Chapter 14 Sneaking Around
Sneaking Around
Carly
I’m fairly certain that if my middle name weren’t Josephine, it would be Spontaneity. That runs in my blood. However, I do have exceptions to spontaneity, such as breaking and entering.
No go.
“Are you sure we should be here?” I ask as Crew looks through the small window installed in the metal door. “This place looks closed.”
“It usually is,” he answers.
“Very helpful,” I mumble. For fuck’s sake, Movie Star.
“But,” he continues. “There’s always staff looking over the animals. It’s closed to visitors on Sundays but open to everyone who works here.” Crew holds out a card and swipes it against the reader. It lights up green and the door unlocks itself, allowing Crew to turn the knob and step inside.
“Working with the animals,” I mutter, following him inside. This must explain why I almost always see his hair wet. Considering he is a marine bio major, I’m not surprised.
I’m also not complaining in the slightest.
Crew leads me towards a hall and towards another gray, metal door. After utilizing his key card once again, the door opens, and we’re inside, surrounded by everything.
This is absolutely marvelous.
“You work here?” I marvel at the large jellyfish tank. I swear I’m looking at a kaleidoscope because of how colorful everything is.
“I intern here,” he corrects. “Mostly with the dolphins, but I’m not allowed up there without my supervisor or someone higher up.”
I nod, watching the jellyfish swim horizontally. Diagonally? I tilt my head to watch.
“This isn’t the same as staring at the sunset at East Pointe—”
“So what?” I interrupt, turning to face him. “It’s beautiful.”
Crew seems to relax his shoulders at my compliment, as if he were waiting for my opinion this whole time. I hope he wasn’t looking for validation.
He shouldn’t have to.
“Besides,” I add. “Mango must be really jealous that he can’t visit a place like this.”
Crew playfully rolls his eyes. “Nemo.”
“Same difference.” I glance around us. “This area seems empty. Are you sure—”
“Hi, Crew.” A lady mopping the floor passes by and waves at us. “Are you working with Tuck today?”
Then, he does the one thing I never expected him to do: smile.
Sure, I’ve seen the occasional chuckle and smirk leave his lips, but never a beaming smile or anything truly genuine from Crew. He normally keeps his emotions to himself, whether they’re positive or negative, whenever around others.
Well, now that I think about it, he has been a little less restrictive of his emotions. Or maybe he’s just being friendly. I mean, we are friends, after all.
“Not today, Nancy,” he acknowledges the cleaning lady. “But don’t tell Tuck I came here on his day off, okay?”
She places one finger over her mouth and nods before her eyes trail to me, as if she’s connecting the dots between Crew and me or something. “Don’t worry, Crew. I won’t tell Tuck that you snuck in for a date night with your girlfriend.”
I feel a blush creep onto my cheeks. “Uh, we’re not on a date.” Though with the fact that he’s going against his boss’s wishes to bring me here, I’m starting to feel like this is a date.
There’s no way it’s a date, right? Sure, I’m still wearing my dress from brunch, and I’m only here with Crew, but we’re friends who enjoy each other’s company—me more than him—and nothing else.
Even if this were a date, Crew’s not dressed for it. On second thought, would that even matter? He already looks devastatingly handsome in a pair of gray sweatpants and a loose, black t-shirt with the faded Nirvana logo. It should be fucking illegal to look like that in sweatpants.
Dammit, am I really wishing for this to be a date? Guess so.
Nancy waves goodbye. “You are just so beautiful,” she tells me before heading off in a completely different direction. My cheeks turn a shade of red brighter than the “DO NOT RUN” sign hanging by the manta rays.
“She seems nice,” I comment after I clear my throat.
He shrugs, glancing at the ginormous tanks around us. “She already likes you.”
“Oh, come on, Crew. Everyone loves me at first glance,” I joke, knowing damn well that it wasn’t the case for him.
Instead of a response, he walks towards another terrarium, kneeling to observe it. “Come on, I’ll show you the rest of the floor.”
