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“So, he just, like, came up to you and asked you if you wanted to go out with him?” Carrie asked, running her acrylic nails through her wavy hair. I’d invited her over to help me decide on an outfit to wear, but instead of giving me her much needed fashion advice, she’d spent the whole time grilling me about Tyler. “Don’t you think it’s also a little creepy? I mean, you barely know the guy.”
Awkwardly tucking a lock of golden blonde hair behind my ear, I shrugged. “Maybe . . . I don’t know. It’s hard to explain. I don’t think he’s a creep or anything, if that’s what you mean. It’s actually kind of cute that he was brave enough to ask me out so soon.” I paused, trying to find the right words to explain it because even I knew it sounded kind of crazy, and the last thing I wanted was my best friend thinking that I was crazy, too. “I think we just have some sort of connection.”
Carrie raised an eyebrow at me. “Don’t tell me you think this is love at first sight or something.”
Love at first sight? The idea hadn’t even crossed my mind. Then again, I knew that I didn’t love Tyler. We had only just met. I hadn’t been able to get him off my mind since the first time I had seen him at the beach, though. There was definitely something between us . . . I just wasn’t sure what it was yet. “I don’t know what I think it is,” I told Carrie. “But I know that I don’t want to let the opportunity pass by without at least trying.”
Carrie sighed. “Alright, but you better text me every hour so I know you’re not getting axe murdered or something. And if you want me to interrupt your date, text me your location with the code word lifeguard.”
“Lifeguard?” I asked with raised eyebrows.
“Yeah, a lifeguard rescues people,” Carrie replied with a duh tone to her voice.
“I’m sure there will be no reason to. But I will if it goes bad. I promise.” I turned to face her. “How do I look?”
“Good, because I would never forgive myself if something happened to you and I didn’t do anything to stop it,” Carrie said.
I blinked back the tears that formed behind my eyes. Carrie sometimes felt like the sister that I had missed out on having for most of my childhood. If only my best friend knew that I hadn’t been able to keep my own sister safe. . . .
“Thanks,” I whispered.
Carrie turned her attention to my feet. She’d talked me into wearing a pair of black ballet flats. Her theory was that they were dressier than flip flops, but not as dressy as heels, which might give Tyler the impression that I was either slutty or high-maintenance—neither of which I was. Her eyes traveled to my bare legs and my flowing knee-length flowered skirt before drifting up to the baby blue tank top I had on. Carrie grabbed a bottle of hairspray from the vanity and spritzed some on my hair. “There. Now your hair will stay in place. You look perfect.”
I smiled. My best friend wasn’t the type to dish out compliments unless she truly meant them, so I must have looked okay. She also was never the type to enjoy playing dress up so I appreciated the fact that she was helping me get ready. “Thanks,” I said, glancing down to check the time on my cell phone. “I should probably get going now. We’re supposed to meet at Scoops in ten minutes.”
“Okay. Don’t forget to text,” Carrie reminded me as she led me out of my bedroom. Once we were out the front door, she said, “And good luck!”
“I probably need it,” I muttered as we began walking in opposite directions. Did I really need luck, though? Everything with Tyler seemed to be falling into place on its own . . . maybe a little too perfectly. Now that I thought about it, it was bound to go wrong sooner or later. I needed all the luck I could get.
Scoops was a cute little boardwalk ice cream parlor with checkerboard tiled floors and red bar stools. All of the waitresses wore low-cut pink plaid uniforms with poodle skirts and roller skates, which gave it that tacky, but classic, old school feel. The smell of hot fudge and strawberry syrup wafted into my nostrils as I slid into a booth at the front of the parlor.
I had only just sat down when Tyler strolled into the ice cream parlor. His warm eyes immediately fell on me. As he got closer, I realized that he had Bruno with him. “Hey,” he said, grinning. “Do you want ice cream?”
“Isn’t that why we’re here?” I replied, giggling. I felt better knowing that he sounded as nervous as I felt. My stomach growled, and I knew it was because the only thing I had been able to eat all day was a piece of kiwi before work because I had been so nervous about tonight. Though, I wasn’t really sure why I was nervous about going out with Tyler. I really didn’t feel uncomfortable at all when I was around him.
“I’ll go order the ice cream,” Tyler said. “What would you like?”
