Chapter 1

Sometimes you

find yourself in situations that just don’t seem possible or

plausible. If you dreamed scenarios like these, you would wake up

and say something like, “Wow, that was insane. Wonder what the

symbolism was in that.” Or perhaps you wouldn’t say a thing. You

would just immediately seek out the help of a good psychiatrist.

For instance, this evening, I am standing half-naked, in a cage

that looks like something out of an old Jacques Cousteau episode on

some retro TV channel or maybe one of those cable shows where

people practically beg sharks to attack them. The metal cage is

suspended above a three-story glass aquarium tank that begins on

the first floor of a rather kinky bar and grille. Two sharks, that

appear to be bull sharks, are swimming in the tank. I’m wearing an

oxygen tank and mask, and a gold lamè thong that looks like it was

sewn on me.

For some reason that I can’t explain, all of

this seems okay. Hold on, let me be honest, I do know why it seems

okay. It all seems okay because I am in love with an idiot. He’s

the same idiot I have been in love with since college, and quite

possibly before that. He’s also wearing a gold lamè thong, an

oxygen tank, and a mask. Logan looks up at me and even through his

oxygen mask his face tells me that everything is going to be all

right. And being the idiot that I am, I believe him.

Logan leans up and holds me, and that’s about

the time I feel the cage suddenly drop and begin to sink into the

water. As we sink I am more caught up in Logan’s arms around me

than I am in the water, well at least until the water completely

covers us. That’s when it sets in that there is no top on this

cage. It’s open to anything that wants to come in here. As I see

the two sharks slowly circle the cage while it descends, my heart

begins to sink as well. That’s when I get the biggest surprise of

all, the kind of surprise that those of us who live by the water

eventually come to expect. You can tell that I’ve been around Logan

a while because like he often does, I am getting ahead of myself.

Let me go back to how Logan and I got into this mess in the first

place. My name is Tom Whitmore, and this is our story.

ONE

So you may

actually be familiar with parts of this tale, or the things that

happened up until now. I’ve heard that there’s an asshole who wrote

down this whole story about me and Logan (and the whole thing about

Logan’s brother Sam too). Perhaps that’s just a rumor, but from

what I’ve heard, it’s not. Anyway, in case you aren’t familiar with

our little adventure, let me catch you up.

I met Logan in middle school. We actually did

a project together once. Of course, he never remembered me after

that. My last name is Whitmore. His is White. So in high school I

sat behind Logan in more classes than I can count. Of course he was

completely oblivious to this and never noticed me, which was kind

of odd because I am usually the tallest person in the room.

Although I imagine that my glasses and buttoned up collars didn’t

really help draw anyone’s attention. Either way, Logan’s blond head

was often buried deep in a novel, especially if we were in a math

or science class.

When I got to college, there was Logan again.

This wasn’t a complete surprise to me. I had seen Logan filling out

an application to Bear Lake University and that was actually why I

applied. I found out that it was his first choice when I overheard

him talking to a guidance counselor. Bear Lake had a great writing

program, and writing was all Logan wanted to do. I was relieved to

find that their pre-med program was strong as well.

Of course when Logan showed up in my college

zoology class, I was excited. I thought that all my years of

longing had finally paid off when he turned and asked me to be his

lab partner. I was sure that he had remembered me and finally

realized just what a great guy I was. Two seconds later, I was

furious when I realized he didn’t even know we had gone to high

school together, not to mention that we had lived in the same

neighborhood since middle school. I just stared at him for a minute

wondering what the hell I had been thinking.

That’s when he won me over. He turned on the

charm like nobody’s business and tried to be the best friend I had

ever seen. It worked. If up until then I had had a huge crush on

him, then after that I fell head over heels for him. This, of

course, was a little awkward, as Logan began to see himself as my

best friend.