Page 62 of The Scars of Us

“I thought we’d get some lunch in Boston before my surprise.”

“Another surprise?” I questioned as a smile curved over my lips.A girl could get used to this.

He smiled as he helped me into his truck before wordlessly closing the door. When he got in on his side, he was still grinning from ear to ear.What is he up to?

“What are we doing?” I asked.

“I can’t tell you, or it’d ruin the surprise. But, trust me, you’ll like it.”

He started the truck and started driving toward Boston. We grabbed a quick lunch at a local eatery before we drove toward the Boston Wharf. Excitement started to fill me as we neared—I loved the water, envied how it was so fluid and free, something that had always been an unattainable feeling for me.

When we headed toward the Central Wharf, I had a good idea of where we were going. “Are you taking me to the New England Aquarium?” I practically squealed in delight.

He didn’t answer, but his smile told me my answer. I clapped happily and actually squealed in glee that time. Ryker began to laugh as the aquarium came into view and I couldn’t wait to get there. I’d visited a couple of times when I was little, but I’d never been back.

Once we parked in the garage directly across from the aquarium, I basically jumped out of the truck and bounced up and down in excitement as I waited for Ryker. I had told him last night how much I loved the water and animals, especially ocean animals—he was definitely gaining some serious points with me.

After we got out of the elevator, he linked our hands together as we walked toward the entrance. My chest and stomach tightened happily from the gesture, and I felt all tingly inside. Ryker caused me to feel so many things that I’d never felt before, and I briefly contemplated whether any of the new feelings could be love.

The idea should’ve scared me, would’ve scared me before I met Ryker. Love was dangerous because it meant trust, and trust meant vulnerability. Vulnerability meant that I would be opening myself up to be hurt, and I couldn’t afford to be hurt by anyone else; I’d never survive it. I always avoided commitment and attachment for that reason, but Ryker was starting to change my mind. He was showing me that trust could be earned, and that love might not be such a bad thing after all. It might be just what I needed to heal.

After Ryker bought our tickets, we started with the first area on the floor level, which housed harbor seals, penguins, and the Shark and Ray Touch Tank exhibits. The seals were outside, so we started there and worked our way in, spending extra time playing with the sharks and rays.

We made our way towards the back, going through the penguin and tropical fish exhibits. While we were looking at the fish, I noticed Ryker was texting on his phone. A smile tipped his lips as he typed, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he was texting another girl. My happiness began to fade, and I hated the ugly twisting in my gut.

I almost pulled away when he grabbed my hand, but I didn’t want to overreact and jump to any conclusions. I knew the gnawing feeling I had would eventually eat at me until I said something, but I wanted to try and hold it in until we got back to his truck.

Ryker guided me to the back of the first level, which housed more seals and sea lions. “We already saw seals,” I said, irritated, my mood beginning to sour.

We stopped right outside the doors that led outside to the exhibit. His phone chimed with a new text message and he took it out to look at it, causing irrational anger to take over me.

“I’m right here, you know. You could at least wait until I go to the bathroom or something to text one of your other girls,” I spat before storming off.

His hand lightly gripped my arm and pulled me back to him. “What are you talking about, Ky?”

I snatched my arm from his grasp and accused, “You know what I’m talking about. I saw how you looked when you were texting—you were talking to some other girl.”

“No, I wasn’t—I told you there are no other girls, baby.”

I scoffed. “Then, who were you texting?”

Just then, a guy in a diver’s suit walked inside from a side door. He saw Ryker and greeted, “Hey, ready?”

I looked between them, perplexed about how they knew each other and what the man was referring to. Ryker then spoke, “Kaiya, this is Mike, a client of mine from the gym. He’s arranged for us to have a personal encounter with the seals. That’s who I was texting.”

“Oh,” I replied, my face heating from embarrassment.Way to overreact.

I was about to apologize when Mike interrupted, “Let’s go—we’re not even supposed to be doing this right now, so we have to do it quick.”

Mike turned around and sped back through the door he came in, which had an “Employees Only” sign on it. I looked up at Ryker. “I’m sorry,” I meekly apologized.

“It’s okay. I kinda like that you were jealous,” he teased with a smirk.

I rolled my eyes and followed after Mike. Ryker came up next to me before holding the door open and ushering me in. Mike waved us over to a desk before saying, “I’ve lost almost a hundred pounds thanks to Ryker. I would’ve never been able to do it without his training, so I owe him big time. This was the least I could do.”

“I really appreciate this, Mike. Thanks,” Ryker replied.

“No, thank you. I wouldn’t have reached my goal without your help.”

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