“A strawberry shake,” I replied. Tyler nodded and, walking with Bruno to the counter, ordered our ice cream. When he sat back down, I said, “So, this was your big surprise? Ice cream at Scoops?”
“You underestimate my ability to surprise you.” Tyler turned his lips into a pout, which made me giggle. “So, tell me about yourself,” he said. “Something besides the fact that you have a really cute laugh.”
Blushing, I hesitated. I hated talking about myself. “I’m fifteen. I go to Ocean Grove High.”
Tyler shook his head. “No, that tells me nothing about you. I could have guessed you were under sixteen since you’re a Junior Lifeguard. And you lifeguard in Ocean Grove, so unless you were visiting here for the summer, obviously you go to Ocean Grove High. I don’t want a textbook definition of you, tell me about you.”
Looking down at my fingernails, which I had polished a pearly shade of pink, I said, “My favorite color is blue. I live with my Gram. I always think about trying out for the school swim team, but I end up chickening out at the last second. I love dogs . . . not a huge fan of cats. I love the beach, but it scares me.” I looked up at Tyler for approval. “Better?”
Tyler stared at me for what felt like the longest few seconds of my life. His gray eyes caught mine, and I tossed my hair over my shoulder nervously. “It tells me a little more about you, but it still leaves me with some questions.”
A waitress skated over to us and set our milkshakes down in front of us: my strawberry shake and his confetti shake—a vanilla shake with rainbow sprinkles. Scarlett loved confetti milkshakes. I don’t know what made me think about it in that moment; I usually tried not to think about what my sister liked or didn’t like when she was still alive. It made the memories too painful.
“What questions does it leave you with?” I asked, turning my attention back to Tyler when the waitress left our table.
He opened a straw and placed it in his ice cream glass. Taking a sip, he said, “Why do you always chicken out about joining the swim team?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know, really. I just always think I’m not good enough.”
“You’re a Junior Lifeguard,” Tyler pointed out. “You have to be good enough to make the cut if you were good enough to be a lifeguard. And you never know until you try. If you want to be on the team, you at least owe it to yourself to give it a try.”
I nodded and smiled. “I’ll think about it,” I said quietly, hoping he’d just let it go. Even if I thought I could do it, I knew I would still chicken out the next time tryouts were held.
“My next question is . . .” Tyler said quietly, “You’re a lifeguard and you love the beach. Yet you say you’re afraid of it. Why?”
“I’ve lost a lot of people because of water,” I said quietly, looking down at my cell phone. There was one new text message from Carrie. Picking my phone up, I didn’t even read her message; I just typed: It’s going good so far.
Tyler studied my face. “I sense that you don’t like to talk about it,” he murmured.
I shook my head. “You’re pretty perceptive. So, now it’s my turn to learn some more about you. Does Bruno go everywhere with you?”
Tyler nodded and laughed. “Literally! From the time I wake up in the morning, he’s by my side. He sleeps with me at night . . . He even waits outside the bathtub while I take a shower.” He glanced over at Bruno and scratched the dog behind his ears. “He’s a man’s best friend.”
“I don’t know if this is weird for me to ask, and I know it’s none of my business but . . . why do you need him?” I questioned cautiously, afraid that I might be pushing the boundaries. From the look in Tyler’s eyes after I said it, though, something told me I hadn’t crossed the line. Not that it was surprising. Tyler didn’t seem like the type of guy who was easily offended.
“I have epilepsy,” Tyler explained. “Bruno can sense when I’m about to have a seizure.”
“So, say you were to have a seizure tonight. What would Bruno do?” I asked nervously, hoping that he wouldn’t have a seizure while we’re alone.
Tyler raised his eyebrows. “Let’s hope that doesn’t happen. I haven’t had a seizure in about two years. If all goes well, I should be able to get my driver’s license next year, at eighteen.” He paused and glanced over at Bruno, who was lying down on the tiled floor. “But, if I were to have a seizure, Bruno would start barking.”
“He doesn’t bark at anything else?”
“He’s a dog,” Tyler said, laughing. “He usually doesn’t bark unless there’s a stranger around or a dog he’s unfamiliar with. If I’m about to have a seizure, you’ll know it.”
