Kissing the Shark (Maritime Monsters #1)

Chapter 21- Karlo

CHAPTER 21- KARLO

I POINT TO the presentation on the screen, then turn back to my audience. The state senator and his entire team stand before me, so I can’t mess this up. I readjust my tie; my nicest black suit is a tad itchy, but I needed to look my best today. “And by protecting all species of shark, we keep the maritime ecosystem intact. Together with current sustainable fishing laws, we can prevent all marine wildlife populations from dwindling. With our proposal and some tax reallocation, you can quite literally have your fish and eat your sushi, too.”

This earns me a laugh, and I mentally pat myself on the back. To my left, Emma, Ardsley, and Skyler all give me supportive smiles. I click on the PC and my presentation closes.

“Any questions?”

One man in front raises a hand and I point at him. “You may be the big sea life expert, but I gotta know: how does protecting sharks protect, for example, our tuna fish?”

I nod and smile cordially. “The underwater ecosystem is a balancing act. The seaweed and kelp would go extinct if the tuna and sea turtle populations were to rise unhindered. Therefore, keeping sharks alive is in our best interest.” I clear my throat and focus on the present. “We need sharks,” I say solemnly. “They have their place, and we need to recognize that.”

The panel murmurs and whispers to each other, then quiets down. “I think there are no further questions, thank you,” the moderator says. “The senator’s office will contact you for any amendments to the bill. We have a few more presentations to get through, so if you could please exit promptly.”

I bow. “Thank you all for your time.”

The four of us make our way out of the state senate building and onto the giant marble steps. Once the doors are closed, I sag in relief. Meanwhile, Emma squeals and Skyler pulls us all into a big hug.

“Great job!” Emma says with glee.

“You nailed it, you big Filipino stud, you!” Skyler says.

“Amazing!” Ardsley says, rubbing my head.

“Thank you, thank you, but it was a team effort,” I say, giggling between everyone’s arms.

They let go and Skyler smooths out his suit. “Yes, but you spearheaded the operation! Um…no offense to any marine creatures present.”

“None taken,” Ardsley says through a chuckle. The four of us walk down the steps to the city street. The capital is about an hour away from Mareflow, so we aren’t familiar with this landlocked city.

“When we get back home, I’m buying you boys dinner,” Emma says.

“But we don’t know for sure we got it,” I say.

“Doesn’t matter. You did phenomenally. We truly made huge strides in shark research these past few months,” Emma replies.

I get to Skyler’s car and cough. Now that the adrenaline from the big presentation is over, reality is setting in again. These past several days, my very soul has ached. Just hearing the word ‘shark’ is triggering me.

I miss my shark. I miss Razorjaw.

“Cheer up, buddy,” Skyler says in the driver’s seat. Ardsley is carpooling with Emma, so I glance at him from the passenger seat. He clicks his seatbelt on and adds, “Free food. What’s not to like?”

“Right, free dinner,” I say with as much enthusiasm as I can fake. I’ve been doing a lot of that these past six days.

Two hours later, dinner is winding down. While this is historically one of my favorite steakhouses, the meal was lackluster. I indulged in a meaty dish, as did my best friends, but even the tastiest food is dull to me. They’ve been laughing, and I swear I’ve been trying to smile all night. But how can a man smile when his heart has been ripped out of his chest and is currently floating around the ocean?

So I nurse my beer, and the liquor barely dulls the pain. My three coworkers all guffaw while talking about some eel joke, then calm down when they look at me. “Did you enjoy your meal?” Emma asks.

“Huh?”

“You had your steak, but you’ve barely touched your potato.”

Looking down, I notice that I’m idly using a fork to push around my buttered baked potato. Starchy french fries was one of the only dishes Razorjaw liked to eat. He always preferred his live prey in the ocean. The surface world isn’t for him— no wonder he left me.

“Oh, um, I’m…working on it,” I mutter. I purposefully bite into a forkful of potato and give a thumbs-up. My two best friends share skeptical looks.

Emma gives me a sympathetic nod. Then, she digs into her purse. “Look, I know I’m not one of your homeboys or whatever…”

This makes me genuinely chuckle—we’re barely thirty, but Emma is only ten years our senior. “But I want you to be happy. So you best friends enjoy some libations and hash things out.” She places a tiny red card on the table. “Charge it to the company, please.” She points to Ardsley, who nods. “I’m going to get going. I trust you won’t drive drunk?”

“No, ma’am,” Skyler says.

“And you’ll make sure this one gets home in one piece?” She points at me, and I frown. They’re acting like I’m invisible!

“Yes, of course,” Ardsley adds.

“Good.” She stands up and straightens out her blouse. “Have a good evening boys. Talk things out. And Karlo?” I sit up straight, and her eyes soften. “Know that, whatever the future holds, you’ve done excellent work. We all have. We’re going to help a lot of species and even other shifters. Your future is looking bright. Good things will come.”

Her words warm my soul. With all the break-up pain, I hadn’t truly reflected on how big of an impact my presentation could have on California marine wildlife. “Thanks, Emma.”

“Goodnight.” We bid her goodbye, and with that, it’s just the three of us.

“Now, let’s get some beer,” Skyler says, flagging down a waiter.

“Cool your jets, Dillinger,” Ardsley says, and I snicker.

“Just one drink for me, and as many as this one wants.” He hooks a thumb at me and I frown.

“This one has a name, asshat.”

“And you’ll drink as much as you need to drown your sorrows,” he says with a grin. When a waiter walks by, Skyler orders three beers. When the waiter leaves, I sigh.

“But what if I throw up?”

