You Never Know

~~~~~~

"I'm really going to miss you, Doug," Jennifer said, at the airport the next morning.

"Me too," I replied, softly kissing her hand.

"Me too," she gasped, "That's all you have to say to me?"

"I told you how last night that I was going to miss you, "I said, suddenly beginning to panic, "I thought that you..."

"I know," she giggled, kissing me, "I just like to her you say it, silly."

~~~~~~

Chapter Seven

"Hi, Uncle Mike," Jennifer smiled, as her uncle, retired Naval Admiral Mike Nelson, picked her up at the airport.

"Hi, baby-girl," Mike replied, hugging his only niece with open arms, "How're things going down in Key West, sweetie? How's Doug?"

"Oh, he's wonderful," she purred, "Doug is such a sweet guy, Uncle Mike."

"Uh huh," laughed Mike, "I can tell by the look on your face."

"Uncle Mike," she giggled, "Stop teasing me."

~~~~~~

After dropping Jennifer off at the airport earlier that morning, I went over and helped Sherry open the dive shop, and then drove home and went back to bed. I rested uneasily, the nightmares that I thought were long gone, now came back to haunt me again. When I woke up later that afternoon, the house felt empty without Jennifer in it, giving me my first real taste of loneliness. However, I was broken out of my reverie when, around one o'clock, the telephone rang, making me get out of the bed to answer it.

"Hullo" I wearily answered.

"Hi boss," Sherry chirped happily, "I need your help down here at the office. I hope you don't mind, but I'm really stuck."

"Okay," I laughed, "I'll be there in a few minutes," and then I hung the phone up.

~~~~~~

When I got to the dive shop, I smiled at the memories of the past that suddenly struck me. The days of when I first when into business suddenly burst into my mind like the first ray of light as it breaks into the dawn. I was thrilled to own my own dive shop and salvage business, but scared shit-less at the same time. I didn't know whether it would flourish or whether I would end up falling flat on my face. Either way, I knew that I was about to enter a phase in my life that was new and exciting.

"Hi, Boss," Sherry smiled from behind the counter as I walked through the front door, "Thanks for coming."

"What's up?" I asked.

"I'm having computer problems," she said, "I've tried everything I could think of and I still can't get it to work."

What is it doing?"

"I can't get it to turn on, Doug."

I walked around the counter and back into the office. As I approached the computer table, the first thing I noticed, was that the light on the surge protector was dark. I knew that Sherry was smarter than that, but I also knew that this was her sweet little way of saying that she wanted to talk to me about something. You see, I hired Sherry right out of high school after I'd been in business for only a few months, and I'll never forget the day I first saw that bright little sweetie come walking through my door.

With the classified section of the newspaper in one hand, and a Diet Coke in the other, she informed me that she was looking for a job. When I explained to her that I was not hiring part-time or summer help, and that I was wanting someone to fill a permanent position; she laughed and then sweetly but adamantly told me that she wasn't looking for anything but a full time position and that I would be making a big mistake if I didn't hire her. Needless to say, she stole my heart that day and I was left with no choice but to hire her. I was amazed at how smart she was for her age. This kid really had her shit together, and I most certainly wanted her to be a part of what I had envisioned for my business.

It was when Sherry had been working for me for over a year that I saw her capable of not only running the office, but running the whole dive shop. Hence the reason I began her SCUBA training, and when she was done; she chose to honor me, as her instructor, by be coming an instructor herself. It was the smartest thing I've ever done, and ever since, I've come to love her like the baby sister I always wanted but never had. So, after reaching down and turning on the surge protector, I smiled when the computer came to life, knowing that my little sis wanted to talk to me about something, God love her precious little soul.

"I need to talk to you, Doug," echoed from behind me, making me turn around to find Sherry standing there smiling sadly.

"Hey there," I said, "What's up?"

"You know that you're like family to me, don't you?" she asked, walking up and giving me a hug at the waist.

"Of course," I replied, sitting her in the chair next to mine, "And I hope that you know that you're like family to me, too."

"Yes, I do," she replied as I sat down," And that's how I know that something is wrong with you."

"What're you talking about?" I frowned, "There's nothing wrong with me."

"Oh, come on now, Doug. You think I couldn't see the way you were acting when Jennifer was here," she gently said, "And you were acting very differently after you dropped her off and came over here to help me open up the shop. You only do that when something is bothering you, like right now."

