over to Alana.

“It’s in my photos. Most recent pics.”

She taps a few things and then she starts laughing.

When she speaks, she surprises me. “It’s almost so ugly it’s cute.”

“Really? You’re calling a Hagfish cute? Do you know what their nickname is?”

“No. What is it?”

“They’re called slime eels.”

I hear Ben’s voice in my head shouting, Nooooooo!

“A slime eel. Do they slime things?”

She’s so serious.

“They do, actually. As a defense mechanism.”

Look at me, not mentioning the quantity. Chill out, Ben. I’ve got this.

She glances up at me from the photos. “Aren’t defense mechanisms fascinating?”

Are you serious? Alana Graves is talking with me about defense mechanisms as if we’re on a project together, studying marine life and marveling at it in a moment of shared wonder.

“They are. I think it’s fascinating to see all the ways creatures morph or adapt to defend themselves.”

I turn my head so I can keep my eyes on the water.

“I guess it’s true for us too,” she says.

“Humans?”

“Yeah. We learn to adapt and morph.”

I nod, and then I glance over at her. She’s staring off at the horizon with a pensive expression on her face. I get the feeling she’s morphed and adapted a lot over the years. Maybe she’s thinking about all the ways right now. Our conversation seems to have stalled, so I stand next to her, and we ride along to the coastline in silence for the rest of our trip.