“Even better!” Skyler says, and Ardsley snickers. “Purge yourself of these demons.”

“I don’t have any demons.”

“You have something worse.” Ardsley taps me on the back. “You have heartbreak.”

I grumble and sip my current beer.

“You can tell us anything, Karlo,” Skyler says in a softer tone. I pause and listen to the ambient sounds of patrons eating at the steakhouse. Our new drinks arrive, and the waiter clears the table. My friends look at me, expectantly. I haven’t legitimately opened up all week. All they know is that Razorjaw’s Aunt Sarah called to say he had resigned. I guess my growly disposition made them not want to pry for more questions.

Until now. “I guess you want to know about Razorjaw… ”

My friends glance at each other. “Only if you want to share,” Ardsley says.

We each take a sip of beer. “What happened? One week he was here, you two were getting along great, and the next, he’s gone,” Skyler remarks.

His accurate words break me. A whole week of not verbalizing my feelings, not texting my family, and digging deep into work has led to this. I curl into myself and begin to sob, right here in the restaurant.

“He…he left me,” I say, tears streaking down my face. “He swam into the ocean and said he was done with me.”

“Aw…there, there,” Ardsley says. He and Skyler crowd me and rub my back. It would be touching if a week of emotions wasn’t pouring out all at once.

“Now, I’m just…wrecked with missing him…” I sniff and I probably look like a blubbering mess, but I don’t care.

“What happened that made him leave?” Skyler asks, rubbing my back. “Didn’t you guys go see your parents?”

I nod and dab my eyes on a napkin. “Things were fine.” I sigh and gulp, trying to get my voice to be normal again. “Well, maybe it was all too much for him.”

“How so?” Ardsley asks.

I roll my eyes. “My mom is so fucking selfish. She all but thrust some other random trust fund guy at me. It probably made RJ feel inadequate. And everyone stared at him when he shifted, it only made him feel more out of place. But he didn’t want to tell me about it, and he said he was okay.”

The fresh heartbreak gnaws at my chest and I sob again. The tears come out, and my friends hug me closer.

“Shh…” Ardsley says.

“So he left. He…he decided he didn’t want…to be on land anymore. That our worlds are too different.” I sigh, and for five minutes we sit there quietly. I gradually regain some semblance of composure, hoping I’m not causing a scene at the restaurant.

“I’m sorry, man,” Skyler says.

We all go back to drinking, and I feel wrung out. After a long day of presenting and now this, I think I’ll sleep for fourteen hours tonight. “You want to know the worst part?”

“What?” Ardsley asks.

“I’m so mad at him,” I whisper, staring at the table. “I’m livid that he claimed he wanted me, then left without a genuine explanation. He wouldn’t even tell me specifically what made him give up on being on the surface, being with me.”

My friends look at each other with concern. “What?”

“Karlo, this sounds like no ordinary breakup,” Skyler says.

“Yeah, it sounds super serious. You weren’t this hurt when you finally dropped that douchebag ex-boyfriend of yours,” Ardsley adds.

I roll my eyes. “That’s because my ex didn’t…he didn’t make me feel wanted.” Not like Razorjaw. I recall the day we met, how strange he was, a monster on one knee. I remember his face glowing in the boat during the bioluminescent parade of manta rays. I recall holding his hand not even a week ago, on the car ride up to my parents’ house .

“Razorjaw made me feel loved,” I murmur into my cup. A silent tear rolls down my cheek and I wipe it away.

“And you loved him, too?” Ardsley asks, quietly.

I nod and sigh. Of course I did; Razorjaw is everything my former boyfriend wasn’t. He loved me for who I am, not who I could be. He asked for so little in return.

“Well then!” Skyler stands up, abruptly breaking me from my thoughts. “Now that that’s settled, we need to formulate a plan.”

“Huh?”

“We need to get your monster back.”

I turn between my two besties, unsure of what’s going on. “I don’t know, Sky,” Ardsley says.

“Razorjaw doesn’t want me. He left at the first sign of conflict,” I reply.

“But did you get to explain your side?” Skyler asks with a grin.

“Well, no, but…”

“Oh right! Then there’s hope!” Ardsley says.

“What?” I ask.

“We just need to find that damn shark you’re in love with,” Skyler says, poking my shoulder.

“Yeah, but he doesn’t—”

“You didn’t get to say your peace,” Ardsley says, interrupting me. “I know firsthand that monster-human relationships can be rocky, but if I can do it, then you certainly can iron things out.”

“Yeah, Karlo. You’re way hotter than Ardsley,” Skyler says.

“Hey!” Ardsley frowns and we all laugh.

My heart beats faster. “You guys really think there’ s a chance?”

Skyler shrugs. “You won’t know until you try.”

“Worst case scenario, you get to say your peace and gain closure,” Ardsley adds. “You can tell that shark you love him.”

I nod. The mere idea of seeing Razorjaw again, even just to say goodbye, lifts my spirits. “I…I need to conclude my research with him.”

“Yeah!” My friends cheer in unison. We hug, and I nearly cry, but this time, out of love for my best friends.

“But how are we gonna find him?” I ask.

“Well, we are three marine life researchers,” Skyler says.

“And I can breathe underwater,” Ardsley states. “I mean, I hate ocean water, but still, I could, um…”

“Thanks, boys.” I nod and hail the waiter down to get the check. “But I think if anyone’s jumping into the ocean to find my shark, it should be me.”

“So then, we’re doing this?” Skyler asks.

My heart pounds in my chest at the hope of seeing Razorjaw again. “Yeah, we are. Let’s finish my love story.”