Wrong Place, Right Time

by Mallory Lopez

  She braided her hair, and it's all elegant. She has these natural, lighter highlights in her brown hair that I just noticed, because of her fancy-ass braid going around her head and down her shoulder. Her black-rimmed glasses are actually kind of a turn on. She's wearing this tan, vintage, top that has buttons on the shoulders. I've never had a sexy librarian fetish but if I did I'm pretty sure Amelia would fit that perfectly right now. Too bad she hates me, and I'm too much of a "disgusting pig" for her to ever hook up with me. Not to mention she's a virgin, and not into the fuck buddy situation. It's a damn shame.

  "I'm driving because last time you drove, we both ended up in the hospital," I retort.

  "Ugh, that was your fault." She crosses her arms, and leans back in the seat.

  "Whatever. You still need to tell me where we're going because we can't drive around aimlessly all night." It starts trickling rain and I hope whatever it is she has planned isn't taking place outside.

  "You're right, and actually, we're in a hurry so you should probably step on it. The place we're going closes at eight. Um...hang on, let me look at my GPS," she digs her cell phone out of her giant-ass purse. She starts the route and Siri begins instructing me on where to turn. "You're not going to tell me where we're going?" I ask, slightly annoyed.

  "No. I want it to be a surprise. I've actually only been a couple of times, and it was when I was younger," she explains with a little smile on her face.

  She's only a few years younger than me, but she seems so innocent. She hasn't had to deal with the shit that I have. She doesn't have shitty parents. She's never really had to survive. Life hasn't hit her like it has hit me. We have completely opposite lives, and for some reason this thought really bums me out. Yet another reminder of my shitty childhood.

  After a few minutes of comfortable silence she asks me, "How was work?" As I glance at her, she pushes up her glasses with her hand, then looks at me sweetly.

  "Busy. I'm going to have to start earlier and work longer days. I really gotta hustle. Fixing your car quickly wasn't cheap, and I wasn't really able to do much of the work on it because I was still fucked up from the crash," I tell her honestly. She looks out her side of the window, and in the glare I can see the frown on her face. Now what did I do?

  "I'm sorry, Todd. I don't–I didn't–" She sighs. "I didn't mean for any of this to happen," she whispers.

  Her arms are crossed against her chest and she's holding on to her shoulders. I sigh. Mostly because I have no idea what the fuck to say. It's silent for a moment before she speaks again.

  "Um, I think I should pay for dates from now on. All of them. I know you...didn't ask for this, and everything that happened was an accident. You agreeing to do this–to fake date me–it's just..." She sighs.

  I look over at her, and I'm pretty sure she has tears about to spill out, but it's hard to tell with her glasses on. We're on the second date, and I've already made her cry. Way to go, Todd. And I don't even know what I did.

  She wipes under her glasses with her finger. "You're really helping me out plus you fixed my car that I’m not even using, and I just... since I roped you into this, it's my responsibility to pay for dates. I'll pay for everything from now on, okay?" She explains, suddenly growing a conscience.

  I'm not going to argue with her. I don't even know why I agreed to pay for dates in the first place. It just seemed like it was the manly thing to do. Now that I think about what she's saying, she's right. I am roped into this. I don't want to be fake dating her. Especially if it ends up like last night––with me too tired to go bury myself deep in Becky, who's quickly become my "easy lay" this month. Maybe I'll have the energy for a late night visit tonight.

  "Yeah, okay," I agree. I take a deep breath and wince. I'm still a little sore. "Hey, are you sore still?"

  Her hands go to her ribs, and she starts rubbing them almost like the way a pregnant woman rubs her belly. She looks sad as shit, and gives me a small nod. She reaches into her purse that's in between us and pulls out a bottle of pills. I take them and read the label while trying to keep my eyes on the road. The last thing we need is another damn accident. Her pain is worse than I thought.

  "Vicodin? You still have to take these?" I ask sympathetically. I've been in some discomfort, no doubt, but I push through it if I'm at work or take a bunch of Motrin. It's been tolerable. Annoying and uncomfortable as fuck but tolerable. Enough for me to be able to work at the shop anyway. Granted, Roger has had me on paperwork duty a lot this week.

