“Anyway,” Noah takes over. “Tyler and I are looking for, let’s call it a ‘diving concierge.’ We’ve both been diving any number of times, and we’re hooked. But our schedules are super unpredictable with filming and last-minute flights to L.A. and shit. We’ve used local charters in the past, but it’s a pain in the ass and their boats are shitty.”
“So, you need a local dive guide with a wide-open schedule, it sounds like.”
Tyler points to me. “My man gets it. We want to be able to do our thing wherever, whenever, without all that bullshit of calling ahead days before. I like to go with the flow, you feel me?”
Oh, I feel something.
“Oh! And night dives,” Noah chimes in. “We want night dives at the cool places, not just the usual spots offered by the one local company that’ll even take you.”
I know exactly what they’re talking about. In fact, the issues they mentioned are some of the ones I want to provide solutions to with my own business. But it’s not that easy.
“All this sounds, great, guys, but I’ve got to be honest. I don’t have a boat yet.” Not to mention equipment, gear, a license, insurance—you know, minor stuff.
Jill grabs my arm and gives me a big smile. “That’s the best part. Noah has a boat and a captain or driver or whatever already. He just needs a guide for diving.”
“Forty-two-footer. Only sleeps four, but it works for me. She’s in a slip at the St. James Marina when I’m working out here.”
I flick my eyes to Jill and then the guys. I have no idea if they’re solid or a couple of fucknuts, but they need a dive guide and I need a job, no matter how small.
“Tell him the best part,” Jill says, still holding onto my arm.
“Oh, right,” Noah says. “J.J. said you’re looking to start your own full-time sitch. We know a ton of people around here who could use the same kind of set-up we’re talking about. You know Dallas Bradley from Park, Ride, Repeat?”
I nod because I’m thinking they already assume I’m a fan of their show, in addition to all their friends’ shows.
“He and his girlfriend have a boat a few slips down from mine, and they’re looking for somebody local too.”
“Sounds amazing.” I feel a bit like I’m having an out-of-body experience because this kind of thing never happens. If you want something, you need to scrape and crawl and toil to get even a foothold, and even then it’s a crapshoot. Things don’t just appear out of nowhere on a platter for the taking. At least not in my world.
I turn to Jill and can’t keep the grin from my face. She’s smiling her sunshine smile, and another glance at Noah and Tyler says all three of us are drinking her Kool-Aid.
“So, got any plans tomorrow night?” Noah holds his hand out to me again, and I shake it.
“Nothing much. Just a night dive with my two new clients.” It’s smiles all around as we all shake on it—well, Tyler fist bumps me and slaps my bad shoulder, but I take it like a man. We exchange information and iron out a couple more details before the guys have to go to “makeup.”
As soon as they’re out of sight, Jill pulls me to the other side of some scaffolding and bounces up and down before hugging me again. “Can you believe it?”
My grin is no doubt goofy as hell. “Actually, no. How did you manage to pull that off?”
She twirls a strand of hair with her finger, and it doesn’t escape my attention that, with that outfit, that hair twirl, and that smile, she is the definition of temptation. “I have my ways.”
I’m not sure how to feel about that, but she continues before my thoughts go off the rails.
“I heard them talking about missing a dive they were supposed to go on, and we got to chatting. I immediately thought of you, of course, and it all just came together.”
“I don’t know how to thank you. This is unbelievable.” I grab her upper arms, and she smiles up at me, her eyes going wider.
“And I didn’t even tell you the other news yet.”
“How can there possibly be more?”
“I know, right. But the casting director told me this morning that Noah wants me flown out to L.A. to audition for an even better role than the one she told me about in the first place. Eek!”
“Wow.” I blink a couple times. “Congratulations.” I’m careful not to voice any of my doubts or warnings and try to just be happy for her like she asked me to. It’s not as hard as I thought it would be.
“I mean, it’s not a huge role or anything, but I think I’d get to be at the end of the opening credits on some of the episodes. Can you imagine?” She’s an open book, giving me all her thoughts and wishes and dreams with just that smile. This girl is evidence that the world can be good and right and beautiful. That my world can be that way if I just open myself to the possibility. I want to tell her that she’s changing my life, making me a better person, giving me something I never thought I deserved with just her friendship alone. And I need her sunshine.
But a voice from the other side of the room calls a group number, and Jill’s lips part. “Oh! That’s me. I gotta go.” She goes up on tiptoe and plants a kiss on my cheek. “Things are all working out, Milo. For both of us.”
She rushes off in her short skirt, and I make my way to the hallway again and back to The Rock where, for some reason I don’t understand yet, I ask him to keep an eye on Tinkerbell for me.
“Perfect night for a dive.” Bran sets an air tank into its slot on the cart and closes his tailgate.
“I called ahead,” I joke as I take the far handle and start pulling the cart across the marina parking lot. Bran mans the rear, and we head toward the slip where Noah said his boat would be waiting.
Since I’m not familiar with Noah and Tyler’s level of experience, I told them I’d be bringing a fourth so everyone had a buddy, at least for this first dive. I prefer even numbers, but if everyone is experienced, responsible, and on the same page, three can work in the future. The guys have their own dive gear, which is either a good sign that they have some experience, or just a sign that they have cash to burn. I guess I’ll find out which it is later. Bran insisted on renting his own gear, but I sprang for the air tank rentals for all of us. With what these guys are paying, it won’t be an issue.
The first sign I get that I’ll be earning my money is the half-empty bottle of vodka sitting on a table next to two shot glasses when we board the boat. I’m aware that my most recent dive involved both liquor and drugs, but we all saw how that worked out, didn’t we? I decide to play it by ear and make introductions all around. But Bran already knows who both Noah and Tyler are without the introduction. Thankfully, he manages not to go all fangirl on them. I, however, plan on giving him all sorts of shit later about his secret man-crush on a certain pair of crime-solving vampires. I can’t believe he watches that shit.
It’s when I’m checking everyone’s gear that the second sign rears its ugly head.
“Hey, Milo,” Noah calls out from his seat across the aft lounge. “What’s the deal with you and J.J.?”
I don’t miss the look Bran shoots me. He and Jill haven’t met, but he’s heard me talk about her, and I’m guessing he’s read a little too much into it.