I look down to my side at a little boy, maybe around six years old, who is looking up at me. He has his hand on the glass just as I do.
"Hi."
"You're pretty," he says, and I smile down at him and respond, "Thank you. You're not so bad yourself."
His face lights up with a huge smile when Ryan walks up from behind us and asks the little boy, "Do you think I can steal your girlfriend away from you, buddy?"
The boy looks up at him and laughs. I can tell he is embarrassed as he nods his head.
I say 'bye' to my new friend and follow Ryan as he navigates us all the way to the touch pool. I hesitate as he starts to walk up to the exhibit.
"Come on."
I slowly walk up to the edge of the tank.
"You scared?" he asks.
"Kind of, yeah"
Pulling me up to the tank next to him, he dips his hand into the water and starts touching the orange and purple starfish.
"They're not going to attack you, Candace," he says with a smile.
"No way."
"We aren't leaving until you touch something in this tank," he teases me.
I look around, and kids that are elbows deep in the water surround us. Pushing up my sleeve, I very slowly start to move my hand toward the water, but when I see a hermit crab crawling in the tank where I was just about to put my hand, I jump back and squeal. Several of the kids start laughing at me, and Ryan joins in.
"Really nice!"
"What?" he says through his laughter.
"You're making fun of me."
"You're such a baby. Come here," he says and takes ahold of my hand to pull me back up to the tank. He shifts his hand to grip the top of mine and I shout, "Wait a second!" when my hand almost hits the water.
I don't look at him, but I hear him laughing at me.
"Relax."
He moves our hands down to the top of the water, and I nervously start to shift my weight between both of my feet when I feel the cold water on my fingertips. I know I am bouncing up and down like a scared little girl, but I don't care. I am terrified of these little sea creatures, especially the spiky sea urchins. The few kids that are near us are giggling at me, and when I finally feel the course, rough texture of the starfish on my fingers, one of the little boys claps and screams, "You did it!"
I look up at Ryan, and he is laughing along with me at the excitement of the little kid.
"See, not too scary," he says as he takes his hand off of mine and goes to grab some paper towels to dry our hands.
We take our time exploring the aquarium and all the exhibits while laughing and having a fun time. After an hour or so, we head downstairs to the underwater dome. We walk through the small tunnel that leads into the concrete and glass enclosure. The room is a little dark because of the weather outside; the sun isn't out today to filter its light through the water. We find an open seat along the perimeter of the dome that faces the windows and sit down. I lean back and prop my feet up on the concrete ledge and watch the schools of fish swim by. This day has turned out to be really fun. I never go out like this with my friends, and I'm starting to wonder why. Being here has kept my mind free from the way I left things with my parents yesterday.
"What are you thinking about?" Ryan asks.
"Nothing really."
He doesn't say anything; he just sits back with me and stares out into the water. When we finally decide to leave, we stop and grab a coffee at the café before heading out to the car. It's a pretty cold day, so I basically use the coffee to keep my hands warm as we walk to Ryan's jeep. Again, he helps me step up inside the car, and I set the coffee down in the cup holder and shove my hands into my coat pockets.
"Damn it's cold!" Ryan says as he hops into the car and starts it. He turns up the heat and begins to drive.
Feeling tired, I rest my head on the back of the seat and shut my eyes. Our drive is quiet and peaceful. When I finally hear the car turn off, I open my eyes and wonder why we are parked in front of a grocery store.
"What are we doing here?" I ask.
"You said you don't have any food at your house."
"Yeaaah?"
"Well, let's go buy some food so I don't have to hear about you eating stale popcorn again," he says as he laughs at me.
He gets a cart and starts following me around the store. Feeling a little uncomfortable and embarrassed, I throw in a couple bags of lettuce and some apples.
"No wonder you were starving at breakfast, you eat like a rabbit."
I roll my eyes at him and continue grabbing food for the week. Once I purchase everything and we load the car, I give him directions to my house. When he pulls into my driveway, I become nervous. I don't like the idea of having him inside my house. I try to calm myself down, but I can't help feeling scared. Hanging out with him all day has been fine, but we have been surrounded by people. I don't like the idea of being alone with him in my home. Knowing there isn't really much I can say to make him stay in the car, I hesitantly get out and grab a few bags as he grabs the rest, and I unlock the front door.
"This is a pretty nice house for a college student," he remarks.
"Yeah," is all I say in response as I lead him into the kitchen. Trying to keep calm and not overreact, I silently and quickly put everything away. When everything is in its proper place, I immediately start walking to the front door, and thank goodness Ryan follows without questioning my strange behavior.