  "Yeah. It gets bad sometimes. I can't sit or stand for too long otherwise my left side starts to hurt. Today I had to lay down on the floor at the shop for a bit," she admits.

  "Did you have to take one of these pills?" I ask placing the pills back in her purse.

  "Um...yeah...I accidentally fell asleep while I was on the floor and woke up drooling like two hours later. I don't think anyone came in but it kind of freaked me out. I shouldn't have done it," she informs me, regretfully.

  "Sweet Cheeks," I say sincerely––so sincerely I actually surprise myself. "If you have to take these you shouldn't be going to work. You can't drive if you take these either." I look at her with concern. Something terrible could really happen to her if she takes these pills while she's trying to work or drive. Vicodin is a hardcore drug, and she needs to take it only when she's at home and resting. "Amelia, you have to be careful with these. Promise me you won't take them unless you're at home."

  Siri instructs me to turn right into the parking lot of...the aquarium. She smiles at my reaction. I can't believe she brought me to the aquarium. I only ever got to go when I was a kid for a school field trip. I smile, and for some odd reason my heartbeat quickens.

  "The aquarium," she announces happily. I frown when I realize how late it is.

  "Isn't it closed?" I look at the clock on the dashboard, and it's already almost seven.

  "Nope, but we only have an hour so we have to make it quick," she says halfway out of the car. I jump out to meet her quick pace. "It's fifteen bucks to get in for the last two hours it's open. The catch is that we only have an hour so we have to make the most of it." Her excitement radiates so much that it makes my smile permanent. She grabs my hand, and I squeeze it because it's surprisingly cold.

  "Your hand is freezing," I tell her like an idiot, as if she doesn't already know. She yanks her hand out of mine like she didn't even realize I was holding it. Her cheeks flush, and I'm not sure if it's because she's embarrassed that her hand is cold (which is ridiculous) or if it's because it's a little chilly outside.

  "Oh, sorry," she mumbles, and starts walking even faster, leaving me slightly behind.

  We get to the ticket window, and I realize this is supposed to be our "no money" date. It feels really weird letting her pay, but I let her do it without argument. I'll probably get called an asshole later for it but whatever. Let's be honest, I'm probably going to be called an asshole later for something that happens tonight anyway.

  We get our tickets, and walk in to the main gallery area. We pause, and just take it all in for a moment. To the left is a little area where a few kids and adults are sticking their hand in dirty water. I have no idea what they're doing exactly, but I know that I really want to join them. To the right are two big alcoves. One says Fresh Water Creatures, and the other says Ocean Inhabitants. Straight ahead of us is what looks like a theater with some kind of surround 3-D Sea Turtle movie playing.

  I forget that Amelia is even standing next to me until she nudges my arm. I look down at her, and it's then that I realize that I could not be smiling bigger. In fact, my cheeks are starting to hurt. Her smile is radiating across her entire face, and her brown eyes are brighter than I've ever seen them, and in this moment I don't think either one of us could be any happier. All because of the fucking aquarium. My heart is beating faster, and I feel like jumping up and down. Amelia does it for me, plus a cute little dance.

  "Okay, petting first!" She takes off toward the area where people are
sticking their arms in murky water. I have to jog after her. When I catch up and stand by her side, she flings her purse over her head so it's like a satchel bag rather than a purse. I peer down in the water to see stingrays, and small gray fish that look awfully close to sharks. I look to the kid and the mom next to us putting two fingers in the water and touching the fish as they swim by.

  "No freaking way," I announce shaking my head. "Those things are pooping in the water. It's filthy and seriously, is that a shark?"

  Amelia giggles and nudges me. "It is a shark, but these are all safe to pet. Just make sure you do it with two gentle fingers." She holds up her two fingers. I want to make a dirty joke about stroking and two fingers, but she giggles again. "They have hand washing stations and sanitizer for when you're done." She points past me to two sink stations.

  "Don't laugh at me, Sweet Cheeks, or I'll throw you in," I tease her. She giggles again and it's the cutest fucking thing I've ever heard. I'm certain it's just because I'm in a great mood and really excited, but I'm not going to over-think it. Fuck all the fake-dating and car accident and pain pills bullshit. I'm just going to enjoy the hell out of the next hour. I take a deep breath and suppress the wince that wants to come out from the discomfort of breathing so deep.