"And she hasn't even been gone for a whole day yet," I laughed, "Damn, does it show that bad?"

Sherry giggled as she stood up, then leaning down and gently kissing me on the cheek, she giggled again and said, "It's okay to have a heart ya know. After all, you're my big brother and I love you. Now get to work, ya bum." Then she scampered back out into the dive shop, giggling delightfully as she went.

All I could do was to laugh and say, "Silly girl!"

The rest of the afternoon was spent getting Nautilus ready to put her through her paces in preparations to dive to the mouth of the underwater aqueduct that Doctor Cousteau had discovered.

~~~~~~

I was pleasantly surprised the next morning when I found David, Todd, and Chuck, already aboard Andromeda, her engines purring and her lines singled up. Nautilus was above deck, the sun brightly reflecting off of her polished hull.

As soon as I was aboard Andromeda, Chuck and Todd were on her stern to greet me. "Hey Boss," said Chuck, "How are ya this morning?"

"Great," I smiled, "Are you guys ready to head out?"

"LET'S ROCK AND ROLL, SKIPPER!" Dave shouted from up above in the flying bridge.

"Let's do it," I laughed.

~~~~~~

Two hours later, Andromeda was 156 miles offshore and sitting in 1376 feet water, just seventy meters from the edge of the Continental Atlantic Shelf. As we prepared to launch Nautilus, I couldn't help but wish that Jennifer were here to give me a kiss for luck.

"Are we ready to board, Doug?" asked Todd.

"We're as ready as we'll ever be," I replied smiling.

After switching control to the cabin, David programmed Andromeda's navigational computers to remain on station, via the forward and aft thrusters. Then he and Chuck stood by on the launch davits to deploy Nautilus. Todd climbed aboard first followed by me, and once we were in place and the entry hatch had been dogged shut; we felt ourselves being lifted over Andromeda's side, and into the wild and open embrace of the sea. I turned on the observation lights the second we were in the water and the tether had been released. After reading the sonar for ground echo, we slowly began to descend into Davy Jones' locker. Our descent was slow and very controlled, as the deepest I had taken Nautilus up to this point was when we took Jennifer to the sunken German U-Boat. That was only 800 feet and we were definitely going much deeper this time.

Through a lot of research, I found that the mouth of the underwater aqueduct was just above 7000 feet. I have a couple of friends that work at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and they informed me of where to take Nautilus to break her in. Our location on the edge of the Atlantic Shelf had another smaller shelf 7600 feet below it. That would put us just above 9000 feet.

Because of slow our rate of descent, we reached our destination four and a half hours later, and as I felt a soft slow in our motion, I heard Todd say, "We're here Doug, what next?"

"Let's look around a little bit," I smiled, "This is cool as shit!" I maneuvered Nautilus around to get my bearings, and then piloted her out beyond the edge, descended another 24 feet to make it an even 9000, then turned to look over the drop-off. I sent a single ping of the sonar into the abyss and waited for its return.

After waiting for well over the time it would've taken to return, Todd smiled and said, "Holy shit, Doug. I didn't think the Atlantic was this deep."

After taking readings from all of Nautilus' instruments, I was pleased that she had passed her submergence tests. Looking over at Todd and grinning, I laughed and said, "Yeah, well, I didn't know it was that deep either so; lets take Nautilus back to the surface. Hell, by the time we get her back aboard ship, its going to be close to supper time anyway."

~~~~~~

Once Nautilus was back aboard Andromeda, we made sure that she was chocked and chain-locked onto her mounts before the crew began the task of washing her down while I uploaded the readings Todd and I had taken at depth, from my laptop into the computer aboard ship. After securing the data, my nostrils suddenly became filled with the aroma of someone pan-frying something that smelled absolutely heavenly. All at once, "Come on down to the galley and let's eat, Skipper," squawked through the intercom system in the pilothouse.

"Okay," I replied, "I'll be there in a sec."

It was David's voice that had called me down to the galley, and I knew that, out of all of us, he was the one that could cook the best. It wasn't that the rest of us were all that bad, it was simply that David had a knack for it, often rivaling that of some of the finest restaurants in Key West so, I knew that what ever he'd prepared was going to be great.

