As much as he cherished what he and Ellie shared, he had to return to the surface alive. He had a life up there. Friends and a girlfriend who he had been long-distance dating for a few years now. He never told Ellie about Sharon. She didn’t need to know about that. In fact, he hadn’t told anyone on the SEALAB about it. He and Sharon were wobbly at best, but he didn’t want to ditch her just yet until he figured out what would happen between him and Ellie.