“Can you die from a seizure?” I blurted. I knew that it was a bit abrupt for me to ask, but I was genuinely curious. I was also sort of afraid. The idea of watching someone else, who I might come to really care about, die right in front of my eyes, scared me.
“Probably not,” Tyler said, shaking his head and slurping the last few drops of milkshake from his glass with the straw. “Seizures usually don’t cause deaths. When they do cause death or a serious injury, it’s because of something that you’re doing at the time—like driving or taking a shower.”
“Taking a shower?” I asked, confused.
“You could drown if you have a seizure while you’re in the shower or swimming in a pool or the ocean,” Tyler explained. He must have noticed the pained expression that crossed my face because he quickly added, “Let’s change the subject. This isn’t the best conversation for a first date.”
“So, we’re calling it a first date then?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at him playfully.
“Oh, come on, you know you want it to be,” Tyler replied. I noted a flirtatious tone in his voice, causing me to blush.
“Maybe,” I replied, deciding to continue playing hard to get. “We’ll see.”
“Do you like being a lifeguard?” Tyler asked.
I shrugged. “I haven’t done it long enough to know, but it seems okay so far.”
“Have you had to save someone yet?”
I shook my head. “Nope, not yet. The idea makes me nervous.”
Tyler stared at me intently as I finished the remaining bits of my strawberry milkshake. Having those warm gray eyes watch me should have made me feel nervous, but for some reason, it didn’t.
When I was done, Tyler stood up and asked, “Are you ready for the surprise part of our date?”
I stood up, too, and elbowed him in the ribs. “We just decided that I’ll be the judge of that once it’s over,” I giggled.
“Okay, fine, I’ll rephrase. Are you ready for the surprise part of our non-date?”
“Absolutely,” I replied, trying to hide the fact that I was nervous to see what we were doing, and followed him out of the ice cream parlor. Deep down, I was praying that he hadn’t planned something too weird. I didn’t want anything to screw up this date. It was my first real date, after all.
Tyler led me down the street, Bruno keeping pace between us. When we neared the end of the road, Tyler motioned to the dome-shaped building that stood in front of us. “That’s where we’re going.”
“The Ocean Grove Aquarium?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at him. I’d been to the aquarium about twenty times since January. Gram was a sucker for sea lions, so she always dragged me along with her. The aquarium could be a cute first date and, under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t be disappointed. But, Tyler had just made it sound like he was planning this spectacular surprise, when really the aquarium was one of the most common first date locations in Ocean Grove.
“You’ll see,” Tyler replied, running a hand through his light brown hair. “Come on.”
I followed him into the aquarium, allowing my eyes to adjust to the dim lighting. We walked past the tanks of colorful fish. When we were looking into the tank of clown fish, Tyler said, “Look, it’s Nemo!”
“That’s my favorite kid’s movie!” I laughed. “I love Dory.”
“Who doesn’t love Dory?” Tyler asked, opening a door that I had never been through before.
“What’s back here?” I whispered as we entered a dark room. I felt like we were in some off-limits territory of the aquarium, and it gave me the feeling that we might be trespassing.
Tyler looked over at me with an amused look on his face. “You hate surprises, don’t you?”
“Kind of,” I replied, giggling.
“Well, lucky for you, you’ll find out what it is in about ten seconds. Put this on,” Tyler instructed, grabbing a wetsuit from a hanger and tossing it to me.
He stripped off his jean shorts and his t-shirt. I noticed how attractive he looked without his shirt on. He wasn’t overly muscular, but his abs were obvious. I couldn’t pry my eyes away from his shirtless body until after he had already pulled the wet suit on over his boxer shorts.
Tyler turned to look at me. “Are you gonna put yours on?”
“Turn around,” I insisted, making a twirling motion with my finger. Once I was out of his field of vision, I quickly stepped out of my skirt, yanked off my tank top, and pulled the wetsuit on over my panties and bra. “Okay, you can turn around now. Are my clothes going to get wet?” I asked.
“Yeah, but they’ll dry really fast,” Tyler replied. “Besides, once you see what we’re doing, you’ll think it’s worth it anyway.”
Before I could ask any questions, Tyler grabbed my hand as we raced down a narrow hallway that led to what looked like a huge in-ground pool. I could feel the heat radiating from the room, reminding me of what it felt like to be in a sauna.