~~~~~~

As I sat on Andromeda's stern enjoying an after dinner brandy, I looked into the starry night, thinking of Jennifer when, breaking me from my thoughts, my satellite phone rang.

"Hello." I answered.

"Hello, handsome," purred Jennifer's voice on the other end.

"Hey," I smiled, "I was just thinking about you."

"Good, "she giggled, "Because I've been thinking about you ever since I left."

"I suppose Sherry gave you the number to my satellite phone, "I laughed.

"You don't care, do you?"

"Of course not," I grinned, "I'm glad you called."

"Me too, I really miss you, Doug," she pouted, "A lot more than I thought I would."

"I miss you more than I thought I would, too."

"So," she purred, "What do you propose we do about it, then?"

"Hey," I laughed, "I'm not the one who had to go back to Washington for a week."

"I know, but I'll be back real soon, I promise, sweetie."

"Oh hey, "I said excitedly, "Guess what?"

"Ooo, tell me,"

"We took Nautilus down to nine thousand feet today," I said, "I sure wish you could've been there."

"Oh Doug," Jennifer excitedly said, "Save me a seat the next time you go."

"We'll see," I snickered, "Besides, you still haven't done your mile-long swim yet."

"You're such a brat," she laughed. And then with a more serious tone in her voice, she said, "I really miss you so much, Doug, and I can't wait to see you again."

"I can't wait to see you either." We talked a few moments longer then said our good-nights. I slept very well that night until I woke early the next morning to watch the sunrise at sea. God what a spectacular sight it is to behold.

~~~~~~

I sat on Andromeda's stern with a hot cup of coffee in my hand as I watched the golden and orange tendrils of sunlight reflecting off of the water as they slowly began their ascent into the eastern morning sky. I had always been comforted by the rising of the sun, and this time was no different. The maneuvers that we were supposed to perform with Nautilus today were by far exceedingly more dangerous than what we did yesterday, but still; we had been training for this for over two years and I was certain that we would be successful.

~~~~~~

"Okay, Doug," said Todd, looking over at me in Nautilus' pilot seat, "We're at ten-thousand feet. Sonar says that we're on an outcropping that hangs just above the final drop-off."

"Okay," I replied, looking at my instrument panel, "Hover here while I take readings."

"Gotcha, Boss," he replied, "Hovering steady at ten-thousand feet."

We took temperature, pressure and current readings, and even took a couple of soil samples for analysis once we made it back to shore. Needless to say, Nautilus performed beautifully, just like I knew she would, and I was very proud of her. I felt just like an expectant father, and rightly so. Hell, I built her from the ground up so, why shouldn't I?

~~~~~~

As soon as Nautilus was chocked and chained on Andromeda's stern, we cleaned her up and made preparations to get underway. I sat in the pilothouse with a cup of coffee in my left hand while I held Andromeda's wheel with my right. We'd made our deep dive in Nautilus earlier that morning, and when we broke the surface, it nearing five o'clock in the afternoon. Needless to say, we made good time coming back, and before we knew it, Andromeda was resting in her slip, moored with her engines cooling down.

~~~~~~

I had faxed my report of Nautilus' performance to Mike in Washington, and as soon as I received confirmation of the fax, I took a long, hot shower and relaxed for the rest of the evening. I finally went to bed when I could no longer hold my eyes open.

~~~~~~

Over the course of the next three days, I helped Sherry in the dive shop while the rest of the crew took parties of people out on Andromeda to dive the various reefs, sunken ships, and other underwater sights that are in and around the Florida Keys area. Todd had the same credentials as me when it came to anything SCUBA related, and I trusted him implicitly, hence the reason he was allowed full access to Andromeda in my absence.

