Lake Larson

As the week flashed by, Hudson and I worked on our project, but today, I had to be at the aquarium and close alone with another no-show. The place smelt of a wet basement as I locked the front doors after the last customers left.

I exhaled, feeling grateful for the end of the day. With everything going wrong, the small leak in the octopus tank formed a large puddle and caused a kid to fall and hit his head on the hard floor. Luckily for me, I didn't have to deal with the clean-up of the child, but I had to mop up the water while Ryan fixed the tank.

The entire place needed a mop. I needed to rush, given I was running behind. I huffed out, walking to the custodian's closet. The bucket had cleaning supplies ready for me, but the mop had been missing.

After checking the lockers, I stopped in front of Dakota's door with the handle in hand. I slowly open into the dark room, reflecting the water pattern of blue on the walls. Ian stood before the tank with his back toward me as he watched the turtle swim around. He glanced over his shoulder, smiling at me.

I mirrored his smile, feeling shy. "So, you had been hiding in here?"

"Yep." He placed his hand on the glass, stopping before going through it. "Besides you, she is the only one that can see me."

I strolled to the tank, stopping close to him. Dakota swam in circles, slowly dancing in the water. The liquid bubbled with the blue light reflecting on our faces.

I peeked over at Ian, seeing his eyes on me. "Want to feed her?" I asked, already walking away.

I climbed the ladder to the top of the tank, grabbing the bucket of food already prepared. Walking to the edge, I sat down with my legs crossed. Ian plopped beside me while I handed him a lettuce piece.

I leaned over, placing my hand in the water. Dakota swam to me, snapping the red pepper from my palm. She ate the pieces floating to the bottom before swimming back to the top.

Ian placed the lettuce leaf into the water, letting her take it from his hand. He smiled brightly, watching her snap at the floating food.

"I named her after my father." I broke the silence, playing with the water.

"What?" Ian looked away from the liquid at me.

"My father grew up in North Dakota." I kept my gaze on the liquid. "My grandparents and aunts still live there," I said, looking at Ian. "My father died when I was twelve."

"I'm sorry," he said, saying the same thing everyone else says.

"He was a great dad, but he had his moments." I bit my cheek, unsure to tell Ian everything. "He had schizophrenia, so—"

I stopped and pulled my knees to my chest. Ian grabbed another lettuce leaf and dropped it in the water.

I exhaled a breath. "Growing up, my dad would take me on drives and not stop. He said the voices told him to drive until they said to do so. He would disappear for weeks and return, pleading for forgiveness from my mom." I smiled at the dark room. "Of course she would forgive him."

"How did he die?" Ian asked, but I could tell he regretted asking. "If you don't mind talking about it."

I glanced at the water. "One morning, when I was getting ready for school, my dad packed all the camping supplies." I awkwardly smiled. "Told me we had a road trip to go on." Shaking my head, I placed my chin on my knee. "I insisted there was no road trip, but he was persistent. He was having another episode, and I didn't have time to stop and help him." A tear fell across my cheek. "I left for school, and he drove the car off a cliff."

I dried my face with my sleeve before glancing at Ian. He clenched his jaw, trying to think of a sentence, but nothing escaped his lips. His eyes bobbed around my face, not stopping in one spot until a warm hand entangled with mine.

His eyes met mine. "Thank you for telling me. I'm sure that was hard to say."

I bit my cheek, lost in his gaze. His thumb tightened around my hand before circling on my skin. I glanced down, seeing our hands together. The roughness of his palms, the warmth of his fingers, and his grip as he squeezed for reassurance.

"Tell me a good story about him?" Ian asked, breaking our silence.

I sniffled. "Oh, gosh." I smiled from ear to ear. "There are a lot, but my favorite moment with my dad was when I was eight. He had an episode, needing to go on a road trip, and drove me to Montana, the Glacier National Park. We camped in the cold for the week, living off gas station food and slept in the car." I relaxed my legs, crossing them. "One morning, he dragged me up to the top of the hill, and we sat on a rock for hours, listening to the wind blow through the trees." I gazed at my hand in Ian's.

"Have you been back there?"

I looked into his eyes. "No, I don't remember how we got there." I shrugged, glancing into the water.

"Don't worry," he said, prompting me to look at him. "I'll find it for you."

Ian's hazel eyes brightened with the strands of hair brushing over his bushy brows. His smirk crept into a warm smile. I inhaled, coughing on air, forgetting how to breathe. My cheeks burned with embarrassment as I removed my hand from his.

"I got to finish cleaning," I said, standing up fast.

I raced to the ladder, skipping a few steps. As I walked to the door, I glanced at the top of the tank at Ian, seeing him watching me. My footsteps echoed in the room while I hurried. The mop I had been looking for leaned against the wall as I grabbed it on my way out.

I spent the next hour cleaning the floors and reorganizing the area. I clicked a switch, turning off half the lights. Ian walked through the door, brushing his hand in his hair.