  "Here," Amelia tells me. "Stick your two fingers out, wait for them to swim by, and just gently graze the top of them." She sticks her arm in and a stingray swims right under her hand. She squeals, then pulls her arm out, splashing my arm and chest.

  "Oh god, was it gross? What did it feel like?" I beg for answers like a kid.

  "It's slimy! Come on, you have to try it!"

  "Okay, I can do this," I pep talk myself into putting my hand in the shallow water. The stingray comes swimming by, and I yank my hand out before it touches me.

  "Todd! Don't be scared. Just do it once, and then we can go do something else. Come on, just once. Just to say you did it."

  Her words hit me harder than she could know. Her parents brought her here as a kid. I never got to do anything like this when I was little. I have to do it. I have to do it for the ten-year-old Todd who never got to experience any of this.

  "Okay, you're right. I'll stop being a pussy," I mostly tell myself, but she shushes me immediately.

  "Todd," she reprimands me in a hard whisper. "There are kids around! Don't say stuff like that."

  "Oh, sorry," I genuinely apologize. I'm not used to being around kids at all. Al had a dirty mouth, and he was the only example I had in the house so I have a dirty mouth now too. I don't even think about it anymore. The filter just left and never came back.

  I can't believe I'm this scared to touch a damn fish. I stick my hand back in and the stingray and shark swim under me in rapid succession so I feel both. "Oh my god, that was freaking awesome. I just touched a shark!"

  "I know!" She does another little happy dance. "We should probably clean up so we can do everything else."

  "No! Wait, I want to do it again. Just once more, and then we can go do the next thing." I stick my hand in again and wait for them to swim by. They glide by and it's slimy but so freaking cool that I could do it all day.

  "We don't have much time. Come on! Let's get clean. I want to rally through fresh water creatures and spend more time in Ocean Inhabitants. I want to see the octopus. I think they're nocturnal so it might be moving. And I think there might be penguins," she spews, a million miles a minute. She drags my arm, pulling me with her to the sink station.

  We clean up, and she nearly starts jogging to the fresh water exhibit. We storm through it, zooming past the eels, snakes, and piranhas. It took us about ten minutes, and for Amelia, the Ocean Inhabitants exhibit is the main event. The whole damn thing is the main event for me. I could spend hours in here making up for lost childhood memories. While Amelia is reliving hers, I'm making mine.

  We walk into the dark alcove, and she gasps at the massive floor to ceilings tanks. "Wow," I lamely say. We walk slowly along the tanks trying to soak in everything we're seeing. She grabs my forearm when the hammerhead shark swims by.

  "That's the coolest thing I've ever seen. Look at it!" I marvel. "It's insane! It's eyes!"

  "It's incredible that it exists--and has existed for millions of years! It's beautiful." I tear my eyes away to look at her. The blue lights and reflection from the water is reflecting on her face. She's in awe and her eyes...her damn eyes...are glowing. Her pink lips are slightly open. The tranquility that has washed over her has a stunning effect on her beauty. I want to hold her face, and slip my tongue through those sweet bow-tie lips. I bet she tastes so sweet. She feels my stare and turns to look at me. She does a double take to realize how intensely I'm staring at her. I should stop, but I can't. Everything about her right now––her essence––is captivating. I glance down at her lips, and then back up in her eyes. Her breathing picks up, and I can tell she's nervous now. This is a major do or die moment. If I kiss her, it'll make everything complicated, giving her ideas that I want to be with her but I don't. If I don't kiss her, I feel like I'll never have another chance ever again. Maybe it sounds ridiculous, but I don’t know how else to explain the feeling. My heart skips a beat. I have to touch her.

  "Why are you staring at me?" She asks softly. She licks her lips like she wants to kiss me, but she also looks a little scared.

  "You're beautiful," I simply say.

  I cup her cheek, and feel the flawless smoothness of her skin. I take a step forward so she has to tilt her head up to look at me. My eyes move from hers down to her mouth. I take my thumb and brush them delicately against her plump lips. She sighs and relaxes against my hand. I move my thumb back to her mouth, and she kisses it and my dick gets hard almost instantly. I groan. I want to push her against this glass, kiss her likes she's never been kissed before, then lick her pussy until she comes.

