Ria, for all her kindness, never once pressured Lissa to talk about whatever was clearly troubling her.They sipped their drinks, munched on sandwiches, and watched the jellyfish bounce around in the circular tank that took up the center of the cafe.
After they’d eaten, they strolled along the back walkway that looked out over Yaquina Bay, taking in the beauty of nature and the sounds of birds chirping.The heat hadn’t let up, but the breeze from the water kept Lissa from dissolving into a sweaty mess.They were approaching the end of the trail when Lissa’s watch beeped, alerting her to the time.
“What’s up?”Ria asked.
“Just a reminder about your surprise,” Lissa answered.“We need to get moving so we don’t miss it.”
“Does that mean you’re going to tell me what it is now?”
“Nope.That’s kind of how surprises work.”Grabbing Ria’s hand, Lissa tugged her back toward the aquarium’s outdoor exhibits at a brisk pace.
The surprise was supposed to be the culmination of Daria’s plan.Make Ria so happy she couldn’t help but see how much Lissa cared after the confession came out.Then they could forget the whole spell nonsense, and Ria would forgive all Lissa’s past deception.
Granted that part of the plan could still happen, Lissa just hadn’t figured out exactly how much of a confession was going to come out.She’d play it by ear and see how Ria reacted first.
“Where are we going?”Ria asked, laughing as we plowed through crowds of sugar-hyped small children and exhausted parents.
“We are going—” Lissa pulled Ria around the back corner of a large exhibit and stopped at a door tucked behind a fake rock facade.“—here,” she announced proudly, a grin spreading across her face as all traces of her earlier melancholy disappeared under the excitement bubbling up.
“A door?”Ria asked, her brow wrinkling in confusion.“Does it lead to Narnia, because I’m a little confused.”
Lissa laughed and knocked on the door three times.“Sadly no, it doesn’t lead to a magical realm, but it does lead to someplace very few ever get to see.”
The door cracked open, and a blond male head popped out.His eyes swept over Ria before landing on Lissa.“You Daria’s friend?”
“I am,” Lissa confirmed, holding out a hand to shake his.“You must be Jason.”
Jason hip-checked the door open wider and held up his blue rubber-clad hands, displaying the bits of fish guts coating them.“Trust me, you don’t want to touch me right now.Come on, get inside.Show starts in a couple minutes.”
Lissa gave Ria an excited grin and took her hand.
“What is all this?”Ria asked, her eyes taking in the sterile room with rows of stainless-steel tables loaded up with buckets of fish.
“This is the prep room,” Jason announced, snagging a bucket off the table and heading off down a long hallway.“We have a strict regimen to make sure they only get fed the best fish.”
“Who gets the best fish?”Ria called, rushing after him.
He passed by a series of gated exits then paused at a heavy steel door beside a large pool, empty of any inhabitants.Glancing back at us, he said, “The sea lions of course.”
Ria pulled up short, and Lissa crashed into her back, nearly knocking Ria into the water.“Wait, do I get to feed the sea lions?”Ria whirled on Lissa, squealing so loudly it reverberated back down the hall.
“Ooh, gonna need you to keep that to a minimum,” Jason said, unlocking the door.“They don’t love sharp, high-pitched sounds.”
“Sorry.I’ll be quiet.I promise,” Ria gushed before grinning at Lissa.“How is this happening?”
Lissa grinned back.“Considering the tattoo on your cute booty and the moment when we were at Pride and you lost it over a lady in a rainbow sea lion shirt, I figured you might enjoy something like this.I mean, I was honestly worried you were going to attack that woman and steal her shirt.”
Ria blinked at Lissa.“I remember no such thing.”
“Yeah, six margaritas can do that.”
Lissa couldn’t tell if Ria was blushing at the reminder of how the evening ended, or if her cheeks were just glowing from excitement.Didn’t matter.Lissa would gladly offer Daria free coffee for the rest of their lives for making this happen.Even if everything went pear-shaped, she would never forget the look of excitement and adoration in Ria’s eyes.Lissa could hold on to that look forever, if needed.
“Okay, ladies,” Jason said, interrupting their tender moment.“Wait here for a second while I go make my announcements.If you could start scrubbing up your hands while I’m gone, that would be great.Aprons are on the hooks over there.When I bring you out, I’ll need you to stay on the side platform.Can’t let you any closer.And you’ll only get to feed a few before I have to take over.Some of them are picky and won’t eat from strangers.Sea lions, in general, don’t like to be fed from humans, but they’ve gotten to know the keepers here.”
Ria bobbed up and down on her feet, nodding furiously, and Jason vanished through the door, closing it behind him.
“I can’t believe you did this for me,” Ria gushed to Lissa while they soaped up their hands over a large sink.“How did you even make this happen?”
