Shark Lover (18 page)

“No
problem, looking forward to next week.” Marc put his hand out for Chris to
shake.

“Same
here.” Chris shook his hand firmly and then dug in his backpack for his keys.
He started walking to his car with a quick pace and a determined look on his
face. Marc could tell that he was in a hurry to get home to work on those
lesson plans. Anyone could see that Chris was truly devoted to Shark Savors and
the community as a whole. Marc was impressed that he had built this
organization with his own two hands based on a dedication that he had to marine
life.

As
Chris got into his large green jeep, Marc couldn’t help but to be a little
envious of him. Even though Chris’s original plans hadn’t gone as he had
expected in the military, he had come out of it stronger and with an idea of
what he wanted to do with his life. He hadn’t let the injury stop him from
doing something else and he had found a new path in life. Similar things had
happened in Marc’s life, but he had had a hard time recovering. He had wanted
to be a surfer for most of his life, but when that plan fell through he did
have the plans to become a marine biologist. Chris had given up his job in the
Marines due to an injury, Marc hadn’t even had an injury to prevent him from
surfing. But for some reason he had just given up on it.

Of
course he knew the reason, but now it didn’t even seem like a good one. His
father probably would have wished he would have become a professional surfer
like he had. He might have even been disappointed to see Marc living a life not
doing something that he was truly meant to do. Marc did love marine biology,
but after seeing Chris and Cathy talking passionately about it, he just didn’t
know if he felt the same way. He did love the ocean and he did enjoy studying
the marine animals, but he wasn’t sure if it was meant to be his path in life.
He needed and wanted to figure out what he wanted to do with his life. Anytime
he thought about that, it always drew him to the same conclusion. That he
needed to surf again.

For
the first time in a long time, he actually wanted to surf again. The timing
actually felt right. The last time he had surfed was with Tony when he was back
in high school and he realized that he missed it. Maybe he would call up Tony
later and ask him to go surfing with him again. His best friend would probably
be surprised at his request since he had refused to surf with him for years and
years. Recently he had started thinking of taking up surfing again and he
wanted to act on this quickly before he ended up changing his mind again like
he had so many times before in the past.

Out
of the corner of his eye, he saw Chris driving out of the parking lot. He
looked as if he had a lot on his mind and Marc could understand why. It
probably wasn’t easy running a non-profit organization all on your own. He knew
Chris had many volunteers to help him, but it probably got exhausting running
the organization on his own most of the time. Chris really put his heart and
soul into Shark Savors and anyone could tell that he really cared about his
company. Chris waved to them and smiled as he zoomed out of the parking lot in
a hurry.

“Bye
Chris!” Cathy yelled out to him as she waved energetically.

“He’s
a great guy. I can’t believe he started this organization all on his own.” Marc
said turning to Cathy, trying to regain her attention.

“Yeah
he really is,” She said as she led Marc back to her jeep. “He’s one of the most
passionate people that I have ever known. Saving sharks really means the world
to him and he also cares a lot about saving the environment. That’s why he’s
doing all of these hydroponic growing systems. He also cares about the kids and
giving them knowledge that will help them to save their tomorrows.”

“That
would be a perfect description for him, if he ever needs a dating profile.”
Marc joked.

“Oh
I don’t think he will ever need to start a dating profile,” Cathy stated
missing the humor of Marc’s comment. “He already has tons of girls dying to go
out with him. He just never does. He keeps himself pretty busy with running
Shark Savors. He wants the organization to be top notch. He’s put a lot of time
and energy into it to make it what it is today.” She unlocked the doors and
then opened her door to the driver’s seat as Marc opened his passenger door.

“Are
you one of those girls dying to go out with him?” Marc interjected curiously.

“No,
not really. Why?” She asked with a confused expression on her face as she
started driving her jeep back to the dock so Marc could pick up his car.

“It’s
just that you two have so much in common. I don’t understand why you never
thought about dating him. I mean he’s good looking right? And he’s into marine
life and he’s a vegetarian. He’s kind of like your dream man.” Marc said as he
blew a breath out, not really anxious to hear her answer.

“You’re
silly. You’re my dream man. We have a lot in common too. We both are in marine
biology and we have a love for the ocean. We can talk about anything. You’re kind
of like my best friend and lover all in one. It’s pretty much perfect.” She
said smiling at him. She grabbed his hand and kissed it.

“That’s
a good answer. You’re perfect too. Almost too perfect to be true. I don’t know
how I got so lucky.” He said with honesty.

“Hmmmm,
I don’t either.” She joked sticking her tongue out at him.

“That’s
not very nice.” He replied by sticking his tongue out back at her.

“You
know I am just joking. This has been the best relationship that I have ever
had. We have open communication and every day that I am with you, I just feel
happy. It just feels right. I don’t know how to explain it, but I feel in my
heart that you are who I am supposed to be with.” She said bringing the
conversation back to a serious note.

“I
feel the same way about you. I can’t get enough of you. When I am with you, I
do feel whole again. You make me happy too. We are meant for each other. At
least I think we are,” He said with rectitude, before adding, “Feel free to
disagree.” He joked again.

“No,
no I do feel the same way. I’m glad we met.” She stopped the jeep right by his
car so he could easily exit. “I had fun today. I look forward to next
Saturday.”

“I’m
glad we met too.” He leaned in to kiss her. “Do I have to wait until next
Saturday to see you? How about tomorrow? I had a lot of fun too.”

“Oh,
I just meant I looked forward to doing this again next Saturday. And sure, I
would love to do something. Text me with the plans.”

“Deal,”
He hopped out of her jeep and opened his car door. “Have a good rest of your
day. I will call you later.”