I smiled, clicking another switch for the birdcage. "Hey, I only have to dump the bucket and then we can go."

I strolled to the dirty bucket in the middle of the floor, smelling the mud-filled water.

"Good," he replied, watching me use my back to lift.

The heavy, water-filled bucket barely budged. I gripped the handle with both hands. I stepped, slipping and sending the liquid crashing to my feet. The dirty water sped across the floor, soaking my shoes.

Ian chuckled while I glared at him. He covered his mouth quickly, widening his eyes.

"Oh, don't you dare," I said, slipping and tumbling.

I slid toward Ian, hoping I could catch myself, but with my palms out, I closed my eyes, ready to crash. But Ian tried to catch me, feeling his hands on my hips. I opened my eyes to see him slipping to the ground and dragging me on top of him.

I gasp, feeling my palms on the wet floor. Ian's hand brushed my back, touching the skin. I could feel my heartbeat in my torso while I tilted my head to look at him.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Y-y-yes," I stuttered slowly.

I lifted my body more, but Ian tightened his grip on me, keeping our hips together. My mind raced to places they shouldn't while we lay in this position.

Exhaling a long breath, I swallowed a lump in my throat. Ian's chest rose and fell, expelling heat. His eyes shifted between my lips and eyes, causing my mind to run in circles.

Like all the movies, Ian removed his hand from my hip and tucked a loose strand behind my ear. His finger trailed along my jawline, tracing to my mouth. My lips parted while he played with my bottom one, resulting in him fixing his gaze on just my mouth.

Ian leaned from the ground toward me. He placed both hands on my cheeks while he closed his eyes slowly. The gap between our lips neared to a touch, but I paused.

"Ian," I whispered, feeling regret.

His eyes opened, reflecting sadness. There was no kiss, no romantic moment. Ian's touch told me everything as his warm hands turned cold, and I fell through him, hitting the wet floor.

The water soaked the front of my clothes. Ian's chilly body froze my insides before I rolled out of him and rested on the floor beside him. His chuckle filled the area. I peeked over at him, giggling.

Shaking my head, I stood from the ground and looked for the mop to clean up the mess. I slid the water toward the drain on the floor, draining it quickly so I could leave for the night.

Ian watched from a distance until I had the floor cleaned. I stored the mop and bucket in the closet, walking to the locker room to change from the wet clothes.

I pulled a tank top and soccer shorts from my locker, realizing they were my spare clothes for the evening.

"Dang," I whispered, walking to the stall to change.

I pulled my wet clothes off, dropping them to the tile. Ian walked near the stall door while I saw his bare feet.

"Sorry you got soaked," he said, vibrating his voice in the locker room.

"No," I replied, putting my shirt on. "You tried to help."

I stepped out of the stall, fully dressed, adverting my eyes to the ground. After our moment, I had a hard time looking at Ian. I didn't know if the moment meant anything, but I needed to avoid the conversation.

Ian's eyes could burn a hole in my back as I packed my bags with my nose in the locker. With me not looking at him, he couldn't take his eyes off me. I could feel his gaze haunting me.

I huffed and turned while shutting my locker. Slamming into Ian's chest, a sting burned up my nose. Why was he so solid today? I placed my palm on his torso, stepped away, and glanced at the ground. Ian chuckled, prompting me to look at him.

"Why are you laughing?" I asked with a glare, holding my nose. "That hurt."

His smirk changed to a straight smile. "Sorry."

I poked him in the chest, shoving him out of the way. As I walked out of the lockers, I glanced over my shoulder with a sweet smile. He shook his head and bit his bottom lip, following me.

The cold froze my legs while I raced to my car in the dark. Freezing mist floated in the air, frosting my front window. The handle on my car stuck, but I pulled hard enough to open and jump into the chilly vehicle.

While I turned on my car, Ian popped up in the passenger seat. The engine puttered before heat escaped the vents onto me. As I waited for the heat to warm up, I grabbed my phone, seeing a message from Hudson.

"Hey, look at that," Ian said while I shifted my phone away. He leaned closer to me. "Don't be like that." He pointed at the screen. "Let me see."

I glanced at the text, sucking in a deep breath while my mouth dropped open. Ian arched his brows, snatching the phone quickly.

"What?" he asked without looking at the screen. "Is it a picture of his dick?"

I grabbed the phone from him. "No." I glared at him, showing the text.

He skimmed. "What's the problem?"

"The Davenport!" I yelled, knowing the restaurant was expensive. "Our date went from casual to serious." I placed my forehead on the wheel. "What am I supposed to wear? I had never been to the Davenport."

"Calm down, it's just the Davenport. I had been to five-star restaurants," Ian said with zero help.

"Oh, thank you, Mr. Helpful."

Ian laughed, leaning his head so I could see his face. "We will buy a dress for you tomorrow before the date." His smile grew. "Sound good?"

I pulled my forehead from the wheel, nodding. Ian shifted in his seat, leaning back as he scrolled through my phone. I placed my car in drive, pulling away from the parking lot.

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