MIKA
Channing squeezes my hand as we prepare to submerge and asks if I am ready, to which I respond yes. The diving suit clings tightly to my body, the weight of the oxygen tank heavy on my back, but his reassuring smile makes it seem like a minor burden.
Bella and Matt are behind us, but my attention is solely on Channing as that familiar, unexplainable feeling washes over me. I don’t want this to end. Whatever this is between us, I don't want it to end. He motions for me to follow his lead, and we step off the boat into the waiting embrace of the ocean.
The moment my face breaks the surface, and I look down, I feel a mix of excitement and trepidation. The water below is a deep, endless blue, with sunlight streaks reaching down like golden fingers. But I’m not afraid because Channing