~~~~~~

When I lay down to go to sleep I was really missing Jennifer I guess, because I'd not heard from her since she called me when I was aboard Andromeda, at sea. I figured that she was really busy and simply had not had the time to call. Then that old insecurity of mine about not wanting to get close to people suddenly began to set in. At first I was angry with myself for even considering such a thing where Jennifer was concerned. But as old habits die hard, a thought that maybe she was simply toying with me began to entangle itself within my mind, allowing the images of my past to take root and grow within me. I slept fitfully that night, being chased by nightmare after nightmare, each one far worse than its predecessor.

~~~~~~

When I awoke the next morning, I looked at the clock to find out that it was only 4:00 in the morning. After trying to go back to sleep with no success, I decided to take a morning swim. Besides, what better of a way to get the old blood pumping than swimming? However, this time I wore my swimming trunks as opposed to my birthday suit.

The moment I hit the water it began to soothe me as it had always done on the past. I could feel the life force flowing within me with every stroke I swam. I continued to swim until I looked behind me to find that I'd gone quite a way out. The light on my back deck seemed like a tiny gem barely reflecting off the water.

I turned back and headed toward the house, and as I neared, I could begin to make out a lone figure standing on the dock. The nearer I drew, the more I began to recognize who was standing there. It was Jennifer, standing on the pier barefoot, wearing cut-off jean shorts, a tee shirt, and holding a towel in her hand. "Hi Doug, sweetie, how are you?" she asked.

I said nothing other than to climb out of the sea and into her arms. She wrapped the towel around my body and the moment our lips touched, her tongue invaded my mouth, igniting a fire within me, which burned like nothing I'd ever experienced before. And as soon as we parted from the kiss, breathing heavily, Jennifer smiled and said, "Wow, I guess you really missed me, huh?"

"What are you doing here," I asked grinning, "And at this hour of the morning, too?"

"I took the red-eye out of Dulles last night, Doug," she smiled, "I hope that's alright with you." As opposed to giving her a vocal answer, I simply kissed her again, making her smile and reply, "I guess that means it's okay, then."

"Of course it's okay," I replied smiling, my arms now tightly around her.

"In that case, are you going to stand there getting me all wet," she smirked, "Or are we going to go inside so you can dry off?"

Jennifer squealed when I suddenly picked her up off the dock, and then screamed as I jumped back into the water, completely immersing us both. As soon as her head broke the surface of the water, she began laughing, "Have I ever told you what an asshole you are?"

"No," I laughed, "But I figured it was only a matter of time."

She suddenly reached beneath the water, and after a few seconds, came up with her shorts in one hand and her panties in the other. Then she pulled her wet tee shirt off of her body, her lace bra following closely behind it. And after having thrown everything on the dock once she was naked and looking at me expectantly, she raised her right eye-brow and said, "Well?"

"Well, what?" I laughed.

"Aren't you going to get naked with me, Doug?"

"Naked?" I teased, "And just what makes you think I would do that?"

rubbing her silky smooth body against mine. Then reaching into my shorts and grabbing my already hard cock, she pushed her soft breasts against my chest, and then into my ear breathed, "Because I love you, Doug, and I want you to make love to me."

"Wouldn't you rather our first time together was in a nice soft bed, sweetie?" I chuckled, "It'll be a whole lot better than being in the water, although I'm not opposed to that in the near future."

"Then take me to bed, Doug," she breathed, "I love you."

~~~~~~

We walked into my bedroom, both of us stark naked, hand-in-hand. I reached over and turned on my bedside lamp, the soft light filling the room. What I saw standing before me almost made my knees buckle. Jennifer was even more beautiful naked, and her body looked like something out of a playboy magazine. Her D-cup breasts, (I found out later), hung gently down, but still stood prominently on her chest. Her aureoles were at least two inches in diameter, with nipples that protruded out at about a half inch. As I looked down her flat stomach and on down to her pubic mound, I thought that I was going to cum right then and there when I saw that her pussy was shaved bare, and nestled at top of two long, silky-smooth legs that seemed to go on forever. My God, she looked so beautiful.

Because we both had just come from swimming in the sea, I made sure that I walked into the bathroom and retrieved two towels to dry ourselves with before we got into bed. As she turned around, I noticed a little heart shaped birth mark that sat at the top of and in between the round firm globes of her ass. I reached out to touch her there, making her purr, "Oh Doug, I love you so much," as she turned around to face me. Pressing her naked body against mine, she ground her pussy against all eight inches of my hard cock. Then gently leaning back against the bed, she lay back, taking me with her.

When her back met the mattress, I was poised on top of her and in between her legs. She wanted no foreplay, other than softly kissing me, our tongues gently wrestling together. She reached in between us, and taking my cock in her hand, placed it at the entrance of her very wet pussy and gently shoved her hips up to impale herself on it. I slowly pushed until our pubic bones met, and then softly ground against her before withdrawing to repeat what I had just done.