Tyler let go of my hand and leapt into the water, sending a large wave over the side of the pool. I wondered what type of marine animal could be in the pool, since I doubted that we were just going for a swim.
“Are we allowed to do this?” I asked, glancing over at Bruno, who laid down at the edge of the pool contently. “What if one of the aquarium attendants catches us or something?”
“Of course we’re allowed. I have permission.” Tyler splashed water at me and laughed. “Come in!”
Trusting that he was telling the truth, I edged closer to the side of the pool and jumped in. The warm water hit against my wetsuit, making the material cling to my skin even more. I felt my hands being nudged by something soft and slippery; it reminded me of the texture of a hard-boiled egg without its shell. As I emerged from the water, I found that a dolphin was nuzzling against me.
“Wow, this is amazing!” I squealed, reaching a hand out and running my fingertips over the dolphin’s rubber-like skin. The dolphin let out a whistle-like sound in response before diving under the water and bobbing its head in the air moments later. I turned to Tyler, who was swimming alongside a second dolphin.
Tyler looked up at me and grinned. “These two are named Mika and Arnie. They’re less than a year old. They’ll train here for about a year and a half—and then they’ll be in the dolphin show.”
“How do you know all this?” I asked. All of the times I’d come to the aquarium, I had no idea there was a private room where the young dolphins were trained.
“My grandfather runs the aquarium. That’s how I was able to get permission for us to swim with the dolphins today,” Tyler explained. He grinned at me. “So, tell me. Is this good enough to be considered a date yet?”
“Probably,” I said. Splashing him playfully, I added, “There’s one part missing, though.” I swam closer to him, and I could feel his warm breath inches away from my face.
“What’s that?” Tyler asked with raised eyebrows.
“I want to feed them,” I said excitedly, swimming over to one of the dolphins. It flipped onto its back, allowing me to rub its belly. It squealed playfully in response.
“I’ve already got that covered,” Tyler said as he swam over to a bucket of fish on the side of the pool. I wasn’t sure, but I could have sworn I heard him mutter under his breath, “I thought you were gonna ask for a kiss.”
That didn’t sound like such a bad idea either.
*
The sun was setting as Tyler, Bruno, and I stepped outside the aquarium.
“I had a nice time,” I told him.
“A nicer time than you were expecting to have?” Tyler asked, his eyes flitting in my direction.
“Maybe,” I shrugged. “I don’t know.” A question had been at the back of my mind all day, and even though I promised myself I wouldn’t ask because I thought it might make me look insecure, I couldn’t resist. “What made you ask me out?”
Tyler shrugged. His Converses kicked sand in the air as we climbed the steps that led to the boardwalk. “I don’t know. I just felt sort of . . . drawn to you. It’s hard to explain.” He turned to look at me. “Why did you agree to go out with me?”
I thought about it for a moment before responding. “The same reason. I can’t really explain it.”
“I’d love to go out with you again,” Tyler said, staring into my eyes.
“Me, too. Next time, we’ll call it a date for sure?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Tyler replied. “And maybe next time, you can plan a surprise for me.”
“We’ll see,” I laughed. “You don’t seem like the type who’s easily surprised.” As we reached the end of the boardwalk, I said, “Well, I guess I should go home now. I’ll see you around?”
“Don’t be silly,” Tyler replied. “It’s getting dark out. I’m going to walk you home.”
I hesitated. I hadn’t told Gram that I was going on a date tonight, only that I was going out with a friend. Then again, when we had first met up, it wasn’t official that it was a date yet, so technically, I hadn’t lied to her. Deciding that Gram would rather a boy walk me home than me walk home by myself in the dark, I nodded. “Okay.”
We had just descended the stairs of the boardwalk, when I saw her. Her coppery auburn hair fell over her shoulders, catching the reflection of the moon.
She looked older and taller than the last time I had seen her, but I was certain it was her.
“Scarlett!” I yelled, a nervous feeling rising to the back of my throat. As I struggled to breathe, I completely forgot for a moment that Tyler was with me.
I ran towards Scarlett, my ballet flats hitting against the sand. She was only feet away from me now, and yet, she felt so far.
The girl turned and looked at me, her bright green eyes flashing with a hint of recognition—a look that proved to me that I wasn’t insane; I was really staring into my sister’s eyes.