  But we're in public, and in front of many sea animals so I play it safe and settle for a kiss on her forehead. I can't kiss her. I can't give her what she wants, and it would be stupid to even try to be the man she deserves because I'll never be. She deserves so much more. I back away from her, and look toward a dark tank with rainbow glowing globs floating around.

  "Jellyfish," I dumbly point out. She looks down, and nods. All of her tranquility has passed, and I've made her sad. But we all knew I'd fuck up at some point during the night.

  "They are so gorgeous," she comments while practically putting her face against the glass.

  "And deadly," I add because, apparently, I like ruining moods. She sighs.

  "The last showing of Journey of the Sea Turtle starts in five minutes!" A voice announces over the speaker system.

  "What do you say?" I nudge her. "Want to go learn about sea turtles?" I shoot her the best grin I can muster. I guess it works, because her cheeks blush. She glances down, then shyly nods her head.

  We walk into the theater with our 3-D glasses. The room is round, and engulfed from floor to ceiling, even the ceiling, with screens. We walk in the middle noticing we're the only ones here.

  A young teenager with a pathetic, patchy beard walks in, with his blue uniform polo shirt and khakis. "All right, looks like it's just you two. Feel free to stand or sit or, since there's no one else here, feel free to lie down so you can see the ceiling screen. It's pretty awesome." He turns to a small control panel and pushes a few buttons. "The film is about to start. Please place your 3-D glasses on now. When the film ends, please note that the aquarium will be closed." We nod and tell him, "thanks."

  We look at each other, and chuckle at how ridiculous we look in these glasses that are more like goggles. Amelia has to wear hers over her glasses, which makes me laugh louder. She looks like a bug. Once the music starts and the narrating voice begins, I decide to lie down. Amelia watches me, and then hesitantly decides to join me. She grabs her side and winces as she bends down. I lift my hands to guide her hips to help her. She winces, but sighs once she's settled next to me.

  We stare up at the ceiling, and watch th
e beautiful sea turtles on their journey to lay their eggs. I glance over to Amelia to see if she's enjoying it as much as I am. She’s rubbing her left ribs slowly. We've been standing and walking, or in her case jogging, around for the last hour. I'm sure she's pretty sore. I reach over, and replace her hand with mine. She turns her head to watch me.

  "Watch the movie," I command her. She brought me here and allowed me to make memories that I never got to have. I don't want her to be in pain because of it. I slowly caress the left side of her ribs from right under bra to just above her belly. After a couple of minutes I'm not even watching the turtles around us. I'm watching my hand rise and fall with her breath wanting so badly to slip my thumb up her bra and play with her nipple. She shivers, and I know I just made her nipples hard...and my dick hard too. I want to rip her shirt off, and suck on her tits so bad.

  God, what am I doing?

  I reluctantly remove my hand, and focus on the turtles, hoping my hard-on goes away before the lights come up.

  I don't even look at her until the lights come back on, and we're on our way to the car. As soon as I'm in the driver's seat of her car I realize I forgot to open the door for her. It's just further proof that she deserves someone better. Nicer.

  When I pull into my house, I make sure she gets into the driver's seat okay. "Get home safe."

  "Thanks. Be at my house tomorrow at five," she quietly says.

  "Okay, see you at six," I retort with a grin, trying to lighten the mood. She shakes her head but grins.

  "Five, Todd. Five." She pushes up her glasses with her palm. It's a habit that I'm starting to actually like. It used to bug the hell out of me when I first met her.

  "Six. Be careful." I close her door, and wink at her before I walk into the house.

  Now...do I rub a couple out or call Becky? Decisions, decisions.

  20

  –– Amelia ––

  He was an entirely different person tonight. I saw a whole new side of him I never knew existed. I didn't want to tell him that we were going to the aquarium at first, because I thought he'd try and change my mind or complain about it. Never did I imagine that he'd be even more excited than me. The way his eyes would light up every time we saw something amazing. This is by far one of the best nights I can remember. It's infinitely better than any college party I've been to, and obviously better than any date...considering the only other date I've been on was our first one.