“So what?” I interrupt, turning to face him. “It’s beautiful.”
Crew seems to relax his shoulders at my compliment, as if he were waiting for my opinion this whole time. I hope he wasn’t looking for validation.
He shouldn’t have to.
“Besides,” I add. “Mango must be really jealous that he can’t visit a place like this.”
Crew playfully rolls his eyes. “Nemo.”
“Same difference.” I glance around us. “This area seems empty. Are you sure—”
“Hi, Crew.” A lady mopping the floor passes by and waves at us. “Are you working with Tuck today?”
Then, he does the one thing I never expected him to do: smile.
Sure, I’ve seen the occasional chuckle and smirk leave his lips, but never a beaming smile or anything truly genuine from Crew. He normally keeps his emotions to himself, whether they’re positive or negative, whenever around others.
Well, now that I think about it, he has been a little less restrictive of his emotions. Or maybe he’s just being friendly. I mean, we are friends, after all.
“Not today, Nancy,” he acknowledges the cleaning lady. “But don’t tell Tuck I came here on his day off, okay?”
She places one finger over her mouth and nods before her eyes trail to me, as if she’s connecting the dots between Crew and me or something. “Don’t worry, Crew. I won’t tell Tuck that you snuck in for a date night with your girlfriend.”
I feel a blush creep onto my cheeks. “Uh, we’re not on a date.” Though with the fact that he’s going against his boss’s wishes to bring me here, I’m starting to feel like thisisa date.
There’s no way it’s a date, right? Sure, I’m still wearing my dress from brunch, and I’m only here with Crew, but we’re friends who enjoy each other’s company—me more than him—and nothing else.
Even if this were a date, Crew’s not dressed for it. On second thought, would that even matter? He already looks devastatingly handsome in a pair of gray sweatpants and a loose, black t-shirt with the faded Nirvana logo. It should be fucking illegal to look like that insweatpants.
Dammit, am I really wishing for this to be a date? Guess so.
Nancy waves goodbye. “You are just so beautiful,” she tells me before heading off in a completely different direction. My cheeks turn a shade of red brighter than the “DO NOT RUN” sign hanging by the manta rays.
“She seems nice,” I comment after I clear my throat.
He shrugs, glancing at the ginormous tanks around us. “She already likes you.”
“Oh, come on, Crew. Everyone loves me at first glance,” I joke, knowing damn well that it wasn’t the case for him.
Instead of a response, he walks towards another terrarium, kneeling to observe it. “Come on, I’ll show you the rest of the floor.”
And he lives up to that promise. The first floor is pretty big, and we’re practically running from one terrarium to another. Ilove it, especially seeing Crew in his element, like a Chinese-American Robert Irwin whose main focus is marine life.
For the first time in a while, my brain and the thoughts roaming inside are tamed, and it’s thanks to Crew, who showed me a side to him I never knew existed.
But damn, I want to see more of it.
“Carly, that was a date,” Ali practically shouts.
I have to reach over to cover her mouth with my hand. “You could be a little louder!” I hiss.
She laughs, and I pull my hand away. “It just doesn’t seem like the Crew that I know to break some rules and sneak into his place of work unless he likes someone. Who sneaks into work at all?”
I glance back at the register, where Vinny and Crew order our food. We’re at this cute diner on the pier of Marbella Beach, celebrating my completion of my senior thesis project.
That’s right—your girl graduated a term early like I had planned. I don’t get to walk the stage until June, like everybody else, but I still graduated.
Since my parents are waiting until Carson graduates to drive over and celebrate with both of us, I settled with a dinner with my friends, and I don’t mind it one bit.