“Great!
Looking forward to it. Bye!” She waved as she drove off onto the sunset. Today
had been a successful day. She had finally found a guy who truly made her
happy. He didn’t judge her, he could handle her dangerous ways and he actually
kept her in line. Marc was the type of guy that she needed in her life. She
felt lucky to have someone who understood her for who she was. She looked out
at the palm trees blowing in the distance and realized that she felt calm as
well as happy. Marc made her feel complete and he brought true joy in her life.
She had finally met the type of guy that her father would have wanted her to
have.

            The
following day was as blissful as any other day was with Marc. He had called
Cathy late last night and had asked her to join him on a walk on the beach. She
had been excited about his call and had gratefully accepted the invitation.
Even though they had been dating a while, every day was something different and
was always exciting. She usually got bored with most guys after some time, but
she couldn’t see herself getting tired of Marc. He was easy-going, calm and
knew how to hold her back when she needed it. She was appreciative to have
someone like him in her life.

The
sun rose gracefully as Marc led her down the beach. He held her close to his
body with his arm wrapped around her waist. She loved how he always wanted her
to be close to him. The way he held her was touching. He held her like he never
wanted to let her go. And she didn’t want him to ever let her go. She had never
been this in love in her life. Not even with Jason. Things were a lot different
with Marc then they were with Jason. Marc understood her and her needs. He
always put her first and he didn’t seem like a guy who would blow her off for
another girl. He was a loyal man from what she had seen of him so far.

 They
whispered gleefully to each other as passer byers admired their love and
affection for each other. Cathy loved when Marc whispered in her ear. He would
always tell her that he loved her. It made her feel like the one of the most
special girls in the world. This was what love was supposed to feel like, she
thought to herself. Marc made her feel perfect, even though he knew her flaws.
He still was in love with her and wanted to be with her. She couldn’t ask for
much more. They had walked nearly a mile when Cathy suddenly stopped in her
tracks.

“Let’s
go in the water. It looks so clear and beautiful. I want to swim.” She
whispered in his ear with delight.

“I
don’t know Cathy, it’s always cold this time of morning. Plus the tide is high,
it’s dangerous.” He answered cautiously.

“Are
you scared?” She poked at his chest making him squirm. “It’s just a little
water. I’m hot, we have been walking for miles. Come on, you know it would be
fun once we got in.”

“I
don’t want anything to happen to you.” He held her face and turned her chin so
that her blue eyes were staring into his. “I really care about you. Let’s go
back to my place and I will make you some breakfast. I can make you eggs,
toast, waffles, pancakes or whatever you want.”

She
laughed with pleasure. “Thanks for the offer.” She said as she threw off her
dress and sported a light blue bikini. “But I want to swim.” She grabbed his
face and kissed him briskly. “And I get what I want.”

She
ran into the ocean with delight and dove into the first wave as Marc stood
there and looked after her.

“Cathy!”
He yelled out loudly into the desperate air. She had already gotten too far
away to be in earshot of his calls.

She
turned around briefly and signaled with her hand to come join her. He sighed
and took off his shirt as he eased his way into the small waves, watching her
in the distance crash through the big ones. He swore she was part angel and
part danger. She had a way with him. He would always end up giving in. He was
so enticed by her, he couldn’t seem to find the answer to stop it and maybe he
didn’t want to. She was so difficult to please, reminding him of another time
in his life.

“Dad,
please don’t make me do this. I don’t wanna do this! I really, really, really
don’t want to do this.” Marc cried as he looked up at his dad with plea in his
eyes.

“Marc,
this is for your own benefit. Your skills will improve if you can accomplish
this task.”

“Dad,
I’m scared! Please don’t make me do this.” He wiped a tear from his eye.

“Marc,
they won’t hurt you. Come here, let me show you.” His father picked him up and
brought him closer to the water.

“They
look weird Dad. I don’t want to touch them.” He made a funny face. “Dad, I
don’t want to be a surfer anymore. Can we just go home?”

Marc
looked down at the bottom of the clear blue pool of water and shivered. He held
his arms as his bodysuit wrinkled tightly around his body. He stared at his
surroundings wondering how everyone else could be so happy about this. He was
scared out of his mind. Looking at his flippers touch the ground, he thought to
himself, ‘I just want to go home.’ As he picked his feet up off the ground and
headed toward the pool he saw a dark gray fin approaching him. It came closer
and closer and closer to where he was standing. He jumped back and let out a
shrill scream.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
It’s going to eat me!” He yelled at the top of his lungs as he ran away from
the swimmers’ pool.

“Marc!
They’re only dolphins, they aren’t going to hurt you! Wait, Son! You’re running
into the women’s restroom!” His father cried as he chased after his 5 year old
son.

He
grabbed Marc right before he pushed his way into the women’s restroom. A lady
with her two daughters gave him an odd, cold look as she brushed passed him to
the entrance.

“Sir,
this is the women’s restroom. You need to take your son over to the men’s. It’s
just around the corner to the left.” She stated with ease as she pushed through
the door with her girls. “Come along girls, now this is an example of how NOT
to behave in the theme park.” She rolled her eyes and shut the door behind her.
“Parents just can’t control their kids these days.”

His
father sighed. “Well I guess I won’t be receiving the Father of the Year Award
this year Son.” He hugged Marc tightly. “Please Son come back to the pool. I
promise that the dolphins won’t lay a tooth on you. They are friendly
creatures.”

“But
why do I have to do this Dad? I don’t understand how this will help me surf any
better.”

“Well
Son, I have noticed that you are pretty scared of marine creatures. This is one
of your big fears. If you can face this fear, you won’t have any fears when
you’re out there surfing the seas. I want you to be able to face all your fears
in life. This is just the start.”