And he lives up to that promise. The first floor is pretty big, and we’re practically running from one terrarium to another. I love it, especially seeing Crew in his element, like a Chinese-American Robert Irwin whose main focus is marine life.
For the first time in a while, my brain and the thoughts roaming inside are tamed, and it’s thanks to Crew, who showed me a side to him I never knew existed.
But damn, I want to see more of it.
“Carly, that was a date,” Ali practically shouts.
I have to reach over to cover her mouth with my hand. “You could be a little louder!” I hiss.
She laughs, and I pull my hand away. “It just doesn’t seem like the Crew that I know to break some rules and sneak into his place of work unless he likes someone. Who sneaks into work at all?”
I glance back at the register, where Vinny and Crew order our food. We’re at this cute diner on the pier of Marbella Beach, celebrating my completion of my senior thesis project.
That’s right—your girl graduated a term early like I had planned. I don’t get to walk the stage until June, like everybody else, but I still graduated.
Since my parents are waiting until Carson graduates to drive over and celebrate with both of us, I settled with a dinner with my friends, and I don’t mind it one bit.
While the boys went up to order for us all, Ali and I stayed behind at our booth. I also chose this moment to tell her about the aquarium break-in, because that evening has played on a continuous loop in my brain since it happened almost a month ago.
“He didn’t strike me as a rule breaker either,” I agree. “But people change a lot.”
“Well…” Ali trails off, and my alarms go off.
“Ali Rose,” I warn. “What are you—”
“Oh, nothing,” she sings. It’s definitely something if she’s singing like that. “Just that there’s a possibility that Crew likes you. Not just as a friend.” She emphasizes that last statement.
I shake my head. That’s not possible. I’ve only known him for a few months, and it takes a little longer for a guy to feel that way about me.
It’s nature. Like walking, or the hairs on the back of my neck standing up like Spiderman whenever I get the sense that I’m being watched. Kind of like right now.
“Crew never acted like that until he met you,” she continues. “Honestly, it’s much needed for that guy. He seemed too stiff when I first met him.”
“I wouldn’t say that it’s a bad thing,” I tell her.
“What’s a bad thing?” Vinny pipes in as he and Crew slide back into the booth, each with drinks. “We got your orders, but they were out of grenadine for your Shirley Temple, Ali, so I grabbed you a soda.”
Ali shrugs. “It’s okay. Thanks, babe.”
I sip on my mango iced tea as Vinny tells the story of how the cashier thought the place was out of buns—spoiler alert: they weren’t—and how he almost ordered a different plate before the dude behind him discouraged him from doing so.
“I’ve never seen two people argue so aggressively over a salad,” Vinny laughs.
I lean over to Crew. “Hey, I’m going to be right back.”
He takes the sign and stands up, allowing me space to squeeze out of the booth, and I try not to look distracted by his scent—like sandalwood or something, since he met us at this diner from the aquarium—before heading towards the ladies' room to wash my hands.
As my hands make contact with the hot water, the stall door behind me opens, revealing a tall woman with glossy black hair. I get chills down my spine just by looking at her sunglasses and hat. The hairs on the back of my neck? Yeah, they’re still standing at attention.
Another thing: who the fuck wears a sunhat indoors? At night, no less?
“Better a big hat than a personality.” She turns on the faucet and removes her glasses, and that’s when I know I’ve fucked up. Badly.
My eyes bulge out of my socket at the realization, and I’m frozen in my spot. Forget the hot water practically burning my hands—I just insulted a celebrity out loud! Not just any celebrity…
Teresa fucking Shentu.
Well, at least I’m not showing blatant disrespect to restaurant owners by wearing a stupid hat indoors.
I’m aware of my big personality. That’s a descriptor I’ve come across many times, especially growing up.
My aspirations, my excitement, my mouth, sometimes my height—all of them have been described as big.
At first, it never hurt me coming from the kids my age.
Hearing it leave an adult’s mouth? That’s a different feeling, especially from Crew’s mother, of all people.