Norris was long gone by the time she realized that he’d once again paid for a cup of coffee, then forgotten to actually take it.
Annabeth spent the entire rest of her shift thinking about him, serving up drinks with her mind on his eyes, his smile, his broad shoulders, the silky texture of his wet hair, and how much he seemed to genuinely like her. She couldn’t wait to see him again.
If, that was, he actually turned up. He seemed in the habit of suddenly disappearing. But as soon as she walked out, she spotted him striding toward her, towering over the rest of the people on the sidewalk the way she towered over most women.
“I see you’re still wearing the smoking dinosaurs,” she remarked.
“I see you ditched the elf hat,” he replied.
Annabeth laughed. "We had a choice between elf hats, Santa hats, and antler headbands, so I went with the least bad choice."
"Not that you looked bad in it," he added hastily. "But it doesn't suit you. It covered your hair, and your hair is gorgeous."
Annabeth gave him a suspicious look. Men didn't normally compliment her hair. "My hair is enormous and frizzy. Especially after working with all those steam machines."
"Your hair is magnificent and curly. Steam might not agree with that, but I bet it’s spectacular when you’re scuba diving.”
"I don't know. When I'm underwater, I'm not looking at my hair." She glanced at Norris. "How did you know I like scuba diving?"
"Oh, well, because. Um.” He stopped abruptly. “Well, you're a marine biologist.” He walked around to open the passenger door of his car for her. That was another considerate touch. She smiled as she settled into the passenger seat.
As he started the car, she said, “I’m surprised you haven’t met many marine biologists who don't like actually getting in water. My school’s full of students who’d much rather work on lab specimens or computers. Was everyone more hands-on where you went to school?”
He laughed. “No, they were probably less. I’m not a marine biologist. I'm a marine paleontologist.”
She sat up straight. He was even more interesting than she'd realized. "A marine paleontologist, really? I think you're the first one I've ever met. What a fascinating job. Do you have a specialty within marine paleontology, or is that a specialty all by itself?”
“I do, actually. The Devonian period. It’s sometimes called the Age of Fishes, because it was a kind of golden age for fishes. Armored fish especially—they were the rulers of the sea!”
Annabeth was delighted by his enthusiasm for his specialty. He sounded like the personal cheerleader for armored fish. “How fascinating. I don’t know much about the Devonian period. You’ll have to tell me more about it.”
“Over dinner,” he promised. “What’s your specialty?”
She laughed. “This is such a funny coincidence given yours. It’s ichthyology.”
“A fish scientist,” breathed Norris. “Of course you are.”
“I’m studying under a professor who’s the world authority on clownfish.”
“Marvelous. I love them.”
She was going on a date with a brown-eyed, broad-shouldered marine paleontologist who loved her hair, Dunkleosteuses, and clownfish. Annabeth wasn’t entirely certain she wasn’t in some beautiful dream that would dissolve on waking. But if she was, she might as well make the most of it. “Did you know they have a symbiotic relationship with sea anemones?”
“No, I didn’t. Tell me about it.”
She launched into an explanation of the fascinatingly complex relationship of clownfish and sea anemones. He asked such intelligent questions, she really had to think about the answers. They were speculating on the biological mechanism for why clown fish are immune to sea anemone venom when he pulled into the pier parking lot.
Annabeth stopped with a guilty start. “I’m sorry. Am I boring you with all this fish talk?”
“Absolutely not,” he assured her.
“You’d tell me if I was, wouldn’t you?”
“I can’t imagine you boring me. For one thing, I never get tired of fish talk. But even if you were talking about something I had absolutely no interest in, like... let me think...”
“Fancy coffee drinks?” Annabeth suggested.
“I don’t know, some of the ones people were asking for sounded pretty interesting. Let’s say football. That’s a sport I’ve never cared about. But I bet if you were a fan, you’d make me interested in it.”
